VISION STATEMENT AND GOALS

Developing the Huron Creek Watershed Management Plan

 

The following vision statement for the Huron Creek watershed was prepared at the advisory meeting held in June 2006.  From that vision statment came a general set of goals.

 

Vision Statement

We see Huron Creek and its watershed as valuable to the residents of Houghton County in maintaining a sense of place compatible with the area’s character.   In particular, we desire a watershed and stream that . . .

  • is visually attractive and includes a stream-side vegetation buffer that is visible on the landscape;
  • provides habitat for a healthy ecosystem within an urban setting;
  • provides opportunities for human interactions with the stream ecosystem, with the Houghton Waterfront park and the former Huron Lake being prime sites for interaction;
  • has water quality that is consistent with the previous three goals;
  • provides opportunities for community education (including schools, business owners, and the public in general) on the importance of healthy watersheds and in the historical uses of this particular watershed, with interpretive signs at sites of interaction being one possible form of education.

 

General Goals

To move in the direction of this vision, the following are the general goals identified in the advisory meetings.

Monitor water    quality

Monitor the stream to determine if contaminants are entering through landfill leachate, storm drains, or septic systems drain fields.

City of Houghton is already addressing the landfill leachate problem and better stormwater management will reduce contamination reaching the stream through storm drains.

Manage Stormwater

Manage flow patterns from developed areas, which includes the amount of water entering groundwater, and amount and rate of water reaching stream through surface channels.

Implementing a plan that is efficient, effective, and appropriate for the watershed will require cooperation of numerous stakeholders, including the county and municipalities. Monitoring stream bed quality and flows could be on-going educational activity.

Manage riparian buffer
 

Encourage growth of trees and vegetation appropriate for a healthy stream along the banks, both as an aesthetic component on the landscape and to maintain stream dynamics.

Will involve different solutions at different sites (in terms of who owns property, landscape, and use).

Manage stream channel

Restore sections of streams that have been adversely impacted by erosion, sedimentation, and chemical precipitation.

Identify sections of stream that require restoration and select appropriate restoration methodologies

Promote a sense of place

Maintain or improve access (e.g. paths) to the stream at several points, with signage that has educational value in terms of watershed management and local heritage.

Signage identifying Huron Creek at the Waterfront Park and in an upstream area is critical.  The Bridge School has already designed a sign for the Waterfront park.
Improve Creek at the Waterfront Park

Provide a setting that enhances the experiences of visitors to the waterfront park, invites interaction with the stream, and serves educational goals.

Develop landscape plan that could include signage, stream-side vegetation, re-construction of stream banks, re-arrangement of stream channel, improvements in stream outlet to Portage Canal, etc.

Developing the Huron Creek Watershed Management Plan

 

 

 

Last Updated: April 11, 2007