Pine 230th Avenue Fish Cover Habitat Project

An important cold water tributary to the Manistee River, the Pine River system begins in Osceola County and flows westerly through the counties of Lake and Wexford before joining the Manistee River in Manistee County. Habitat assessments at the MDNR Fisheries 23oth Avenue PAS show a pronounced lack of overhead woody cover in this stretch as well as many others stretches lacking in-stream woody debris. Tonello (MDNR 2009) reported that Status and Trends fisheries surveys have shown that despite having cold temperatures, trout biomass in this stretch is lower than that of other area trout streams. CRA, working with partners including the MDNR-Fisheries Division and Pine River Watershed Restoration Committee coordinated the implementation of a habitat improvement project. This involved the construction and placement of 22 in-stream cover structures in approximately 1800’ of river.

Best Management Practices:
* 22 In-stream Habitat Cover Structures (Large Woody Debris)
* Log jam/raft structures
* Current deflectors
* Brush bundles

Project Benefits:
• Fish Cover Enhancement for cold water species (salmonid spp.), increased in-stream cover and refugia
• Stream channel diversity and streambank stability
• Flow alterations
• Promotion of river restoration techniques and improvements
• Improved transport of sediments and mobilization of harmful sediments
• Improved channel depth to width ratio
• Partner collaboration
• Provides basking/perching sites for birds, reptiles, and other terrestrial spp.
• Increased amounts of LWD in system

Partners involved:
Conservation Resource Alliance, Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Fisheries Division, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Pine River TU, Pine River Association - Enhancement Fund, USDA NRCS, Pine River Watershed Restoration Committee, Kanouse Outdoor Restoration, Osceola County Community Foundation