Fisherman Urges Ecosystem Care
Published: Friday, December 12, 2025
A lifetime resident of Buchanan is concerned by what he perceives is a lack of appreciation for McCoy's Creek, one of only three designated trout streams in Michigan. The creek originates in northern Indiana and runs north through Buchanan before emptying into the St. Joseph River.
The resident, Scott King, enjoys fishing. Decades ago, he was canoeing down the stream when he noticed a lot of debris—refrigerators, washing machines, tires, auto parts and miscellaneous items—blocking his way. He organized a cleanup effort that removed over 200 tons of trash.
But as recently as 2024, raw sewage was allowed to flow into the creek, fouling its waters and preventing fishing activity.
Earlier this year, construction in downtown caused sediment to run into the creek. The city of Buchanan, which hired a contractor to handle the construction work, was ordered by the Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to fix the problem.
King says even a small amount of sediment can interfere with the trout's natural activity.
"If you get a fourth of an inch of dirt over that trout bed, they won't use it," he said. "They'll not lay their eggs."
Back in the 1990s, King co-founded the Friends of McCoy's Creek. That's when he and three busloads of school children and their teachers helped clean up the waterway. He has also coordinated cleanup cam-paigns in the St. Joseph River.
His efforts to clean up and preserve the creek won him recognition from envi-ronmental groups. He received the Keep Michigan Beautiful award and the Friend of the St. Joseph River Stewardship Award.
In the years since, he served as an elected official – mayor pro tem and city commission-er—and as a business owner.
Now retired, King continues to be an advocate for McCoy's Creek. He understands why the creek is important.
"When you work all day, you like to have nice facilities for recreation," he said.
In the summer of 2024, a broken line at the city's wastewater treatment plant resulted in a discharge of over 7 million gallons of raw sewage into the creek. In addition to the E. coli threat, there was a pungent smell that kept people from enjoying recreational activities.
The leak began on June 25 and contin-ued for two weeks. When city officials learned about the broken sewer line, they acted immediately to fix the prob-lem and mitigate the impact on McCoy's Creek.
Nevertheless, King said the community lost a year of fishing in one of the best trout streams in Southwest Michigan.
Another incident occurred earlier this year. In August, EGLE received a complaint that sediment from a construction project was flowing directly into the creek. Ann Gilchrist, from EGLE's Water Resources Division in Kalamazoo, visited the site and found multiple violations, one of which involved the discharge of sediment-laden stormwater into the creek.
Another violation involved the absence of catch basin inserts. Those inserts are designed to filter out the sediment while allowing the clean water to flow into the catch basin.
Gilchrist ordered the city to immediately stop the flow of water into the creek and to place inserts in all catch basins. In the weeks that followed that incident, the city has provided weekly updates, with photographs, to demonstrate that it is following state laws. Gilchrist said the city has cooperated fully.
The state government's water quality specialist said there has been no long-term damage to McCoy's Creek, and it remains a viable waterway for trout and other fish species.
On the other hand, King said he is disap-pointed that these mistakes are compromising natural resources and "opportunities for families to have a de-cent, safe place to go for off-times."
"I love to fish," King said. "I love the environ-ment. We should be able to have jobs. We should be able to have a clean environment. Life is a balance. You can't abuse one side of the equation and think you're going to end up with a balanced equa-tion."
King pointed out that McCoy's Creek, surrounded by a walking path, isn't just a water-way; it's an ecosystem. Its banks are lined with trees that provide shade. This keeps the water temperature cool during the summer months, which encourages the fish to spawn there.
In a letter to the Exchange, King wrote that McCoy's Creek Trail is no longer a nature area.
"New actions taken around the creek are worse than earlier actions," he wrote, referring to "deforestation" efforts that have harmed the habitat.
In an interview two weeks ago, King stated, "The shade is what makes this stream, because it's cool all year-round. It doesn't heat up in the summer. If it heats up, the trout don't come in and don't reproduce."
The former elected official doesn't allege there was any malicious intent on the part of city officials to harm the creek. Rather, he believes that city officials simply haven't understood the consequences of their decisions.
Tony McGhee, city manager, said the city of Buchanan hasn't cut down any trees along McCoy's Creek during the last 10 months that spans his tenure in office. He added that Buchanan has a policy to not cut trees unless they are destroying infrastructure or falling down on their own.
"I'm not sure where that concern comes from," McGhee said, referring to King's comments. "It may have been a historical issue."
Earlier this week, the city commission adopted an urban forestry plan for the city.
"We take the management of our urban canopy very serious-ly," McGhee said. "There may have been some private property owners who have cut down trees along the creek, but we can't control that."
When asked for clarification, King stated that he was refer-ring to tree and brush cutting that happened prior to McGhee coming to work in Buchanan. King said that he is pleased with McGhee's work for the city.
King said the Friends of McCoy's Creek began with the motto of doing no harm to nature. However, he said the area's ecosystem is being threatened.
"Most of my arguments are all common sense," King said. "Everybody should be able to say, yes, we've got a problem here. But the problem is you have to understand details. You have to understand if you cut the trees and you let that open up, you're going to heat up the creek. If you have nothing to stop the runoff, you're going to flush the dirt down and cover the trout beds."
He added, "This an ecosystem. This is not a back-yard pond or a backyard garden."
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