Misplaced Pages

#133866

22-562: The Manistee River is considered, like the nearby Au Sable River , to be one of the best trout fisheries east of the Rockies . The Manistee River is also being considered for restoration of Arctic grayling , which have been extirpated from the State of Michigan since 1936. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word whose derivation is uncertain. However, it may be from ministigweyaa , "river with islands at its mouth". The Ojibwe (Chippewa in

44-542: A popular river for fishing as well as canoeing. Over the course of its length, it drops in elevation from around 1,250 to 579 feet (381 to 176 m), with an average stream gradient of about 2.9 feet per mile (55 cm/km). Native fluvial fish species in the Manistee River include brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) and the now extinct Arctic grayling ( Thymallus arcticus ). The Manistee River has undergone considerable physical and biological alterations over

66-810: Is considered one of the best brown trout fisheries east of the Rockies and has been designated a blue ribbon trout stream by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A map from 1795 located in the United States Gazetteer calls it the Beauais River . In French, the river is called the Rivière au sable , literally "Sand River". The Au Sable has a drainage basin of 1,932 square miles (5,000 km ) and an average flow of 1,100 ft /s (31 m /s) at its mouth. The river drops 650 feet (200 m) from its source at

88-626: Is joined by the East Branch Au Sable River at 44°39′55″N 84°42′13″W  /  44.66528°N 84.70361°W  / 44.66528; -84.70361  ( East Branch Au Sable River (mouth) ) . The East Branch rises in Lovells Township , Crawford County at 44°49′46″N 84°35′59″W  /  44.82944°N 84.59972°W  / 44.82944; -84.59972  ( East Branch Au Sable River (source) ) . The Au Sable continues eastward and

110-775: Is joined by the South Branch Au Sable River at 44°39′23″N 84°28′06″W  /  44.65639°N 84.46833°W  / 44.65639; -84.46833  ( South Branch Au Sable River (mouth) ) in South Branch Township . The South Branch rises out of Lake St. Helen in Richfield Township , Roscommon County at 44°22′54″N 84°26′38″W  /  44.38167°N 84.44389°W  / 44.38167; -84.44389  ( South Branch Au Sable River (source) ) and flows northwest into Roscommon then northeast to

132-486: Is state forest. It is a designated trout stream, and many canoe liveries exist along the river, which offer canoe trips from a few hours to as long as a week. The river was originally a grayling fishery with brook trout being released in the 1880s. By 1908 the grayling were gone although they were reintroduced in 1987. (See Grayling, Michigan , for more information on the Grayling and the fish hatchery.) Brown trout

154-505: Is the current main catch. The Lumberman's Monument , in honor of the lumberjacks that first populated the area, is located on the river about 15 miles (24 km) west of Oscoda. Lumbering along the river began in the 1860s and was finished by the 1910s. The Au Sable River is also the site of a yearly 120-mile (190 km) pro-am canoe race, the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon , which begins at 9:00 p.m. on

176-668: The Manistee River about 170 miles west from its headwaters, and approximately 20 miles east of its mouth with Lake Michigan , which includes Manistee Lake in Manistee as well. Tippy Dam State Recreation Area is managed and operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as a state park . Just below Tippy Dam is one of the finest trout , steelhead , and salmon fishing areas in Michigan . During

198-495: The Pine River . Ordered from upriver to downriver, all belonging to the power company Consumers Energy : The river has five historical markers on it: Tippy Dam Tippy Dam or Tippy Hydro was built in 1918, and is a hydroelectric dam operated by Consumers Energy . The original name of the dam was Junction Hydro, but it was renamed to honor a Consumers board of directors member, Charles W. Tippy. The dam spans

220-643: The United States) and Ottawa peoples lived along the river, with the Ottawa having a reservation on the river from 1836. The federally recognized Little River Band of Ottawa Indians continues to occupy its reservation in Manistee County, as well as lands in Mason County. Historically, the upper river was renowned for its outstanding Arctic grayling fishery, among the finest in the world and at

242-437: The extreme southern limit of the range of this salmonid . Catches in excess of 1000 fish per weekend outing were commonly reported up until the 1880s, when extensive logging in the area ruined the streams and habitat. Logging in the area commenced in earnest by European-American settlers between 1880 and 1910, with peak production occurring in the 1890s. Logging denuded habitat areas, with silt runoff and logging debris degrading

SECTION 10

#1732780939134

264-552: The following counties: Au Sable River (Michigan) The Au Sable River ( / ɔː ˈ s ɑː b əl / aw SAH -bəl ) is a 138-mile-long (222 km) river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan . Rising in the Northern Lower Peninsula , the river flows in a generally southeasterly direction to its mouth at Lake Huron at the communities of Au Sable and Oscoda . It

286-629: The junction of Kolka and Bradford Creeks. The main stream of the river is formed at 44°48′21″N 84°45′29″W  /  44.80583°N 84.75806°W  / 44.80583; -84.75806  ( Au Sable River (source) ) in Frederic Township in Crawford County by the confluence of Kolke and Bradford Creeks, which both rise in Otsego County . The river flows south then turns east through Grayling , where it

308-665: The last Saturday in July, and runs through the night into the next day. Winning times have ranged from 14 to 21 hours. The race was first run in 1947. River Road, running parallel with the Au Sable River, is a designated National Scenic Byway . There are six hydro-electric power plants in the Au Sable River basin, with a total installed capacity of 41 MW and an average annual energy output of 500 GJ. The six reservoirs were constructed between 1911 and 1924. The Au Sable has about 350 miles (560 km) of tributary streams including

330-671: The main branch of the Au Sable flows through or adjacent to the Huron-Manistee National Forest . 23 miles (37 km) of the river, from the Mio Pond downstream to the Alcona Pond, was designated as a National Wild and Scenic River on October 4, 1984. The watershed provides habitat for bald eagles and the endangered Kirtland's warbler . Five percent of the land in the watershed is National Forest and 29%

352-715: The main branch of the Au Sable. The North Branch Au Sable River joins within approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) in eastern Crawford County at 44°40′14″N 84°22′51″W  /  44.67056°N 84.38083°W  / 44.67056; -84.38083  ( North Branch Au Sable River (mouth) ) near the boundary with Oscoda County . The North Branch rises in Bagley Township , Otsego County, near Lake Otsego. The Au Sable then flows mostly east through Oscoda County, then south and east through Alcona County and Iosco County . The river's watershed also drains portions of Montmorency County and Ogemaw County . Most of

374-435: The main river channel. This state game area is managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and contains a total area of 3,920 acres which overlay the Manistee River east of Manistee, Michigan. The adjacent hunting and fishing areas include Tatches Bayou, Claybanks Bayou, and Anderson Bayou. Duck hunting and northern pike fishing are popular activities within the managed marshland. The Manistee River drains land in

396-452: The past century. In addition to extensive past logging in the region, two hydroelectric dams act as barriers to migration. Native species also suffer from competition or predation by non-native introduced salmonids including brown trout ( Salmo trutta ), steelhead/rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ), and Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ). An interest in reestablishing Arctic grayling in

418-882: The river by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians led to a recent analysis of habitat suitability for Arctic grayling in Big Manistee River tributaries and some regions of the main stem was conducted from 2011 to 2013. Abiotic habitat conditions such as temperature, gravel, and water quality were found suitable for re-introduction of grayling, once the dominant salmonid in the State of Michigan. Another study of found that tributaries with low densities of non-native brown trout may be ideal for Arctic grayling re-introduction, since two fish species (brook trout and slimy sculpin ( Cottus cognatus ) that currently and historically occurred with grayling were found in lower numbers when predatory brown trout were present. Today

440-561: The river is used extensively for recreation, offering excellent conditions for canoeing, boating, and fishing. Having been restored since the ravages of the logging era, the river is again considered among the finest trout and salmon rivers in the country. Commercial navigation is possible in the lower stretches of the river below the Tippy Dam . The Manistee River State Game Area is located upstream of Lake Manistee, and consists of areas of bayous and meandering marshlands located adjacent to

462-437: The water quality of the river. The river's relatively large size, stable flows, and dearth of cataracts or other difficult passages made it ideal for the transportation of lumber . During this period huge numbers of white pine logs, some as large as 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter, were floated down the river to the port at Manistee and eventually on to the lumber markets of Grand Rapids , Milwaukee and Chicago . The wood

SECTION 20

#1732780939134

484-535: Was used to build the cities and towns of the Midwestern United States . Some of these logs became trapped at various points on the river, and can be seen today along the river bottom. The river rises in the sand hills in southeastern Antrim County , on the border with Otsego County , about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the town of Alba . These deep glacial sands provide it with a remarkably stable flow of clean cold water year round, making it

#133866