Making fish and habitat survey data publicly available to facilitate collaborative management of Great Lakes tributaries

Grant: # 1531

Grant Amount: $71,245.00

Board Decision Year: 2015

Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Marquette Fisheries Research Station (Marquette)

Marquette Fisheries Research Station

Zorn, Troy ([email protected]) 906-249-1611

2015 Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Fish Populations: Ecological and Biological Research to Inform Management - Ecological and biological fisheries research to inform management

Project Details

In 2002, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Fisheries Division initiated a statewide Status and Trends Program (STP) to assess fish populations and aquatic habitat in Michigan rivers. A key component of the STP was an inventory of streams throughout Michigan using a stratified random sampling design and standardized survey methods. Data from these surveys and other surveys done using the STP random site protocols can be used to characterize various types of streams and stream habitats throughout Michigan. The information needed for characterization benchmarks existed in MDNR databases for the entire state of Michigan; however, the data was not readily available to citizens and fishery managers in a user-friendly manner. With support from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, the MDNR Fisheries Division contracted the expertise needed to create the Stream Evaluator for assembling the collected data and displaying them in a user-friendly manner. The tool characterizes benchmark conditions of fish population composition, species abundance, and habitat conditions for each stream type in Michigan. The Stream Evaluator will be updated annually with the latest data from the MDNR Fisheries Division survey database conducted using the MDNR STP random site protocols. The Stream Evaluator is available at http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/smdt/.

Documents

MDNR Marquette Fisheries Research Station Final Report	View - Research_Final_Report_2015.1531.pdf
Using Statewide Survey Data to Support Local-Scale Management of Michigan Trout Streams	View - Zorn_etal_2017-_Using_statewide_data_to_support_MI_trout_stream_mgmt.pdf
2023- Zorn etal 2023- Combining Statewide Surveys and Classification to Support Management of Streams	View - 2023-_Zorn_etal_2023-_Combining_Statewide_Surveys_and_Classification_to_Support_Management_of_Streams.pdf