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Phone: 989-356-5102
Fax: 989-356-4651
Address:
145 Water St, Room 204
Alpena, MI 49707
New! Partners for Fish and Wildlife Projects
A representation of completed Partners for Fish and Wildlife funded projects is listed below. Please note, not all projects are shown below.
Jordan River (Severence Creek)/Mt. Bliss Road Crossing Restoration Project
Black River (McMasters Creek)/Clute Road Restoration Project
Black River/Johnson's Crossing Road Crossing Restoration Project
Thunder Bay River/Eichorn Bridge Crossing Restoration Project
Representative Partners for Fish and Wildlife ProjectsAu Sable River Erosion Site Restoration Project (2007)
Two stream bank erosion sites on the Au Sable River were repaired on the private properties of two landowners in Oscoda and Crawford Counties, Michigan during the summer of 2007. The repair of these sites was coordinated with many partners, and is part of a larger effort to curb non-point source pollution in the Au Sable River watershed. The Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Biologist, Heather Rawlings, was part of a watershed team that identified problem sites, prioritized work actions, secured necessary funding and implemented the restoration projects.
The first site, located on the property of Mercy Hospital in Grayling was repaired with a combination of rock rip-rap, biologs, tree revetments and multiple plantings of shrubs and native grasses. This site, 400 feet in length, was repaired with labor from the Au Sable Watershed work crew and volunteers from the Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited. The site was repaired on the weekend of June 2.
The second site was a segment of stream bank, 1200 feet long and 50 feet high, located just downstream of the Mio Dam in Mio. This site required additional coordination since half of it is located on private land and half is on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land. PFW funds were used on private land and supported by additional partner funding on the federal land. This large site was repaired in stages. In the fall of 2006 large woody debris (whole trees) were placed at the toe of the site by helicopter. During the week of August 27, 2007, a combination of biologs, rock rip-rap and biolog terraces were installed by the Au Sable River work crew, the Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited and personnel from Huron Pines RC&D, the USFS, and the Service. Vegetation was planted to stabilize eroded sections of the site on September 12, 2007. This site will be monitored for many years to come to ensure its continued healing.
This project will benefit interjurisdictional fish, primarily the brook trout. By controlling erosion and sediment loading into the stream, the number one pollutant of northern Michigan streams, we are helping to increase habitat quality and improve spawning opportunities for native fish. While the sites are not located in the Northern Michigan Stream focus area for the PFW Program, they are within an area identified in a locally driven watershed conservation plan through a 319 grant, and on a nationally renowned trout stream. In addition to improving the habitat value, restoration projects on the Au Sable help improve the recreational value of the stream, which is critical to the local economy.
Pine River Erosion Site Restoration Project (2007)
The Pine River/Van Etten Lake Watershed drains approximately 187,000 acres or 292 square miles of land within Alcona and Iosco Counties, Michigan. Approximately 33 percent of the land in the watershed is part of the Huron-Manistee National Forest. The West and South Branches of the watershed are quality coldwater fisheries habitat for brook, brown, and rainbow trout, as are the headwaters of the Main Branch. A Stream Bank Erosion Inventory was completed in September 2002, and included in the "Pine River/Van Etten Lake Watershed Management Plan", Huron Pines Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc, February 2003. This plan identified 36 erosion sites within the watershed, with four sites ranked as severe, 17 ranked as moderate, and 15 ranked as minor.
Two of the stream bank erosion sites listed in the inventory are located on the property of Walt Joslin, on the East Branch of the Pine River. On September 5, 2007 these two sites were repaired with volunteer assistance from the Pine/Van Etten Watershed Restoration Committee, a local chapter of Trout Unlimited, Huron Pines Resource, Conservation & Development and Biologists Rawlings and Ania from the Alpena NFWCO. The stream bank erosion sites were repaired utilizing bioengineering techniques such as biologs, vegetative plantings, geotextile fabric wraps, and tree revetments. The larger site was constructed to create a 3:1 slope by an excavator to assist in the stabilization of the stream bank. These sites serve as demonstration projects within the watershed.
The Alpena NFWCO’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program provided $5,000 toward the cost of repairs, and Huron Pines Resource, Conservation & Development matched Service funding with another $5,000 to complete the project. Funding went toward the purchase of materials and labor and transportation for the work crew.
Repair of these erosion sites benefited the aquatic ecosystems in the East Branch of the Pine River by reducing the sediment load currently found in the waterways. Five hundred feet of riparian habitat were improved, and five miles of in-stream habitat benefited due to repairs at these sites. Both coldwater and coolwater fish species benefit from the riparian and in-stream soil stabilization including such species as brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, yellow perch, and northern pike.
Mud Creek Road Crossing Restoration Project (2007)
Mud Creek is a small tributary that enters the northwest corner of Black Lake, a large inland lake in the Cheboygan River watershed (Cheboygan County, Michigan). One quarter of a mile before the creek enters the lake, Black River Road crosses the creek. The former culvert located at this crossing blocked fish passage and was inadequately sized. On July 9, 2007 this culvert was replaced with a six foot wide squashed culvert. This culvert was buried two feet into the streambed to allow for a false streambed, and the remaining opening can accommodate a 100-year storm event. The new structure allows for fish passage for one mile up Mud Creek, and into the 120 acre Mud Lake. The total cost for the project was $10,543. Funding was provided by the Alpena NFWCO’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program ($2,500), the FishAmerica Foundation ($2,500), and the Cheboygan County Road Commission funded the remaining cost ($5,543), as well as providing their labor and equipment to install the larger culvert.
Maple River/Robinson Road Crossing Restoration Project (2007)
The Maple River is a high-quality, predominantly coldwater stream that flows roughly 23 miles and drains an area of approximately 148,000 acres before flowing into Burt Lake and into the Cheboygan River watershed in Cheboygan, Michigan. The Maple River is one of only four rivers where the federally listed, endangered Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle is located in Michigan. According to the "Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle Draft Recovery Plan", U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, August 2004, excessive erosion and sedimentation at degraded road crossings is a potential threat to the beetles’ habitat.
A total of 25 road-stream crossing sites were identified as contributing excessive sedimentation to the Maple River watershed, as documented in the "Maple River Watershed: Road/Stream Crossing Inventory Report", Conservation Resource Alliance, December 2000. One of these crossings, the westernmost crossing of Robinson Road over the West Branch of the Maple River, was a priority of the local road commission, and presented an opportunity to improve habitat with renovation at the site. The West Branch of the Maple is known to support the best trout fishery and coldest water within the watershed.
The former crossing was a system of five culverts which were critically failing to the extent that they were blocking fish passage. Erosion from the road shoulders and embankment contributed excessive sand to the river. The undersized and failing culverts were causing flooding and consequent warming of upstream waters.
The project involved replacing the existing culverts with a free-span structure which will accommodate the natural flow of the river. In the spring of 2007 soil borings at the site indicated that there was 13 feet of peat under the culverts. Unfortunately this finding eliminated the option of a bridge or bottomless culvert, due to excessive cost of pouring footers so deeply into the ground. The footers would have tripled the estimated cost of the project. After much consideration it was decided in a consensus by the partners to place two large elliptical culverts at the crossing, and bury them approximately two feet into the river substrate. Due to the acidic pH of the river at Robinson Road (the crossing is located in a large bog) both steel culverts were coated with plastic to reduce corrosion and lengthen their life. This plastic coating increased the cost of the culverts by 20%, but doubled the life of the culverts. These culverts allowed for fish passage and were able to accommodate a 100-year storm event. In addition, the embankments were stabilized, and road runoff was managed to eliminate sedimentation at the crossing.
Benefits of the project were: 1) reinstated fish passage, allowing access to approximately 6 miles of the headwaters of the Maple River; 2) reduction of adverse fish habitat impacts from erosion and warming at the crossing, benefiting approximately 12 stream miles of fish habitat downstream to the Lake Kathleen impoundment; and 3) benefits to non-fish species currently suffering the impacts of sand erosion, flooding, and obstructed flow. Restoration of this road crossing site was completed with the expectation that this restoration may provide suitable habitat for the federally Endangered Hungerfords crawling water beetle, which is present in the East Branch of the Maple River.
The project was completed on October 12, 2007. The road was closed for approximately three weeks in order to place the new structures and re-pave the road’s surface. Planning and fundraising for this project began in 2005. The Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) was the lead agency for this project. Additional partners included the Emmet County Road Commission, the Emmet County Revenue Sharing Board, the Baiardi Family Foundation, the Frey Foundation, the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation, USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grant, and CRA’s River Fund. Service funding contributed $35,000 toward this project, $10,000 from the Coastal Program, and $25,000 from the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The total cost for this project was $194,256.
2007 Wetland Restoration Activities (2007)
Dry weather conditions, which were prevalent throughout the United States this summer, allowed wetland restoration projects in northern Michigan to go forward without a hitch. The dry conditions allowed for high compaction rates on the earthen berms which should minimize any future repairs. The Alpena NFWCO Partners for Fish and Wildlife Coordinator (Alpena, Michigan) was able to complete seven wetland projects on four landowner’s properties during the months of August and September. A total of 24 acres of wetlands were restored. Shallow-water wetlands are restored to provide nesting, rearing and refuge habitat for waterfowl. These restorations additionally benefit shorebirds, reptiles, amphibians and many other types of wildlife. Sites are typically located in fallow farm fields, and the earthen berms block farm ditches previously used to drain water off of the property.
Crapo Creek/Lovells Road Crossing Restoration Project (2007) - Factsheet pdf
The Au Sable River is a Federally-designated Natural and Scenic River and, in the upper reaches, a State-designated Blue Ribbon Trout Stream. Crapo Creek is a tributary of the North Branch of the Au Sable River located in SE Otsego County in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The Alpena NFWCO Partners for Fish and Wildlife Coordinator provided Service leadership on a project to replace an ageing concrete bridge at the Lovells Road/Crapo Creek crossing with a single-span bottomless aluminum culvert.
The former crossing was a crumbling concrete bridge with a concrete support beam that bisected the creek. This crossing was a low point on the road so precipitation run-off flowed directly into the creek, carrying with it road contaminants and tons of silt each year. The bridge had a six ton weight restriction, and could only accommodate a single lane of traffic. In the interest of public safety, as well as natural resource concerns, a decision was made to replace the bridge with a wider, single-span structure. Replacement of this bridge opened fish passage to a mile of river upstream, and eliminated sediment loading at the crossing. The project was completed in October 2007.
Black River (McMasters Creek)/Clute Road Crossing Restoration (2003) - Factsheet pdf
Brook trout and other coldwater fish species in McMasters Creek, a tributary of the Black River, now have improved upstream access to an additional 12 river-miles of spawning habitat. Located in Cheboygan County, Michigan, construction was completed at the Clute Road crossing in August 2003. Two culverts were removed and replaced with a timber bridge.
The culverts were not large enough to pass water during precipitation events. Water collected on the upstream side of the culverts, warmed the water, and eroded the riverbanks. Due to lack of proper ditches and sediment basins, storm water ran down the road and directly into the river carrying with it sediments and other forms of habitat-altering contamination. Construction of the bridge and the hardening of the road surface alleviated water quality issues at the crossing. Ditches and sediment basins were constructed on both sides of the crossing. Timber for the bridge was harvested from the Pigeon Country State Forest (in close proximity to the site), and was milled and treated locally. The timber bridge is large enough to accommodate a 100-year flood event.
Manistee River/Sharon Road Crossing Restoration Project (2001) - Factsheet pdf
Brook trout and rainbow trout on the north branch of the Manistee River now have upstream access to an additional 12 river-miles of habitat, much of it high quality spawning habitat. Located in Kalkaska County, Michigan, the Sharon Road/Manistee River road/stream crossing project began construction on November 9, 2001. A single culvert was removed and replaced with a timber bridge.
The culvert was not large enough to pass water during precipitation events. Water collected on the upstream side of the culvert, warmed the water, and the eddying water severely eroded the riverbanks. Due to lack of proper ditches and sediment basins, storm water ran down the road and directly into the river carrying with it sediments and other road contaminates. Construction of the timber bridge and hardening of the road surface (blacktop) alleviated water quality issues at the crossing. The timber bridge is large enough to accommodate a 50-year flood event. Immediately following culvert removal brook trout were observed passing upstream and spawning above and below the crossing was observed.
Last updated:
July 8, 2008
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