Michigan regulators order family fishing spot filled

A Michigan lawmaker wants to cut a state agency’s funding over disputes with residents.

The new oversight committee fielded many complaints about the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, said Antrim Township Republican Rep. Brian BeGole in a March 22 social media post.

“EGLE needs a lot of change and I have a feeling big budget cuts are coming for them,” BeGole wrote.

The environmental agency is trying to force one Freeland man to fill in a pond on his private property, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported in January. Two months later, his brother Zach Wenzlick shared his story with Michigan lawmakers via the House Oversight Committee on March 18. The state could fine Joshua up to $1.7 million for expanding his pond from 2020-2023.

Joshua hired Schlicht Ponds of Montrose, a licensed contractor, to excavate the pond to about 20 feet in one section. That depth is sufficient to sustain wildlife when the pond freezes over in the winter, ensuring there is enough oxygen.

Joshua stocked the pond with about 700 fish — a mix of bass, bluegill, crappie, and perch. After stocking the pond, ducks, geese, and painted turtles moved into the pond, Zach said.

Courtesy of Zach Wenzlick

But in March 2023, someone submitted an anonymous complaint about the property. State employees visited the property without notice, Zach said.

Zach said Joshua gave the environmental agency a previous ruling that the pond was a non-regulated wetland.

In June 2023, Joshua received a letter of a possible violation. The agency referred the case to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for enforcement, Zach said.

In January 2024, Joshua received an order demanding that he restore most of the one-acre pond to 18 inches or less of water, Zach told lawmakers.

That would kill all fish in the pond when it freezes during winter.

The environmental agency says it lawfully investigated an alleged violation of Section 30314 of the Wetland Protection Act, as well as Part 301 Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The agency is allowed, officials said, to enter premises suspected of causing an “imminent threat to the public health or environment” or if it has reasonable cause that the wetland “is a water of the United States as that term is used in ... the federal water pollution control act.”

The family flipped vacant mining land into a pond where they fish and enjoy nature, Zach said.

“This is where we spend every 4th of July celebrating,” Zach said. “Where I wake up on Saturday mornings with my son and we go fishing with my brother.”

“All my brother has done is take previous mining wasteland and turn it into a thriving ecosystem,” Zach said.

The environmental agency hasn’t responded to a request for comment. Previously, it denied any wrongdoing.

The family has been caught in a nightmare for over a year and treated like criminals over a pond, Republican Rep. Matthew Bierlein of Vassar, said in a March 18 social media post. 

“My office has stood with Zach and his family since last year as they face a situation no Michigander should ever have to endure,” Bierlein said. “This isn’t just about a pond. It’s about property rights, government accountability, and ensuring that no hardworking family is forced to defend themselves against this kind of overreach.”