Section 319
              NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
 Cattle Leave, Aquatic Community Returns to Furlong Creek
WatPrbndv Irnnrnvpd   Unrestricted cattle access to a 4-mile reach of Furlong
                              Creek caused impairments to its aquatic macroinvertebrate
 community. With the creek unable to meet its aquatic life support designated use,
 Michigan placed the waterbody on its 303(d) list in 1996. Project partners installed fencing
 to keep cattle away from the creek. Soon thereafter, the  macroinvertebrate community
 improved, allowing the state to delist the stream reach in 2005.
 Problem
Project Highlights
 Furlong Creek flows through Mackinac County
 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Surveys
 conducted in 1989 found diverse fish and
 macroinvertebrate communities in the  creek.
 By 1999, however, cattle grazing on  private
 property had unrestricted access to the creek.
 The animals walked in the creek and trampled
 riparian vegetation, causing excessive  instream
 habitat disturbance and sedimentation.

 Subsequent creek monitoring revealed low
 fish and macroinvertebrate diversity. Pollution-
 sensitive insect families (e.g., caddisflies,
 stoneflies, and mayflies) and fish species (e.g.,
 rainbow trout) were absent or very rare. These
 aquatic life support impairments led Michigan
 to place a 4-mile segment of Furlong Creek on
 its 303(d) list in  1996.
In the early 2000s, the landowner, Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ),
and Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA)
collaborated to address the water quality
problems in Furlong Creek. MDA Right-to-Farm
staff worked with the landowner to develop
a farm management plan. In implementing
the plan, project partners installed more than
20,000 feet of streambank fencing to exclude
cattle from Furlong Creek.
Results
The accompanying table shows that, by
2004, the creek had recovered. Fish and
macroinvertebrate populations were essen-
tially identical to those found before cattle
gained unrestricted access to the creek. The
Number of fish species
Rainbow trout present?
Kinds of macroinvertebrates
Kinds of mayflies
Kinds of caddisflies
Mussels present?
Macroinvertebrate community rating
1989
(limited cattle access)
12
Yes
24
2
6
Yes
Attainment
1999
(unrestricted cattle access)
7
No
18
1
0
No
Nonattainment
2004
(limited cattle access)
13
Yes
26
3
5
Yes
Attainment
 Biological monitoring data from Furlong Creek. Pollution-sensitive fish and macroinvertebrate species
 returned after the installation of cattle exclusion fencing.

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waterbody had recovered from cattle impacts
and as a result, the state removed Furlong
Creek from its 303(d) list.
Partners and Funding
DEQ provided $214,000 in section 319 funds to
the Luce-West Mackinaw Conservation District
for streambank fencing in Furlong Creek and
a neighboring watershed. The funding also
supported the pre- and post-project biological
surveys.
<
30
ft
•    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
\  Off ice of Water
 S  Washington, DC

    841-F-06-0030
    December 2006
                                             For additional information contact:
                                             Bill Taft
                                             Michigan Department of Environmental Quality,
                                             Water Bureau
                                             517-335-4205
                                             taftw@michigan.gov

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