Boardman River Weir

The Boardman River weir is an egg-take and salmon harvest facility located at 118 Hall Street, Traverse City MI 49684. Call 231-922-6056 for information on harvest dates and times.

James P. Price Trap & Transfer Harvest Facility

The Traverse City Light & Power Department (TCL&P), City of Traverse City, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) became partners in the management of the Boardman River’s fisheries when an agreement was signed in 1984. By the next year, the DNR had begun annual stocking of Chinook salmon in the Boardman River to enhance the Bay fishery. TCL&P then constructed a fish ladder at the Union Street Dam and built the trap/ transfer harvest facility between the Union Street Dam and the mouth of the Boardman River. Under this agreement the trap/transfer harvest facility, or weir, will be operated by the DNR and their contractors. The cost to build both facilities was approximately $1 million dollars.

As outlined in the fisheries management plan for Grand Traverse Bay and the Boardman River, the DNR will continue to stock brown trout, steelhead, Chinook salmon, and coho salmon as needed. Lake trout, brown trout, steelhead, and Atlantic salmon will be passed upstream of the weir so that they can swim into Kids Creek, or upstream to FishPass (former site of Union Street Dam).

Because large numbers of returning salmon would lead to major problems in the short section of river between the bay and the dam at FishPass, the salmon will be harvested at the weir during September and October. The harvested salmon are sorted and iced at the weir, then transported for immediate processing. At the processing site the heads and entrails are removed, and the fish are cleaned and flash frozen. None of the useable portions of the fish are wasted—the fish is processed into multiple marketable products.

The salmon are stored until they are sold to brokers, re-processors, or wholesalers. Depending on the quality of each individual fish, the final product that the fish are used for can be anything from salmon fillets, smoked salmon, or pet food product. The eggs are processed for caviar or bait. These products are sold here in the United States as well as worldwide.

Union Street Dam/FishPass

The fish ladder at Union Street Dam was constructed in 1987. The purpose of the fish ladder was to extend the length of available habitat for anadromous trout and salmon upstream to Sabin Dam, a section of river which provided additional natural reproduction and increased angling opportunities. The fish ladder was built in a manner which allowed jumping fish, like salmon and steelhead, to get upstream, but non-jumping species (like smallmouth bass and walleye) could not, making it inefficient at connecting all species to desired habitats. Sabin Dam was removed in 2018, and the fish ladder and Union Street Dam were decommissioned and replaced with FishPass in 2025, a complete barrier to all fish that will have the ability to sort and selectively pass desirable fishes while blocking harmful invasive species such as sea lamprey. 

FishPass is the capstone of an over 20-year restoration project on the Boardman River aimed at re-connecting the river with Lake Michigan.