Electric Co-op Today

A Michigan co-op is helping to improve sport fishing throughout the Great Lakes through an aquatic research facility housed in an historic hydroelectric plant that it owns.

Fisheries student Dave Caroffino (left) and research manager Roger Greil examine adult salmon netted in the St. Mary’s River. (Photo By: John Shibley/LSSU)

The Lake Superior State University Aquatic Research Laboratory releases between 25,000 and 60,000 salmon into the St. Mary’s River, just outside the doors of the Cloverland Power Plant. The 36-megawatt hydroelectric powerhouse has been providing electricity to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 1902.

“The research facility uses the free-flowing water from our hydro plant,” said Dan Dasho, CEO and general manager of Cloverland Electric Cooperative.

The Dafter, Mich.-based co-op acquired the plant, along with other assets of the Edison Sault Electric Co. from investor-owned Wisconsin Energy Corp., in May 2010.

“It’s exciting for us to be part of this project,” said Dasho. “It’s a good learning experience for the students and it’s a great economic development opportunity for the region.”

As the plant’s 74 turbines turn in the sandstone powerhouse, Atlantic salmon young are nurtured in raceways. Eggs produced by brood stock at the laboratory are hatched and tended by university students working under the direction of aquatic biologists.

Co-op CEO Dan Dasho (left) and researcher Roger Greil examine young Atlantic salmon in the Cloverland Power Plant. (Photo By: Cory Wilson/ Cloverland Electric Cooperative)

Once released, the fish move into Lake Superior and Lake Huron, eventually growing to as much as 15 pounds. Fish up to 26 inches long produced by the LSSU hatchery have been caught in all five of the Great Lakes.

Each autumn, many of the salmon return to the St. Mary’s River to spawn, and LSSU students and staff capture some for eggs that will be used to start the next generation to be released into the river. The university operates a fish cam, which provides live video of activity in the river from spring through fall.

The co-op is participating in Soo Locks Engineer’s Day, hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, June 24. The nearby locks enable ships to move from Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes without traversing the St. Mary’s River. Cloverland will open its plant to visitors for a close-up look at the aquatic operations and its unique hydro facility.

“It’s the largest horizontal shaft hydroelectric plant in the world. It’s a quarter-mile long,” said Dasho. “The plant is an important source of electricity for our consumer-members and the lab is an educational and economic resource for the entire Great Lakes region. It’s a good partnership.”

Tags: Economic Development, Environmental Stewardship, Hydroelectric Power, Salmon