Meet a crew of volunteers cleaning up Lake St. Clair, one log at a time

A dedicated team of volunteers has taken on the task of cleaning floating debris out of Lake St. Clair -- sparing boaters from costly damage and potential injury.

The Lake St. Clair Hazard Mitigation Team operates out of Freedom Boat Club in Harrison Township, Michigan.

Over the past year, owner Steven Dobreff said they’ve pulled more than 300 logs from the lake.

“We love this lake,” Dobreff said.

“My entire staff and team are very, very dedicated to keeping the lakes safe.”

Dobreff and his crew venture onto the lake every few days in search of stray stumps.

While they find large limbs and logs every trip, there are times they reel in something much larger.

Freedom Boat Club owner, Steven Dobreff, left, poses alongside Travis Roy with a log. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

“We had three trees out in front of the spillway that were probably close to 10,000 pounds,” Dobreff said.

“We also had two trees off Harsens Island that were a very similar size.”

He explained that the work is almost entirely volunteer-based, with minimal support from the state.

They go out on their own time, using their own equipment and boat—which, according to Dobreff, consumes “about $500 in gas every two weeks.”

“But we’re happy to do it,” he said. “We have a lot of fun with it.”

Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor

For Dobreff, the mission is personal.

Like many seasoned boaters, he has his own story of a close call with a piece of driftwood—except his wasn’t just a close call.

“I was breaking in a brand new boat and got a little distracted while cutting through a channel,” he recounted.

“It's the sound every boater hates to hear. Every muscle in your body cringes.”

The culprit was a notorious log, infamous among local boaters.

Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor

Dobreff decided he was going to be the one to end its reign of terror.

“The tree itself was about 40 feet long, with a trunk six or seven feet wide,” he said.

“It looked like the Loch Ness Monster when we started pulling it out.”

Not long after, Dobreff officially launched the Lake St. Clair Hazard Mitigation Team, sharing their adventures and conquests on social media.

Source: Lake St. Clair Hazard Mitigation

The marina’s social media director, Travis Roy, said they have amassed more than 20,000 followers on Facebook alone.

“The response we’re getting from the community, it’s all love,” Roy said.

He added that they’ve become local celebrities on the lake.

“I can’t go anywhere without someone saying, ‘you’re those log guys making sure the lake and the people on it are well taken care of,’” Roy said.

Source: Lake St. Clair Hazard Mitigation

Their social media presence has even sparked a movement, with other boaters sharing images of debris they’ve pulled out of Lake St. Clair.

“We’ve kind of created this movement where other boaters are posting pictures of themselves pulling logs and having fun,” Dobreff said.

For Dobreff, each piece of debris fished out feels like a great catch—especially when it’s done alongside his team to ensure smooth sailing for all.

“It’s like winning a football game when you snag one of those monster trees that others have tried to move,” he said.

“It really is a lot of excitement.”