Little Manistee River Improvements - By Dave McIntire
Many may not be aware that eggs taken from wild steelhead at the Little Manistee weir are reared and stocked all over Michigan and other states. This is Michigan’s department of Natural Resources sole source for steelhead eggs. This being said, it is important to all of us who enjoy steelhead fishing, be it in the Great Lakes, inland river mouths, rivers or streams, that this source of eggs that supply all of these waters be protected.
The Little Manistee River which originates near a small town of Luther in northwest Michigan includes 67 miles of mainstream and approximately 41 miles of 16 tributaries. The Little Manistee joins the big Manistee River at Manistee Lake which empties into Lake Michigan at Manistee.
This river played an important role, over 100 years ago, transporting logs to Manistee. To accomplish this task, log jams and other obstructions were removed. River banks were cleared of trees and other vegetation to aid in the process. After this era passed the Little Manistee river was left in this devastated state. Spawning gravel beds were covered with sand from the eroding river banks. This along with the removal of woody debris eliminated natural spawning, macro invertebrates for feeding fish and cover for small steelhead. Over the years with the help of Mother Nature, the river started to cure itself. Then, along came the next generations of man kind. Houses and cabins were built with poor river management practices, and people again started clearing the vegetation from the river bank and removing woody debris from the river. A dam was built in Luther which has failed 3 times (each time putting more sediment in the river and causing more erosion).
Early 1996, a group of concerned citizens decided to take measures in their own hands to protect and preserve this beautiful blue ribbon trout stream. The Little Manistee Watershed Conservation Council (LMWCC) was founded. This state chartered 501c3 non profit organization has been very active over the past 10 years living up to it’s mission. A Partnership, including MDNR, MDEQ, Conservation Resource Alliance, USFS, Trout Unlimited, Manistee Chapter Michigan Steelheaders, along with many other conservation minded individuals and organizations, was established to join forces in this massive mission.
A river management plan was created to determine where the work should start. The main culprit to deterioration of a healthy river is sand. Erosion sites and road stream crossings were labeled in order of attention needed, severe, major and minor. Most severe and major erosion sites have been corrected and many poor failing road stream crossings either repaired or replaced.
The next step was to inventory woody debris in the entire river. From this inventory it was determined where more wood was needed for macro invertebrate habitat and fish cover. A report from Mark Tonello, MDNR Fisheries Management Biologist, has reported that the Little Manistee River is lacking in cover for age one steelhead. Wild steelhead remain in the river for about 2 years before they smolt to Lake Michigan, and then return a few years later to spawn. 
Starting 2005, LMWCC, has been actively addressing this fish cover situation. Lunker structures have been placed in conjunction with rock bank restoration projects and in stream wood structures are being placed midstream and along various areas of the river bank. This wood cover is suspended about 18” – 24” above the river bottom, either permanently or floating.
The cost for completing all problems listed in this management plan well
exceeds 3 million dollars. Money to handle the costs of these projects come from state and federal grants, private foundations, membership dues and donations along with donations from various groups like TU, and Michigan Steelheaders , to name a few. Some of the cost can be offset by using volunteer labor. 
In 2006, LMWCC received a generous donation from the Flint River Valley Chapter Michigan Steelheaders to improve fish cover. 24 structures in total, 19 floating bank and 5 in stream island structures were placed in various locations of the river and a tributary. The material and contractor cost for these 24 structures was $15,000. Volunteers also pitched in to keep the cost down. Pictured are volunteers hard at work along with the finished job.
All of us at LMWCC along with the general fishing public want to take this opportunity to thank The Flint River Valley Chapter Michigan Steelheaders for their concern and support with projects like these. We would like to encourage other interested groups and organizations to also join in and support future projects on the Little Manistee River, to protect and improve the fishery we all enjoy. If we are successful, it will be available for our grandchildren and their children to enjoy as we do today and to carry on with the protection.
