From Forest to Faucet: How Watershed Protection Brings Clean Water to Alpena

Dennis McDougall with the U.S. Forest Service, Mike Smalligan with the Michigan DNR Forest Stewardship Division, landowner Dave Dillon, and Amy Nowakowski, Nick Theisen and Emily Kemp with Huron Pines (l-r) plant trees on Dillon’s property along the Thunder Bay River in November 2024.

The health of our drinking water depends on the condition of the lands it comes from. That's the idea behind Forest to Mi Faucet, a Michigan DNR Forest Stewardship Program initiative which Huron Pines has joined to support clean drinking water for the community of Alpena. Huron Pines is actively working across the 1,250-square-mile Thunder Bay Watershed, all of which drains to Lake Huron, to improve water quality on several fronts:

• We're removing stream barriers to reduce sediment input from erosion. Huron Pines has invested more than $2.1 million since 2020 to restore six road/stream crossings, with another $1.3 million in work slated through 2026.

• We're working with the City of Alpena to implement a source water protection plan to lower costs for treating drinking water sourced from Thunder Bay.

• We're developing the Thunder Bay Watershed Management Plan, a guiding document for conservation and community partners on projects which support water quality.

The U.S. Forest Service came to Alpena last fall to document this important collaborative project through interviews with our staff and partners at the DNR and City of Alpena. Watch their video below.