(Courtesy MLive)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A popular trout stream in mid-Michigan will soon have the water quality and biological information necessary to protect its cold-water fishery, thanks to $40,000 in state funding.

“Prairie Creek, believe it or not, is actually the largest natural-reproducing stream of steelhead in the Grand River basin,” said Lance Climie, board member of Schrems West Michigan Chapter of Trout Unlimited (SWMTU), which received the grant.

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Prairie Creek Project Overview

The overall goal of the project is to collect data and information to describe existing conditions of the Prairie Creek watershed and, eventually, to provide information critical for the development of a watershed management plan and for improvement projects. Prairie Creek originates in Montcalm County and flows in a southerly direction before discharging to the Grand River just southeast of the City of Ionia. Portions of the Prairie Creek watershed are thought to be of high quality, though relatively little information actually exists to quantify the observations.

The Prairie Creek watershed encompasses about 102 square miles and contains more than 144 miles of streams, 26 miles of which are considered to be coldwater fisheries. The stream has historically been managed by MDNR as a trout stream and is a popular destination for anglers pursuing trout and salmon.

Little effort has been made to assess the designated uses of this watershed, but warming waters, sedimentation and degradation of instream habitat recently led local partners to organize and to develop objectives aimed toward understanding current conditions and identifying opportunities for improvement. The Prairie Creek monitoring project will measure and document existing chemical and biological parameters within the stream and its tributaries, and begin the process of identifying sources and causes of pollution that may be impacting water quality.