Man Convicted for Diverting National Park River Learns His Fate

The National Park Service administers all kinds of lands across the United States, including three national lakeshores along the Great Lakes. Like national parks, these areas are sensitive to environmental changes, and one man who interfered with the layout of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan is facing consequences for his actions. 

It all dates back to August 2022 when a ranger witnessed Andrew Howard digging along the lakeshore with a shovel. That created a new channel into Lake Michigan that grew about 200 feet wide in just a few days. He reportedly did it so boats can have easier time getting to the lake. He was charged with misdemeanor tampering and vandalism and was found guilty in February of this year. 

"Mr. Howard had a policy dispute with the National Park Service over whether to dredge the Platte River," U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a statement. “Reasonable people can disagree on the best course of action, but Congress gave NPS the power to decide. While Mr. Howard had the right to disagree and advocate for his position, he did not have the right to take the law into his own hands and force his favored result."

Howard's defense argued in a court filing that the river had already been diverted by other people and that he just moved some sand and rocks around. "Anything that Mr. Howard did, characterized as 'enhancing' the newly created flow of the river, was in reality insignificant," the documents said, per The Associated Press.

Howard was placed on five years of probation for his actions and ordered to pay court fees and $22,472 in restitution to the National Park Service and U.S. Coast Guard. He's also been banned from all National Park Service lands for the duration of his sentence. 

"Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was created in 1970 to preserve and protect this amazing place," NPS superintendent Scott Tucker said. "The National Park Service appreciates the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in enforcing the laws that help protect this place for future generations."