Andrew Howard convicted for diverting Platte River in Michigan

EMPIRE, Mich. — A person accused of diverting a nationwide park river to ease boat entry to Lake Michigan has been convicted of two misdemeanors.

Andrew Howard of Frankfort was discovered responsible of tampering and vandalism Wednesday throughout a short trial in entrance of U.S. Justice of the Peace Decide Ray Kent.

In August 2022, a Nationwide Park Service ranger witnessed Howard digging with a shovel so the Platte River within the Sleeping Bear Dunes Nationwide Lakeshore could be diverted into one of many Nice Lakes, prosecutors mentioned in a court docket submitting.

“Inside days, the pure energy of the water and the constructed dam brought on the river to divert and created a brand new channel to Lake Michigan that grew to roughly 200 ft large,” Assistant U.S. Legal professional Lauren Biksacky mentioned.

“It stayed roughly that large for the summer season and fall season,” she added. “There was then an inflow within the variety of fishermen that got here to Platte River boat launch to benefit from the favorable situations of entry created by the brand new channel.”