MICHIGAN—In his final big hit, Johnny Cash sang about a comically misguided effort to assemble a Cadillac sedan “one piece at a time.” Fast forward nearly 50 years however, and “one stream at a time” has proven to be an effective approach to watershed restoration near Cadillac, Michigan. Michigan is “The Motor State” and roads are cherished as dearly as the opening day of trout season. Unfortunately, where roads and trout streams intersect, habitat quality can suffer.

Undersized and poorly aligned culverts block fish passage and contribute harmful sediment into streams and rivers. Even within the relatively pristine forested watersheds of the Huron-Manistee National Forests, an estimated 1,000 undersized road-stream crossings impair rivers and streams beloved by trout anglers and canoeists, and provide climate refugia for brook trout, a cold-water dependent native fish.

Replacing undersized culverts with larger “stream simulation” culverts and bridges to restore fish passage and natural stream flows is an aquatic habitat management priority for the Forest Service. Restoration projects across the Huron-Manistee National Forests require a collaborative approach due to mixed land ownership. Only 50% of the land within the administrative boundary is managed by the Forest Service and rivers and streams rarely adhere to ownership boundaries. A great example of a successful partnership is found in Cadillac, where Trout Unlimited, Wexford County Road Commission, the Forest Service and other partners are tackling watershed-scale restoration, culvert by culvert, stream by stream.

Jeremy Geist, Trout Unlimited Great Lakes Stream Restoration program manager, describes this partnership as the model his program looks to when working with the Forest Service and local government partners. The initial partnership successes near Cadillac helped encourage Trout Unlimited Great Lakes Stream Restoration Program to expand their work more broadly across Michigan and Wisconsin, where they now complete watershed restoration projects in partnership with three other national forests and many local organizations. 

One example of their ongoing success, the partnership between Trout Unlimited, Wexford County Road Commission and the Forest Service has completed 11 aquatic organism passage restoration projects within the Hinton Creek watershed, a “priority watershed” for the Forest Service that also encompasses nearby Cedar Creek and Arquilla Creek. This work received partial funding support from the interagency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

A 12th project in this watershed, which is scheduled for completion this summer, will be the final project in a Watershed Restoration Action Plan. These projects will completely reconnect the mainstem of Hinton Creek with its fish-bearing tributaries, improving the resiliency of the wild brook trout population and other native species. Check out this story map to learn more.  

In June, Trout Unlimited Great Lakes Program is helping the Eastern Region of the Forest Service host the agency’s Aquatic Organism Passage at Road-Stream Crossings Training in Cadillac. This workshop will present the Forest Service’s stream simulation method, preparing a new cohort of biologists, engineers and partners to continue efforts to improve aquatic habitat one stream at a time.