The Watersheds of Northeast Michigan What is a Watershed? Did you know that everywhere you are, you’re within a watershed? A watershed is an area of land that contains a common set of streams, rivers and lakes that all drain into a larger waterbody. Watershed boundaries follow natural features of the landscape, such as a ridgeline or a height-of-land (see diagram at right). Watersheds include both the water features within the area, as well as the land surrounding those water bodies. As a result of the connected nature of a watershed, all activities on the land and water can affect the condition of the larger watershed. A watershed can be divided into progressively smaller watersheds, which are often referred to as subswatersheds. For example, the Klacking Creek Watershed is one of many subwatersheds that can be identified within the larger Rifle River Watershed. Likewise, the Rifle River Watershed itself is part of the larger Lake Huron Watershed. Watershed diagram: www.upperdesplainsriver.org Huron Pines is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and an equal opportunity provider. Our dynamic staff of ecologists, geographers, biologists and environmental educators think big and act quickly to ensure that Northeast Michigan’s watersheds and wild places will stay healthy and resilient for future generations. Located right in the center of the Great Lakes system, we have the unique privilege and responsibility to protect our treasured lands teeming with wildlife, and to sustain the world’s most important source of fresh water. Learn more at www.huronpines.org. N A G I MACKINAW NORTHEAST MICHIGAN H CITY C I M WATERSHEDS E Cheboygan K River A CHEBOYGAN L AREA SCHOOLS CHEBOYGAN L A K CHEBOYGAN Black River Mullett E Lake 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Ocqueoc Lake H Black Burt ROGERS Lake O ROGERS CITY Lake cqu U eo AREA SCHOOLS CITY c R Little Ocqueoc River Pigeon River i v e r Trout River Calcite Quarry (Rogers City) R INLAND LAKES INDIAN ONAWAY Presque Isle Lighthouse New AREA SCHOOLS RIVER ONAWAY Thompson’s Harbor Presque Isle Lighthouse Old O AREA SCHOOLS OCQUEOC State Park Lake Esau CHEBOYGAN N Grand Lake PRESQUE ISLE Sturgeon River COUNTY WOLVERINE r ive R ck Long Lake la B r PRESQUE ISLE e er p Rockport State Recreation Area iv p COUNTY R U n o e g E r a u s t t B S LEGEND r a River h y n a c r B c e n d Watershed Boundary a h un Lake r Th t B B Branch es la th Winyah County W ck or L R Rush i N HILLMAN o Lake v w e City r Lake e Besser ELEMENTARY iver r y R r Ba S Participating School hunde GAYLORD SCHOOL T MONTMORENCY B r Cultural and Natural Monument HIGH SCHOOL T COUNTY h ALPENA u n Major River d e Devils r HILLMAN ATLANTA B See City of Alepna THUNDER BAY Watershed Name — typically designated ALPENA a Lake y COMMUNITY ATLANTA R detail, below by the river into which it drains. i v COUNTY e r Thunder Bay National GAYLORD SCHOOLS Fletcher GREATER Indicates the name for a watershed that Marine Sanctuary includes recognized subwatersheds. Pond Devils River Coastal Watersheds eek Cr Along the coast, in-between the major McCormick olf river watersheds, are areas of land with Lake W SANBORN OTSEGO r e many small streams that drain directly iv SCHOOL OSSINEKE COUNTY R R into a Great Lake. These coastal streams LEWISTON y s a l B i and their small watersheds are grouped r THUNDER BAY v e e d D Negwegon State Park together and referred to as lake drainages. n r u B h S T Coastal watershed, drains to Lake Huron N r o B r t h S Hubbard r B e Watershed Boundaries: The watershed boundaries r p Lake a p r n shown on this map are those used by the Michigan e c U v h i Department of Environmental Quality. R A AU SABLE e l u b ALCONA a r Rivers: Major rivers and selected lakes are included S OSCODA S a e v in this map to illustrate the general pattern of u i bl COUNTY e R A COUNTY drainage for each watershed. Many smaller streams R h iv k c e c and lakes are not shown due to limited space. n r a a l r B Sturgeon Point Lighthouse t B as Map Projection: Albers Equal-Area Conic E Mio Dam Coordinate System: North American Datum 1983 LINCOLN Data Sources: Michigan Geographic Data Library, Pond ALCONAA Institute for Fisheries Research Great Lakes GIS, ESRI. Au Sable River COMMUNITY Au Sable River PINE SCHOOLS HARRISVILLE r GRAYLING e MIO v i (OSCODA) R Alcona le b Dam Pond a S WHAT IS A CRAWFORD u A Pin ch e R COUNTY ran ive WATERSHED? uth B G r So R E A T E R E In simple terms, a watershed is a precipita- A U S A B L tion collector. It is a geographic area of land Five Channels Van Etten that drains surface water to a common point Dam Pond Cooke Lake in the landscape. Watersheds catch rain and Dam Pond snow and channel the water into streams OSCODA that gradually flow downhill; small streams feed into bigger streams and rivers, OGEMAW Foote COUNTY forming a network similar to a circulatory system. Watershed boundaries are Dam Pond OSCODA AREA Van Ettan Creek determined by the high points of the land, called drainage divides. E. BRANCH Lumberman’s Monument SCHOOLS Old Au Sable River All of Northeast Michigan’s waterways eventually flow into the Great Lakes. Sage AU GRES This means that what we do within our watersheds will impact the health of Lake IOSCO the Great Lakes. This map allows you to trace the path of water flow from COUNTY Lake G R the upper, headwater areas of a watershed through streams, lakes and rivers. Saint Helen E A E a TAWAS T s Little Stylus t RIFLE E B CITY Lake Au r R a WHY SCHOOLS? Gres n c R h ive A A Through the network of the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship r u Tawas Point Lighthouse Initiative and the NOAA Great Lakes B-WET Program, students in the region U G r es are engaged in hands-on watershed stewardship projects that enhance both R iv their learning and the communities in which they live. Each school represented AU GRES G er on this map is committed to participation in meaningful watershed education Rifl R e projects such as water quality monitoring of rivers and streams, adopting local River beaches, combating invasive species, and interpreting Lake Huron maritime E history – all to benefit the watersheds of northeast Michigan and in turn the S Great Lakes Basin. ARENAC COUNTY AU GRES-SIMS CITY OF ALPENA DETAIL SCHOOLS AU GRES 23 4-Mile Dam Y BESSER A ELEMENTARY B Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary Duck Park W A 9th Avenue Dam Island Mill Park LINCOLN N (Rotary Island) ELEMENTARY I Thunder Bay Outdoor G Education Site BINGHAM ARTS ACADEMY A Bay View Park ATLAN TIC THUNDER BAY S OCEAN JUNIOR HIGH ALPENA Thomson Park HIGH SCHOOL Blair Street Park Starlite Beacon Mich-e-ke-wis Park The Michigan Sea Grant College Program produced this map in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Michigan Sea Grant is a cooperative effort of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University and is part of the NOAA National Sea Grant network of more than 30 university-based programs. www.miseagrant.umich.edu MICHU-13-210 Alcona Black River Watershed The Black River Watershed of Alcona County is a small coastal watershed composed of a south- flowing north branch that joins a north-flowing south branch before emptying into Lake Huron. This small watershed consists of the Black River, which flows north for just over 15 miles from its origin between the small cities of Lincoln and Harrisville to its outlet to Lake Huron in the unincorporated community of Black River. The North Branch of the Black River originates in Black River Swamp and flows through a wetland area south to join the mainstem Black River 1.5 miles from the mouth to Lake Huron. A few small creeks join it along the way, including Silver Creek, Gauthier Creek, Haynes Creek, Liston Creek and Butternut Creek. Tourism, farming, forestry and resource extraction are the main activities in this rural area. The Black River in Alcona County is known for its coaster brook trout and steelhead runs. This is one of the last systems in Lower Michigan still supporting a lake-run brook trout population, making it a conservation priority. Huron Pines conducted a road/stream crossing inventory in 2007 and with help from our partners reconnected 18 miles of river to Lake Huron in 2012 by replacing culverts at the Sucker Creek Road crossing with a free-span timber bridge. Communities Black River Recreation Areas Au Sable State Forest, Huron National Forest, Mackinaw State Forest, Negwegon State Park Major Tributaries North Branch Black River, South Branch Black River Au Gres River Watershed The Au Gres Watershed covers 392 sq miles in Ogemaw, Iosco and Arenac counties. The Au Gres River begins in eastern Ogemaw County and drains into Lake Huron through Saginaw Bay near Au Gres. The Au Gres River originates in the forests of eastern Ogemaw County and flows 45 miles in a generally southeasterly direction before reaching the City of Au Gres, where the river drains to northern Saginaw Bay.