State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, who represents Northeast Michigan, said last week that state House Republicans had proposed an amendment to the state budget that would have given $1.5 million to dredge Alcona County’s Black River and build a jetty at the mouth of the river.

According to Cavitt, Democrats on the state House Appropriations Committee rejected the amendment.

The money does not appear in the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy budget reported out of the committee.

We call on lawmakers to fund that work.

The Black River is an important route into Lake Huron for boaters and anglers, and the dredging and jetty are badly needed to make that route passable.

A lot of people in the Black River area have been working hard to get that work done, and the state money would go a long way to making it happen.

There’s still time for lawmakers to put that $1.5 million back into the budget, and we urge them to do so.