Exploring sacred Crystal River

By Julie Zapoli

Sun contributor

The first time Michael Brennan stepped into the river in January 2022 it was 10 degrees and snowing, but he’d made a promise to himself at the first of the year to visit the Crystal River at least once a month.

“I’ve been coming to the Leelanau Peninsula for 30 years. This is my spiritual home, but that year I made a commitment to the river. I wanted to learn more about it.”

River Sacred—Uncovering the Crystal is the self-published booklet that was created from Michael’s year in the Crystal River. It’s part photography, part poetry, part scrapbook, but it reads more like a Sundance short documentary.

“I had no idea where this journey would take me,” Michael said. “I just followed my curiosity. The first time I stood in the river that cold morning all I could think was: What is your name? Where does this water come from? Where does it go? Who lives here?”

The project began while talking with his daughter, Meg, about doing something to strengthen his photography skills. She suggested he spend time photographing something he loved from childhood. He’d spent most of the summers of his youth exploring nature and the Rouge River  near his home in Metro Detroit. Those experiences enhanced his love of natural beauty. “So the idea to spend time learning and photographing the Crystal River began with what I didn’t know about it,” Michael said. “I had no idea what would come of standing in the water and where it would end up taking me.”

The Crystal River begins in Glen Lake, passes through Fisher Lake, bends and pauses for a moment to feed Tucker Lake, then winds and crosses Dunn’s Farm Road and M-22 so many times it looks like the loops of a child learning to write cursive. It parallels the Old Homestead Road where it finally ends in Lake Michigan, 6.3 miles later, dumping almost 30 million gallons of water a day.

“The Great Lakes Watershed is one of the most important ecosystems on the planet,” said Michael. “The Lakes represent 20% of the freshwater on planet Earth. The quality of the Crystal River’s water is a direct influence on 20% of the freshwater in the world. How we care for the river is how we care for each other.”

Wanting to learn more about the river, Michael contacted Brett Fessel, the Crystal River Ecologist for the Grand Traverse Ottawa Chippewa Tribe, who encouraged him to swim it. “He said to fully understand the river you need to get in it. There are contours along the bottom, it’s faster in some places, there is gravel and then there’s sand. At the dam there are more stones because the water speed washes away the sand. And then there’s the question…who lives here?”

The Crystal River abounds with wildlife. It is home to 31 species of fish, including bass, chubs, sunfish, and even a lake run salmon species that returns each year to lay and fertilize eggs in the same place each was spawned. There are crayfish, spiders, and dragonflies, frogs, beavers, turtles, ducks, herons, and swans that live on the Crystal River, and there is numerous wildlife that depend on this river like bears, coyotes, muskrats, and deer. Birds like the cedar waxwing, red-winged blackbirds, eagles, as well as a host of native plants including Purple-fringed orchid, ferns, red cardinal flowers, and water lilies, all live in delicate harmony with the river and their surroundings.

The intent of Michaels booklet, River Sacred—Uncovering the Crystal, is to bring awareness to this fragile ecosystem and appreciate it. “This zine represents what I can offer. We take from the river without even thinking of it,” said Michael. “We take water. We take fish. We take pictures and recreation. A river is a complicated thing.” Or as Brett Fessel said, “I think of the river like a relative. Reciprocal care is given. If I had a relative sick I would help that relative. I feel the same way about the river.”

There is a lot of connection out of something quite so fragile. “Really good work is being done every day by the organizations listed in the back of the book, and there are so many supportive people I’ve met on this project, even people I’ve met while walking around Glen Arbor in waders in the middle of winter who want to help. Each of us has an individual responsibility to learn more. We can volunteer and help protect, and we can contribute and appreciate.”

As individuals, there are many things we can do. Listed in the back of River Sacred are some of the organizations, partnerships, and individuals dedicated to helping steward the Crystal River, and the book encourages reaching out to them to explore how each one interacts with its conservation.

“I don’t want this book to be about me,” said Michael. “The river has been a far bigger giver to me than I could ever give back, but this is one thing I could do. This book is my way of sharing my observations and what I’ve learned over the past year. This was something I could offer.” Or as Brett Fessel said, “The next time you go to the Crystal River ask what you can offer. At the very least we ought to greet the river and say ‘Hi’ when we arrive.”

The River Sacred—Uncovering the Crystal, by Michael Brennan is a limited release of 200 hand-bound booklets containing Michael’s black and white photos, poems, and what he discovered on his year-long journey on the Crystal River. It can be found at The Inn and Trail Gourmet in Glen Arbor and at Grocer’s Daughter in Empire. There is no charge, but a donation to one of the organizations named in the booklet is encouraged.