Michael Grosvenor has watched the entrance to the Leland Harbor fill with sand, and his fears are being shared by others who worry that boats’ access to the marina may be severely limited.

For decades, Grosvenor’s family has relied on the Leland Harbor to ferry people and supplies to the Manitou islands. This year, however, a lack of federal funding for dredging the harbor entrance may result in larger boats not being able to access Leland.

“One good storm, or a good blow from the southwest, and no one will be able to get in or out of the harbor,” Grosvenor said.

Harbormaster Russell Dzuba said Tuesday the harbor entrance is usually dredged to a uniform depth of about 10 feet.

“The harbor entrance is usually 140 feet wide. After the big three-day storm we had a couple weeks ago, it’s down to about 30 feet wide,” he said. The depth through the 30-foot wide channel is six to seven feet.

Along the south breakwall, a shoal has limited water depth to three feet. Along the outer break wall at the harbor entrance, the depth is only about five feet.

“I have a trip out to the islands scheduled for Friday. We have two boats, the Mishe Mokwa, which has 5 1/2-foot draft, and a smaller boat which has a more shallow draft.

What the weather is like will determine which boat I use,” Grosvenor said.

The Mishe Mokwa has just two to three feet on either side of the boat to maneuver, in the harbor entrance, Grosvenor said.

“With a 5 1/2-foot draft, and the harbor entrance being about six to seven feet deep, if we have waves of two to three feet, that is trouble,” he said.

Dzuba contacted the Coast Guard, which will place buoys along the shoal areas to warn boaters to stay out of the shallow areas.

“But, the buoys aren’t lighted and if a boater is coming in after dark and doesn’t see the markers, we could have someone get stuck on a shoal. If that happens, we don’t have any means for pulling them off, and the harbor is pretty much closed,” he said.

Dredging the harbor mouth this year would cost from $40,000 to $70,000. Dzuba talked with Army Corps of Engineers officials and state waterways personnel but received little satisfaction.

“The Army Corps would like to help, but they have no money available and the state people don’t want to get in the middle of a federal issue,” he said.

Typically each year, Dzuba and the Leland Township Harbor Commission work with federal legislators for funding. Dzuba said the newly installed Congress, however, stripped the budget of some appropriation bills.

“They eliminated funding for special projects, and our harbor dredging is considered a special project,” Dzuba said.

Sage Eastman, director of communications for U.S. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Midland), whose Fourth District includes Leelanau County, said Camp met with Dzuba and helped place money in the 2006 federal budget for the dredging project.

“But, when the Dems took over the majority, they took out all the appropriations beyond the basic funding for each department,” Eastman said. Camp and his staff are trying to find funds for the Leland Harbor dredging, but Eastman was not optimistic.

“The congressman never says never, but it does not look good for this year,” he said.

Eastman added that Camp placed $100,000 for dredging the harbor in the proposed 2008 Energy and Water Budget, which has the support of the Army Corps of Engineers.
Dzuba contacted a dredging firm in Holland, which said it was willing to come to Leland and do the work with a $70,000 pricetag.

“The guy who owns the company suggested I contact other small harbors along the coast and see if they were interested in getting some dredge work done. I called them, they could all use some work, but they don’t have any money available to do so,” Dzuba said.

One option left is for the township to pay for the dredging with funds generated by harbor revenues. Dzuba said he is reluctant take the step because once the township starts paying for all or part of the dredging of a federal harbor of refuge, which the Leland Harbor is considered, federal officials will want the township to continue paying for at least part of future costs.

“Once we start paying, we will be expected to do so,” he said.

However, the overriding concern of Dzuba involves safety.

“We are a harbor of refuge. Boaters need to know that right now this condition exists so we don’t have any accidents,” Dzuba said.