Point Brulee - February 2010

The Watershed
Nestled in the northwest corner of Lake Huron lies the Les Cheneaux island watershed - a 36-island archipelago, characterized by an intricate complex of channels, shallow bays, and rock-studded peninsulas, and boasting almost 200 linear miles of Great Lakes shoreline. These natural resource attractions make "the Snows" a popular destination spot for tourists, outdoor enthusiasts, and vaction homeowners, as well as home for over 2,000 full time residents.

Protecting this area are the Les Cheneaux Watershed Council and the Chippewa/East Mackinac Conservation District. These two non-profit organizations have teamed up through the Les Cheneaux Watershed Project to restore threatened water quality, create awareness of how to protect it, and put in motion a plan to guarantee the nature-based livelihood of the community and its visitors.

The Les Cheneaux Watershed Project is the community's effort to protect area water quality through education, best management practices, and long term land use planning.  The project has been funded in part through the Michigan Non-point Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement 2006-0109 to the Chippewa/East Mackinac Conservation District.  The project began in February 2007. 

Phragmites in the Les Chenueax Area

Phragmites australis has invaded Les Cheneaux. The invasive phragmites (frag-MY-teez), also known as common reed, is a perennial, wetland grass that can grow to a height of 16 feet.  P. australis is native to Michigan but an invasive cultural variant is becoming widespread and is threatening the ecological health of wetlands and coastal shorelines of the Great Lakes.  The native, invasive and hybrid forms of these have been sighted in our area during the past two seasons. 

Phragmites is controllable.  For those wishing to learn more,  log on to www.michigan.gov/deq.  Enter “phragmites” in the search box in the upper right corner of the home page.

McKay Creek

Les Cheneaux Community Schools  - The Watershed Project is pleased to inform you that we are including Les Cheneaux Community School project activities on our web site that relate to improving our watershed.  Check out our "Projects" page to see some of the fine work accomplished by our students.

Water Tests - 2008

Thanks to a grant from the Les Cheneaux Community Foundation, the Watershed Project performed water tests at ten locations throughout the watershed during the summer of 2008.  The purpose of the tests was to monitor coliform and E.coli bacteria levels near concentrations of shoreline cottages and areas designated for swimming.  Click here to see the test results.