“Huron Pines’ work in the Thunder Bay watershed has connected 120 miles of upstream habitat in Montmorency County. Hossler Road is number seven of eight total projects.” - Josh Leisen, Senior Project Manager

For fish and wildlife, a river is only as good as what they can reach. For years, the bridge at Hossler Road was standing in the way.

The Thunder Bay River runs through some of Northern Michigan's best trout country, but three old culverts tucked beneath Hossler Road were creating a problem. Culverts are essentially large pipes that carry water under a road, and these ones were too small for the amount of water flowing through them. That forced the river to speed up as it passed through, making it nearly impossible for fish to swim upstream. On top of that, the road between the culverts had begun to deteriorate, and water and soil were washing directly into the river.

In fall 2025, Huron Pines and partners got to work. The old culverts were removed and a brand new timber bridge was built in their place, wide enough to match the river's natural width and designed to handle the river's natural rise and fall with the seasons. Erosion controls were put in place throughout construction to keep sediment out of the water.

The result? Twenty miles of river habitat that was previously cut off is now open and accessible to trout and other wildlife. Final touches including paving and cleanup are expected to be completed by midsummer 2026.

This project is part of Huron Pines' larger Thunder Bridges initiative, which began in 2018 with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What started as six bridge improvement projects has grown to eight. The final bridge, located at Lutz Road, is scheduled for replacement in late summer or fall of 2026 — and when that work is done, it will mark the 140th road crossing Huron Pines has improved in the last 20 years. All together, that work has reconnected more than 700 miles of rivers and streams for trout and aquatic wildlife across Northeast Michigan.

Key partners that Huron Pines worked with to make this work possible include Huron Engineering and Surveying, MacArthur Construction, and the Montmorency County Road Commission.

Funding for all eight Thunder Bridge projects was provided by the Walters Family Foundation, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the US Environmental Protection Agency, Grand Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa Indians,  Great Lakes Fisheries Trust and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.