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June 01, 2026
Aging dam to be replaced with a channel-spanning bottomless box culvert
Work to remove Roberts Lake Dam in Cheboygan County and replace it with a channel-spanning culvert will begin in August. The new culvert will allow water and debris to pass beneath the road, reconnect aquatic habitat and protect road infrastructure and downstream habitat, as well as prevent a future dam failure event.
The construction work is expected to take approximately four weeks and will include incremental lowering of the lake level, full dam removal, and installation of a new, 16-foot-span bottomless box culvert that meets modern standards.
Roberts Lake Road will be closed during construction but will reopen to the public upon project completion.
While the water level will be lowered at Roberts Lake due to the dam removal, no change to water level at nearby Cochran Lake is expected. The water level in Roberts Lake is expected to return to its historical natural state with a maximum depth of approximately 5 feet. The lake, as it existed prior to 1948, will remain on the landscape and retain the name Roberts Lake following dam removal.
The dam, located at the Roberts Lake Road crossing of Twin Lakes Creek in Cheboygan County, is owned by the State of Michigan and maintained by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division. Once the dam has been removed, the new culvert under Roberts Lake Road will be owned and maintained by the Cheboygan County Road Commission. The surrounding parcels will continue to be managed as public land by the DNR.
Several organizations have come together to implement this project, including the DNR, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, Cheboygan County Road Commission, Huron Pines, J.E. Tiffany & Sons LLC (engineering) and Team Elmers (construction).
Funding for the project was provided by a grant from America’s Ecosystem Restoration Initiative to support 27 stream barrier projects throughout Michigan. The approximate project cost is $335,000, which is fully covered by grant funds and significantly lower than the cost of rebuilding the dam to current safety and environmental standards that would be borne by the DNR. This project also provides the DNR long-term cost savings through elimination of ongoing inspection and maintenance expenses associated with dam ownership.
Roberts Lake Dam was constructed by the DNR in 1948 to enhance fishing opportunities. Although the dam raised the water level approximately 2 to 3 feet, the lake never produced a high-quality recreational fishery and experienced multiple winter fish kills attributed to shallow water and low dissolved oxygen.
Now 78 years old, it is well outside the 50-year life expectancy for dams of this type (per the American Society of Civil Engineers). Roberts Lake Dam was rated in poor condition by EGLE Dam Safety Unit inspection reports in 2020 and 2025 and experienced recurring accumulation of debris and silt at the dam inlet, which threatens the integrity of the road over the dam.
This dam is being removed as part of the DNR’s overall strategy for managing its dam assets; this includes removing dams that are not critical to its mission and ensuring that 90% of retained dams are rated in “fair” or “better” condition within the next five years.
The decision to remove a dam is difficult, with several important factors to weigh, including public safety, natural resources and recreational benefits and wise stewardship of limited funding. With 201 dams in the DNR inventory, engineers estimate that approximately $74 million will be required over the next five years to address dams that need maintenance, repair and removal. The DNR is working to make the best use of all internal and external funds to accomplish responsible dam management.
Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.
Contact: Doug Schultz (DNR), 989-590-9073 or Tim Cwalinski (DNR), 989-217-7042
With dry weather conditions persisting across the state, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is urging residents and visitors to use extreme caution with any outdoor activity that could spark a wildfire in the northern Lower Peninsula and throughout the Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced that seven communities throughout the state will share $4.035 million in Waterways Grant-in-Aid Program funding to improve public access to recreational boating. This year, projects in Benzie, Emmet, Mackinac, Marquette, Ottawa and Sanilac counties were approved for projects that include marina dredging, an engineering study and various site improvements. With each community’s matching funds, these projects represent a collective investment of more than $6.5 million.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will soon offer a public shooting opportunity in Roscommon County, with construction just underway on a new shooting range. Using federal Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration funds, the DNR is building the range on Roscommon State Forest lands located at 10779 West Branch Road in St. Helen. See a map of the location. Construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.
The 2025-26 snowmobile season proved to be one of the best in recent years, because of consistent snowfall, riders out enjoying the trails around the state and an ongoing, successful Michigan Department of Natural Resources statewide safety campaign – Ride Right – that is steadily helping shift snowmobilers’ mindsets when it comes to safely navigating Michigan’s more than 6,300 miles of snowmobile trails.
Have fun, stay safe and take care of the outdoors this Memorial Day holiday weekend!
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has announced significant traffic circulation improvements and the upcoming completion of a dedicated two-way cycle track at Belle Isle Park. Visitors will see the implementation of some of the recommendations from the 2025 Belle Isle Park multimodal mobility plan, designed to ease traffic congestion, enhance accessibility and increase public safety for all park users.
A new 1,100-foot, fully accessible boardwalk, which replaces an aging staircase, has opened at Tahquamenon Falls State Upper Falls. The new feature will offer all visitors close-up, panoramic views of the Tahquamenon River as it rushes over the edge and drops about 50 feet.
If you’re heading to northern Michigan to look for morels, hit your favorite fishing spot or get in a little time on the trails, be aware that fire danger is high. The MesoWest Great Lakes Fire & Fuels map shows the daily fire danger rating as high or very high for much of the state, so be careful with campfires, off-road vehicles, trailer chains and any power equipment that gets hot during use.
Following extensive public input, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission on Wednesday approved several deer regulation changes for the 2026 and 2027 hunting seasons. The seven-member citizen commission, appointed by the governor, acted on and amended recommendations developed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to support healthy deer populations while balancing hunter opportunity and public feedback.
