The Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) began a project to restore the aquatic habitat of Bowens Creek in 2010 under a partnership with Ducks Unlimited and Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. Once a cold water trout stream, the creek had been directed into a ditch along an old railroad grade cutting through Arcadia Marsh, destroying any useful habitat.
In this video, CRA’s Nate Winkler describes how the stream was re-routed back into its original channel and given the woody structure needed for the restoration of habitat. Today, the stream runs cool again and supports a diversity of life, from the smallest plants and algae at the bottom of the food chain to the bugs or macroinvertebrates that feed the returning trout.
This successful restoration or re-wilding of a trout steam was made possible by GTRLC, the owners of Arcadia Marsh, with financial support from Ducks Unlimited, the Michigan Coastal Zone Management program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes program.