The Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan provides a description of the watershed (including such topics as bodies of water, population, land use, municipalities, and recreational activities), summarizes each of the nine subwatersheds to Grand Traverse Bay, and outlines current water quality conditions in the bay. Pollutant threats to water quality, as well as their sources and causes, have been identified. Efforts to address pollutant threats have been researched, developed, and prioritized. The plan contains an extensive list, organized into more than 15 categories, of potential tasks and projects to reduce threats to water quality.

The plan also outlines and identifies a set of measurable milestones to guide implementation progress and criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of implementation efforts.

This project was made possible through two watershed management planning grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and administered through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Nonpoint Source Program. The awarded funds were authorized by Section 319 of the Federal Clean Water Act. More information on these past planning projects can be found by visiting our Past Projects page.