Little Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan

At approximately 45 square miles, Little Traverse Bay is Lake Michigan's fourth largest bay. The land area of the Bay's watershed is approximately 174 square miles. The Little Traverse Bay Watershed receives water from both precipitation and Lake Michigan via dynamic mixing currents, while tributaries are the primary conduits for water from throughout the Watershed. Little Traverse Bay's main tributaries are the Bear River (which includes Haymrsh Creek and Spring Brook), and Tannery and Five-Mile Creeks. There are also many small, unnamed tributaries that discharge to Little Traverse Bay. The Little Traverse Bay shoreline is also diverse, containing a large recurve sand spit known as Harbor Point, miles of dune and sand beach ecosystems, miles of cobble beach, and exposed limestone bedrock.

Little Traverse Bay Facts

• The Bay is about 3.5 miles wide between Petoskey and Harbor Springs
• The Bay is 8 miles wide at its outer end (between Nine Mile Point on the south and Seven Mile Point on the north)
• The Bay has a surface area of approximately 31 square miles or 19,840 acres
• Between Petoskey and Harbor Springs it reaches a depth of about 170 feet.
• The outer bay drops to depths of more than 200 feet.

The beauty of Little Traverse Bay has attracted visitors for more than a century. Ironically, development pressure that results from the area's beauty poses a serious threat to the quality of the water resources that make the region attractive. As more and more land is converted to residential or commercial uses, the potential for water quality degradation is increased. Other pollutants that threaten the Bay's health today are nutrients and sediments from different human activities such as shoreline development, polluted runoff, streambank erosion, and agricultural activities.

More than 60 recommendations from the Little Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan set the stage for work that is needed to enhance the health of the Little Traverse Bay Watershed. These action steps represent an integrative approach. From restoration to education the actions are designed to reduce or prevent nonpoint source pollution. For each action step, the organizations best suited to implement the task was identified along with estimated costs to implement each item are listed. A timeframe of 10 years has been used to determine the scope of activities and the estimated costs.

Little Traverse Bay Watershed is at an important crossroads. On one road lies the degraded water quality that will result if past abuses are left uncorrected and the development predicted for this region occurs without attention to reducing polluted runoff and protecting shorelines. On the other road lies the opportunity to unite the community in an effort to implement a results-oriented plan that recommends tangible actions to ensure healthy waters. We hope that the Little Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan provides the map to ensure that the waters of the Little Traverse Bay Watershed will be enhanced, restored, and protected for generations to come.

The overarching goal of the Little Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan is to protect and enhance the water quality and ecosystem integrity of Little Traverse Bay and its tributaries in a way that ensures all designated uses and attributes are restored, enhanced, and protected. The Advisory Committee developed a list of attributes that describe a healthy Little Traverse Bay Watershed, which includes:

• Adequate public access to lakes and streams
• Educated public regarding benefits of clean water to economy & quality of life
• Healthy wildlife populations and corridors
• Ample public lands for recreation
• Awareness of ecologically-sound recreation to prevent streambank erosion, habitat loss, etc.
• Preserve "Up North" character
• Expanded network of protected private ecologically-wise industry
• Celebrated human history of region
• Dark skies
• Thriving populations of fish that are healthy for consumption
• Sustainable alternative modes of transportation
• Increased involvement in alternative energy
• Managed residential growth
• Maintained scenic views
• Well-coordinated collaborative efforts by local government
• Safe ground water for drinking water
• Preserved agricultural lands
• Protection of steep slopes along Lake Michigan
• Promote tourism that protects and enhances "Up North" atmosphere
• Protected native flora and fauna and the ecosystems upon which they depend

• Little Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan - MDEQ/ EPA Approved June 2007 (PDF Format 7 MB)
• Little Traverse Bay Watershed(JPG Format 2792 KB)
• Little Traverse Bay Watershed Priority Areas (JPG Format 3301 KB)
• City of Petoskey Stormwater BasinsJPG Format 3 MB
• City of Harbor Springs Stormwater Basins(JPG Format 252 KB)
• Bay Harbor Stormwater Basins (JPG Format 2635 KB)
• Walloon Lake Village Stormwater Basins (JPG Format 5906 KB)
• Walloon Lake Cladophora Growth (JPG Format 1634 KB)
• Walloon Lake Shoreline Survey (JPG Format 1624 KB)
• Little Traverse Bay Shoreline Survey (JPG Format 1274 KB)
• Little Traverse Bay Watershed Road/Stream Crossings (JPG Format 2790 KB)
• Bear River Streambank Erosion Sites(JPG Format 2780 KB)
• Little Traverse Bay Watershed Land Cover (JPG Format 3419 KB)
• Little Traverse Bay Watershed Priority Forest Management Areas (JPG Format 2401 KB)
• Little Traverse Bay Watershed Water Quality Monitoring Sites (JPG Format 485 KB)
• Click here to learn about protecting water quality using a natural resource-based priority parcel process.
• Project Partners

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