Aerial view of Muskegon harbor, Muskegon, Michigan, US Army Corps of Engineers

Stewardship Assessments

The Lake Michigan Forum sees the ethic of stewardship – a commitment by government, businesses, other organizations, and individuals to restore and protect the ecosystem into the future – as essential in watersheds at the local level, in order to establish the sustained health of the Lake Michigan basin as a whole. As a means of enhancing stewardship activities in local communities and focusing broader regional policy and resources in order to build stewardship capacity at the watershed level, the Forum is conducting stewardship assessments in communities around the Basin. The stewardship assessment process is aimed at identifying opportunities for enhancing environmental stewardship among leaders and the general public in the local watershed.

Mona Lake Watershed

The first stewardship assessment took place in the Mona Lake watershed in western Michigan during the spring and summer of 2003. Working closely with many local partners in this small watershed located almost entirely within Muskegon County, the Lake Michigan Forum gathered existing environmental information and interviewed individuals living and working in the Mona Lake watershed. Using the resulting information, the Forum characterized existing stewardship activities in the watershed and compared these against a set of elements that, if in place, would represent a best-case stewardship scenario for Lake Michigan watersheds. The Forum explored those stewardship elements in the Mona Lake watershed and developed an initial set of strategic opportunities for enhancing stewardship. This set of opportunities was further refined and developed through input from local partners, public focus groups, and additional analysis on the part of the Forum.

To view the full report, please click here (PDF).

Baird Creek Watershed

The Forum completed its second Stewardship Assessment, conducted in the Baird Creek watershed, Brown County, Wisconsin, in December of 2004. The Baird Creek Watershed Stewardship Assessment focuses on development and agricultural practices, as well as increased local stakeholder input and intergovernmental cooperation. The City of Green Bay, and the Towns of Humboldt and Eaton principally encompass the watershed, and there are many opportunities for citizens and organizations to become involved in sustaining the Baird Creek watershed.

To view the full report, please click here (PDF).