Restoring Sanborn Creek and the Headwaters of the Pere Marquette River

The Pere Marquette River Restoration Committee and partners are working to connect all of Sanborn Creek, a major tributary to the Pere Marquette River. Complete stream connectivity means the critters that live in and near the creek can travel from the headwaters to the confluence without major obstructions, such as undersized culverts or dams.

To reach this goal, the committee will be helping organize a range of activities. Most notably, partners are working to replace five road/stream crossings that have been identified as barriers to aquatic organism passage through CRA’s road/stream crossing inventory (northernmichiganstreams.org).

Be sure to have a look at the Baldwin River Watershed River Care™ map for an overview of where these projects are located. Engineering and design for the first crossing is already underway (Queens Hwy pictured).

The end result will be 14 miles of habitat improvements and the reduction of at least 12 tons of sediment from reaching the creek and subsequently the Pere Marquette River every year. Improving stream connectivity for cold-water species in Sanborn Creek will also increase access to spawning and rearing habitat for fish including a steady population of brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout and sculpin.

Big thanks to the  U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Great Lakes Basin Fish Habitat Partnership for supporting this initiative and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation - Sustain Our Great Lakes Program for supporting efforts in this region through a grant to the Mason-Lake Conservation District.

For more information, please contact Watershed Coordinator Paul Kogelschatz at paul@rivercare.org.