Rabbit River Watershed Project
The Rabbit River Watershed is located primarily in Allegan County, with parts extending into Barry, Ottawa and Kent Counties. The watershed encompasses approximately 187,200 acres of primarily agricultural and forested land. Approximately 63% of the Watershed is agriculture, 16% forested, 9% wetlands, 6% urban, 5% open space, and 1% lakes. The Rabbit River originates east of Wayland, Michigan, in Leighton Township, and flows westerly to join the Kalamazoo River at New Richmond, which then flows on to Lake Michigan north of the City of Saugatuck. The Rabbit River is a State Designated Trout Stream, as are several of its tributaries. Very few rivers in southwestern Michigan are designated trout streams, making the Rabbit River a highly valuable resource in this area.
Video of the Rabbit River Watershed
Streams in the Rabbit River Watershed have suffered impairments due to human derived land based activities. Biosurveys conducted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE) indicate that habitat and biological communities in the Rabbit River and tributaries are significantly degraded due to nonpoint source pollution. Streams in the watershed are included on MDNRE non-attainment list. The Rabbit River Watershed is listed as one of eight watersheds on MDNRE’s Michigan’s Unified Watershed Assessment and Watershed Restoration Priorities. In addition, the Rabbit River Watershed is ranked third out of twenty-eight in the sate of Michigan as a Conservation Priority Area for the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) to reduce non-point source pollution. Significant water quality impairments include degraded indigenous aquatic habitat and biotic diversity, reduced fish populations and flooding. Major NPS pollutants include sediment, excessive nutrients, and high flow. Occasional spikes in fecal coliform bacteria have also been noted, raising concerns about water-body contact. Development is steadily increasing in the watershed as open space and agricultural land is re-zoned to residential and industrial. Allegan County’s population has increased more than ten percent since 1990 (according to the 2000 census).
The goals of the current Rabbit River Watershed Project are to improve water quality and habitat and reduce nonpoint source pollution by promoting and installing best management practices, such as buffer strips, exclusion fencing, conservation tillage, and streambank restorations throughout the priority areas in the watershed and by increasing awareness of water quality and watershed issues through information and education. The priority areas include the Red Run Drain, Black Creek and Green Lake Creek subwatersheds. These prioirty areas were chosen because they are currently on the Michigan Section 303d list as impaired water bodies. The goals and best management practices were identified in the Rabbit River Watershed Plan that was approved in July 2009.
Technical and financial assistance is available to all rural and urban landowners and municipalites in the Rabbit River Watershed to address soil erosion and storm water management concerns. Contact the Allegan Conservation District for more information on the assistance available and to schedule a field visit with one of our project managers.
For more information on water quality in your watershed please visit the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Webiste at: michigan.gov/non-point
History of Land Use Planning in the Rabbit River
The Land Use Planning Project was a great success in the Upper Rabbit River Watershed. The Upper Rabbit River Implementation Project, completed in 2002-2006, cost-shared the development of numerous model ordinances that are available to all townships to adopt.
This funded the adoption of three Lake Funnel Ordinances with Leighton, Hopkins and Monterey Townships. The City of Wayland, and Monterey, Leighton and Hopkins Townships have all adopted Water Overlay Ordinances. We hope to continue the Land Use Planning Project with other watersheds in the near future including the Gun River and Black River Watersheds.
Upper Rabbit River Implementation Project Fact Sheet
You can view water quality model ordinances in the Land Use Download Section.
For more information on model ordinances and land use planning workshops please call the Allegan Conservation District.
Watershed Planning Links
Low Impact Development Information
EPA Low Impact Developement Movie
Watershed Planning
EPA Model Ordinances
The following are project successes implemented through the Implementation Project in 2002-2006
-Updated master plans to reflect water quality protection in all seven municipalities
-Riparian Overlay District Ordinance adopted by all seven municipalities within the Watershed
-Funnel Ordinance for water quality protection adopted by three municipalities
-How to use a Watershed Management Plan for Land Use Planning Document
-Water Quality Zoning in Review Document
-Municipality support for water quality improvements and protection
-Watershed signage, including educational signs at BMP sites and road signs to reference the geographic boundaries of the watershed
-Permanent Student Stream Monitoring Program within the Allegan County Math and Science Center and the Allegan Conservation District
-The Watershed Project partnered with Monterey Township to disseminate a Land Use Planning Survey for Water Quality. Results were in full support of preserving water quality and in full support of land preservation.
-Live macro-invertebrate education display
-Over $200,000 in cost-share funds have been provided to local producers and townships to implement best management practices to improve water quality.
Rabbit River Watershed Project Downloads
| Name | Description | Size | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| OVERLAY_MODEL.pdf | Rabbit River Land Use Management | 75KB | 772 |
| WETLAND_MODEL.pdf | Rabbit River Land Use Management | 100KB | 711 |
| GENERAL_MODEL.pdf | Rabbit River Land Use Management | 281KB | 587 |
| MACRO_ID.pdf | Macro-invertebrate Identification Key | 392KB | 703 |
| LAND_REVIEW.pdf | Rabbit River Land Use Management | 118KB | 1028 |
| RABBIT_WATERSHED.pdf | Rabbit River Watershed Map | 1MB | 572 |
| Rabbit River Watershed Video.wmv | Photo slideshow of the Rabbit River Watershed | 1MB | 180 |
| SEPT_2011.pdf | Rabbit River Watershed News, Sept 2011 | 169KB | 72 |
| 1993_MDEQ_Hamilton_Dam_Inspection_Report.pdf | Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Dam Inspection Report (1993). | 1MB | 427 |
| RABBIT_JAN_2012.pdf | January 2012 Newsletter | 188KB | 19 |