THE WATERSHED
The Saginaw Bay Watershed consists of the entire land area and waterways which drain into Saginaw Bay. The word watershed may be interchanged with basin. Thus the terms "Saginaw Bay Watershed" and "Saginaw Bay Basin" refer to the same area.
The Saginaw Bay Watershed is the largest in Michigan. It includes all or portions of 22 counties. The Watershed consists of three major subwatersheds including the Saginaw River Basin, East Coast Basin, and West Coast Basin. Each of these are made up of e ven smaller subwatersheds.
Saginaw River Basin: the land area whose waterways include the far-reaching Tittabawassee, Cass, Shiawassee and Flint River systems. These rivers converge to create the 22-mile long Saginaw River which accounts for approximately 75% of the water input to the Bay.
East Coastal Basin: predominently consists of the Pigeon, Pinnebog, Sebewaing and Quanicassee Rivers; Bird and Shebeon Creeks; Taft, Columbia and Allen Drains.
West Coastal Basin: includes the Tawas, Au Gres, Rifle, Pine, Pinconning and Kawkawlin Rivers; Big and Saganing Creeks.
STATISTICS
Saginaw Bay includes all the water inside an imaginary line drawn from Au Sable Point to Point Aux Barques.
The Bay covers 1,143 square miles with 240 miles of shoreline.
The Bay is divided into an inner and outer bay based on its natural configuration and depth. The inner bay averages 15 feet deep while the outer bay averages 48 feet. Circulation generally flows counterclockwise with an average flushing time of 186 days
The Saginaw Bay Watershed is the largest drainage basin in the state. It covers over 8,700 square miles in 22 counties or about 15% of Michigan.
The Saginaw Bay Watershed is home to approximately 1.4 million people.
There are over 175 inland lakes within the watershed and about 7,000 miles of rivers and tributaries.
Land use in the watershed consists of:
Agriculture 46% Forest 29%
Openlands 11% Urban 8%
Wetands 4% Water 2%
FLORA AND FAUNA
The most outstanding habitat feature of the Saginaw Bay Watershed is the expansive coastal wetlands of the Bay itself. They make up dhe largest remaining freshwater coastal system in the nation, covering approximately 15,000 acres.
Saginaw Bay is an important waterfowl and bird migration resting place. Each year more than 3 million waterfowl migrate through this Great Lakes area. Bald eagles, peregrine falcons, caspian terns, egrets, herons, tundra swans and many other species can be observed during their migratory flights.
In addition, designated wildlife areas occur over much of the basin. These include the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Tobico Marsh, Nayanquing, Fish Point, Wigwam and Wildfowl Bays. These and other areas contain thousands of acres that provide habit at for bitterns, black terns, ospreys, canada geese, pheasants, muskrats, minks, raccoons, red foxes and white-tailed deer plus numerous insects and amphibians.
The watershed has 138 plant and animal species that have been identified as endangered, threatened or of special concern. Many are associated with the coastal wetlands.
RECREATION
The Saginaw Bay area, particularly the five coastal counties, is a major tourism and water recreation center. The Bay is used extensively for pleasure boating, swimming and water skiing. When it comes to boating, Michigan ranks first in the nation with more than 850,000 registered boats. Over 50% of the boats are within 100 miles of Saginaw Bay!
More than 1 million visitors flock to one of four state parks located on the Bay to camp, swim, hike, bike, picnic, birdwatch and just enjoy the great outdoors each year.
However, the most popular recreational activity around Saginaw Bay is undoubtedly sport fishing.
There are over 90 species of fish including walleye, perch, salmon and trout found in the watershed. The Saginaw Bay walleye and perch fisheries have become nationally recognized.
WATER
The Bay is a major water source for a variety of uses. Agriculture, industry and residents rely on the Bay for irrigation, electrical power generation, industrial processes and drinking water.
Other communities and residents of the watershed rely on groundwater for their water supply.
COMMERCE
The regional economy is centered around agriculture, industry, recreation and forestry. The agricultural community produces sugar beets, corn, dry beans, barley, wheat and potatoes. Dairy, hog, poultry, and beef cattle are also raised in the watershed. Industry is dominated by automobile manufacturing and it's related activities. Forestry provides additional economic opportunities with the national and state forests.
The Saginaw River and Bay are important to domestic and international waterborne commerce. Commercial freight traffic in the Saginaw River totalled more than 4.5 million tons during the 1990 shipping season. Bay City and Saginaw serve as the major ports connecting midwestern agricultural and mining industries to other Great Lakes and international ports.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
DNR
Saginaw Bay(989) 791-7367 National Watershed Initiative
Saginaw Basin(989) 791-7367 Watershed Council
Saginaw Basin Alliance(989) 791-7341