Munuscong River Watershed Management Plan March 29, 2013 The Chippewa/Luce/Mackinac Conservation District (CLMCD) 2847 Ashmun Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 The Munuscong River Watershed Management Plan This plan was prepared by: The Chippewa/Luce/Mackinac Conservation District (CLMCD) 2847 Ashmun Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 (906) 635-1278 clmcd.org This Nonpoint Source Pollution Control project has been funded in part through the Michigan Nonpoint Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement No. C9975474-09 to the Chippewa/Luce/Mackinac Conservation District for the Munuscong River Watershed Planning Project. The contents of the document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the EPA, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement of recommendation for use. For the communities of Pickford Township, Kinross Charter Township, Bruce Township, Dafter Township, Rudyard Township, Raber Township, Marquette Township, and Clark Township. Table of Contents Page Chapter 1 Introduction 1-1 Chapter 2 Description of Watershed Characteristics 2-1 2.1 General Landscape 2-1 2.2 Subwatersheds 2-3 2.3 Hydrology of the Watershed 2-5 2.4 Climate 2-13 2.5 Geology, Hydrology and Soils 2-13 2.6 Soils 2-14 2.7 Land Use and Land Cover 2-16 Chapter 3 Community Profile 3-1 3.1 History of the Area 3-1 3.2 Demographics 3-3 3.3 Governmental Units 3-4 Chapter 4 Resource Management 4-1 4.1 Land Use and Water Quality 4-1 4.2 Roads and Water Quality 4-5 4.3 Area Organizations and State and Federal Departments 4-7 4.4 Land and Water Use Permitting 4-15 Chapter 5 Natural Features 5-1 5.1 Wetlands 5-1 5.2 Public Lands 5-9 5.3 Rivers and Streams 5-11 5.4 Rare and Endangered Species 5-12 Chapter 6 Plan Development Process 6-1 6.1 Public Input 6-1 6.2 Stakeholder concerns 6-2 6.3 Previous Studies and Reports 6-2 6.4 Identifying Programs and Organizations 6-3 6.5 Watershed Inventory 6-3 6.6 Watershed Research and Modeling 6-6 6.7 Water Quality Analysis 6-8 6.8 Hydrologic Study 6-11 Table of Contents (Continued) Page Chapter 7 Water Quality Summary 7-1 7.1 Designated Uses 7-1 7.2 General Water Quality Statement 7-2 7.3 Watershed Assessment 7-2 7.4 Individual Water Body Assessment 7-16 Chapter 8 Prioritization—Areas, Pollutants, and Sources 8-1 8.1 Rural Management Areas 8-1 8.2 Urban/Residential Management Areas 8-4 8.3 Public Land Management Areas 8-6 8.4 Problem Sites 8-9 8.5 Pollutant/Source Reduction Targets 8-11 Chapter 9 Goals and Objectives 9-1 9.1 Goals for Designated Uses 9-1 9.2 Goals for Desired Uses 9-1 Chapter 10 Implementation Strategies 10-1 10.1 Action Plan by Priority Area 10-1 10.2 Information and Education Strategy 10-25 10.3 Watershed Issues 10-27 10.4 Distribution Formats 10-39 10.5 Plan Administration and Implementation 10-40 10.6 Roles and Responsibilities 10-40 10.7 Priorities 10-40 10.8 Evaluation 10-40 Chapter 11 Evaluation 11-1 11.1 Knowledge and Awareness 11-1 11.2 Documenting Implementation 11-1 11.3 Monitoring Water Quality 11-2 11.4 Estimating Pollutant Load Reductions 11-2 11.5 Evaluating the Watershed Management Plan 11-3 11.6 Water Quality Improvement Goals and Indicators 11-4 Works Cited W-1 Table of Contents (Continued) Appendices Appendix A Common Pollutants, Sources, and Water Quality Standards Appendix B Steering Committee Members Appendix C Stakeholder Concerns Appendix D Previous Studies Appendix E Road and Stream Crossing Inventory Appendix F Planning Survey Report Appendix G Agricultural Inventory Appendix H Munuscong River Watershed Hydrologic Study Appendix I Quality Assurance Plan Appendix J Distribution of Bioactive Trace Metals Appendix K Watershed Poster Appendix L Landscape Level Wetland Functional Assessment Appendix M Water Sampling Table of Contents (Continued) List of Figures Page Figure 1.1 Munsucong River Watershed Area 1-1 Figure 2.1 Watershed 2-1 Figure 2.2 Little Munuscong and Munuscong Watershed Area 2-2 Figure 2.3 Subwatersheds 2-3 Figure 2.4 Hydrologic Study Subbasins 2-5 Figure 2.5 Stream Order 2-6 Figure 2.6 Munuscong Watershed Stream Order 2-7 Figure 2.7 Munsucong Stream Temperatures 2-8 Figure 2.8 Munuscong Trout Streams 2-8 Figure 2.9 Hydrologic Soils Map for Munuscong Watershed 2-9 Figure 2.10 Hydrologic Critical Scores 2-12 Figure 2.11 Glacial Activity 2-13 Figure 2.12 Topography 2-14 Figure 2.13 Soils 2-15 Figure 2.14 Land Use and Land Cover—Pre-European Settlement 2-16 Figure 2.15 Land Use and Land Cover—1978 Base 2-17 Figure 2.16 Public Lands 2-18 Figure 3.1 Pickford Area 3-1 Figure 3.2 Main Street 3-2 Figure 3.3 Local Jurisdictions 3-3 Figure 3.4 Population Distribution 3-5 Figure 4.1 Current Land Use in Marquette and Pickford Townships 4-2 Figure 4.2 Future Land Use in Marquette and Pickford Townships 4-3 Figure 4.3 Future Land Use in Bruce Township 4-4 Figure 4.4 Road System 4-6 Figure 5.1 Pre-settlement Wetlands 5-1 Figure 5.2 2005 NWI Wetlands 5-3 Figure 5.3 Wetland Loss 5-4 Figure 5.4 Wetland Restoration Areas 5-6 Figure 5.5 Hydrologic Critical Areas 5-8 Figure 5.6 Public Lands 5-9 Figure 5.7 Rivers and Streams 5-11 Figure 5.8 Pickford Township Rare Species Index 5-12 Figure 6.1 Road and Stream Crossing Condition Assessment 6-4 Figure 6.2 Physical, Chemical and Biological Survey Sites 6-9 Figure 6.3 Hydrologic Study Subbasins 6-12 Figure 7.1 Water Quality Exceedance Summary for Partial Body Contact 7-4 Figure 7.2 Water Quality Exceedance Summary for Total Body Contact 7-5 Figure 7.3 Total Body Contact 30-day Geometric Mean 7-6 Figure 7.4 Little Munuscong River Watershed 7-8 Figure 7.5 Munuscong River Watershed 7-10 Figure 7.6 Hydrologic Critical Scores 7-15 Figure 8.1 Rural Management Areas 8-1 Figure 8.2 Urban Management Areas 8-4 Figure 8.3 Public Land Management Areas 8-7 Figure 8.4 Problem Sites 8-9 Figure 8.5 Soils Not Suitable for Traditional On-Site Septic Systems 8-10 Table of Contents (Continued) List of Figures (continued) Page Figure 10.1 Rural Management Areas with Action Plan Projects 10-21 Figure 10.2 Urban Management Areas with Action Plan Projects 10-22 Figure 10.3 Protection Management Areas with Action Plan Projects 10-23 Figure 10.4 High Potential Restoration Areas with Action Plan Projects 10-24 Figure 10.5 Critical Areas of Concern for Septic System I/E Activities 10-28 List of Tables Page Table 2.1 Subwatersheds 2-4 Table 2.2 Collective Munuscong River Watershed Subbasin Identification 2-6 Table 2.3 Soil Hydrogroups 2-9 Table 2.4 Critical Area Scoring 2-10 Table 2.5 Subbasin Critical Area Scores 2-11 Table 2.6 Land Use 2-17 Table 2.7 State, Federal and Non-public Land 2-18 Table 2.8 Public and Private Land 2-18 Table 3.1 Population 3-4 Table 3.2 Housing Units 3-4 Table 4.1 Wetland Reserve Program Easements through 2010 4-14 Table 4.2 Farm Bill Programs 4-15 Table 5.1 Wetland Condition in the Watershed 5-2 Table 5.2 Subbasin Critical Area Scores 5-7 Table 5.3 Public Lands 5-9 Table 5.4 Public and Conservancy Lands—CARL Areas 5-10 Table 5.5 Rivers and Streams 5-11 Table 5.6 Endangered and Threatened Species in the MRW 5-13 Table 6.1 Road and Stream Crossing Sediment and Structural Concerns 6-5 Table 6.2 Road and Stream Crossing Sampling Locations 6-8 Table 6.3 Collective Munuscong River Watershed Subbasin Identification 6-13 Table 7.1 Designated Uses 7-1 Table 7.2 Watershed Assessment Summary 7-3 Table 7.3 Critical Area Scoring 7-13 Table 7.4 Subbasin Critical Area Scores 7-14 Table 8.1 Pollutant/Source Reduction Targets 8-11 Table 9.1 Desired Uses 9-1 Table 10.1 Action Plan 10-6 Table 10.2 I/E Plan 10-33 Table 11.1 Water Quality Improvement Goals and Indicators 11-4 Chapter 1 Introduction The Munuscong River watershed (MRW) is all of the land that drains into the Munuscong and Little Munuscong Rivers. The watershed includes all of the surface and groundwater within this area. Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula (EUP) depends upon water resources, including recreation and thriving fisheries. Unfortunately, poor land use management has influenced and continues to threaten these resources. Little Munuscong River Munuscong River Figure 1.1 Munuscong River Watershed Area The restoration, protection, and preservation of the MRW is a priority for the EUP community. The river helps support a thriving walleye, salmon, and perch fishery in the St. Mary’s River, influencing a significant portion of the EUP economy. Both the Munuscong Lake and St. Mary’s River are home to hundreds of seasonal residents, support a thriving boating recreational community, and sustain a significant Sault Area Tribe of Chippewa Indians subsistence fishery. The Munuscong River Watershed Management Plan is a guide to help the Eastern Upper Peninsula community and other stakeholders, including local units of government, non-profit organizations, and local residents, protect water quality and aquatic resources.