| Upper Manistee Watershed |
The Upper Manistee River watershed is located in the northwestern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The watershed drainage area is 565 square miles (361,715 acres), which includes portions of Antrim, Otsego, Crawford, Kalkaska and Missaukee Counties. The mainstem is approximately 78 miles long and originates from seeps in a cedar swamp in southeast Antrim County (approximately 6 miles from the village of Alba), at an elevation of 1,250 feet. The Manistee ultimately discharges to Manistee Lake and then Lake Michigan at the City of Manistee. The river has a total drop in elevation from the headwaters to the planning area boundary of approximately 290 feet.
The Upper Manistee River has 28 named tributaries. Major tributaries of the upper mainstem include the North Branch of the Manistee, Portage Creek, Goose Creek, and Cameron Creek. There are also a number of unnamed tributaries, several of which flow directly into the mainstem. Landmarks from the headwaters to the planning area boundary include: Alba, Deward, Cameron Bridge, M-72 Bridge, Yellow Tree’s Landing, Lake Margrethe, CCC Bridge, Sharon, Smithville and Rainbow Jim’s.
In September 2004, the Upper Manistee River was designated under the Michigan Natural Rivers Act (Part 305 N.R.P. Act (1994 PA 451)). The process began in January of 1994. The designation is a form of zoning that is designed to control development within 400 feet of the ordinary high water mark (or “river’s edge”) on both sides of the river.
Additionally, two segments of the Upper Manistee River watershed are state designated “Blue Ribbon Trout Streams”. They are the Manistee mainstem from Deward down to the confluence with the North Branch of the Manistee River and the North Branch of the Manistee River from Mecum Road down to the confluence with the mainstem.
Flow stability is a determining factor in ecological and evolutionary processes in streams and is positively correlated to fish abundance, growth, survival and reproduction. The Manistee River mainstem has very stable flows, being in the top one or two in the country. The extreme stability of the mainstem of the Manistee River is a reflection of the geology and predominately sandy soils in the watershed.
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