Wetland fill by Eastwood Construction

I examined a parcel of property owned by William Clous in T.27N R.10W S.19 on April 10 with Barry Petterman (DEQ) and on April 14 with Barry and Rich Earle (DNR Wildlife Biologist). The main purpose of the visits was to examine the effects of wetland and stream dredging and filling on aquatic habitat and species. I walked through nearly the entire property owned by Mr. Clous over the course of the two site visits. I observed three tributaries to Mitchell Creek (Black Creek, Wolf Creek, and unnamed creek) on this property. There also appeared to be an unnamed tributary that was filled. The stream tributary had definite banks, a bed, and visible evidence of a continued flow or continued occurrence of waterdefinable banks, bed, and flow north (downstream) and south (upstream) of Mr. Clousís property, but no definable channel within his property. This tributary is classified as a stream as outlined in the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (P.A. 451 of 1994 Sec. 30101). The historic channel within Mr. Clousís property (approximately 800 lineal feet) appeared to have been recently dreged and filled.

Mr. Clous owns approximately 300 acres within Section 19.The vast majority (>90%)Mr. Clous is responsible for dredging, filling, and building a road through approximately 90 acres of regulated wetland. of this property had recently been cleared of nearly all upland and wetland vegetation. The historical wetlands in this area had also been filled. The majority of this land was plowed and tilled to supposedly prepare it for agricultural purposes. The recent conversion of wetland and upland forest to tillable agricultural fields has, and will continue to, severely degraded the Mitchell Creek watershed and adversely effect aquatic habitat and species unless drastic restorative measures are taken.

The Mitchell Creek watershed emcompasses 14.7 square miles within Grand Traverse County. Included within that area is part of the City of Traverse City, the Cherry Capital Airport, the East Junior High School, East Bay Elementary School, several industrial parks, and numerous residential areas.Due to this high level of development and urbanization within the Mitchell Creek watershed, it is especially vulnerable to acceleratin rates of non-point source pollution (NMRCDC 1993).

Mitchell Creek and its tributaries are designated trout streams and are inhabited by a variety of resident and anadromus fish species. Naturally reproducing resident salmonid species inhabiting the watershed include rainbow, brook, and brown trout. Steelhead, chinook, and coho salmon also migrate into the Mitchell Creek drainage to reproduce. Mitchell Creek is especially critical as a producer of wild salmonids to the East Grand Traverse Bay, as there are few streams in the area which are capable of supporting populations of wild migratory salmonids. Mitchell Creek tributaries provide critical spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids. Spawning salmonids typically seek out areas of a stream that have cool, consistent flow, and suitable sized substrate for creating nests. These areas are often found in tributary streams, such as Black, Wolf, and the unnamed tributary of Mitchell Creek. It is impairative that quality salmonid spawning habitat be protected to proliferate the success of subsequent generations.The degradation of these streams, wetlands, and riparian areas by Mr. Clous may have severely impaired the spawning success of salmonids within the Mitchell Creek watershed. Since Mr. Clous developed his land with little regard to best management practices, soil erosion and transport into the Mitchell Creek watershed will increase.The increased soil input into the Mitchell Creek watershed will fill spawning substrate, widen the stream, and decrease habitat heterogeneity. In addition to increased soil erosion, the filling of wetlands by Mr. Clous will increase the flashiness of the tributaries, increase nutrient inputs into the tributaries, increase water temperatures (less shade since nearly all riparian vegetation was removed), decrease aquatic habitat heterogeneity (pool filling), decrease bank stability (removal of nearly all riparian vegetation) and decrease the productivity of the stream by removing allocthonous input sources (tree and shrub leaves).

The wetlands adjacent to Mitchell Creek and its tributaries are a very important component of the trout stream ecosystem, and filling of the wetlands by Mr. Clous has degraded these streams. The wetlands act as a filter by removing pollutants and storing water. The stored water is released over time as groundwater, which is cold and extremely critical to the integrity of a trout stream. The wetlands adjacent to Mitchell Creek and its tributaries also help to remove excess nutrients, reduce biological oxygen demand, and remove suspended solids and pollutants. The wetlands also add biological productivity to the stream in the form of invertebrates, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and other species.

The conversion of wetlands and upland to agricultural fields by Mr. Clous appeard to be undertaken with little regard to best management practices; for example, I observed slash piles approximately 15 ft. high along the banks of the unnamed tributary throughout the entire property, vehicular stream crossings that proliferate bank instability and sediment input into the tributaries, no erosion control matting, no contour tilling or terraces to mitigate soil erosion, minimal or no buffer strips along the riparian corridor of all streams within the property, and the obliteration (dreged and filled) of a Mitchell Creek tributary.

As a naturally reproducing trout watershed, Mitchell Creek, itís tributaries, and the fish that live in the watershed are public resources which belong to all residents of the State of Michigan. Therefore, Iimmediate restorative measurses should be taken within the Mr. Clousís property to prevent further degradation of the Mitchell Creek watershed. The fisheries populations, and in particular the wild trout populations, within Mr.the Clousís property (and downstream) have most likely been adversely affecteddevastated due toby his land manipulations done by Mr. Clous, and without proper restoration the fisheries populations will continue to be adversely effected due to loss of spawning habitat, loss of suitable cover, decrease in the food base, increased water temperatures, and altered flow regimes. Restorative measures should include wetland restoration, stream channel restoration, revegetation of wetlands and riparian areas, and removal of vehicular stream crossings.