Watershed Summary

The geographic scope of the Bear Creek watershed encompasses 118,000 acres in Manistee and Benzie Counties, including the villages of Copemish, Bear Lake, Kaleva, and Brethren.  The Bear's watershed contains little productive farmland due to the numerous swamps and rolling hills of Kalkaska sand in the area.  Most of the upper and lower portions of the watershed are state or federal lands that are managed for recreation and timber resources, while the middle portion contains limited agriculture.  The Bear Creek watershed plan was approved under the CMI administrative rules and was funded under section 319.

MDEQ Nonpoint Source Links

• Manistee River Watershed (a larger watershed management plan encompassing Bear Creek)

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• Conservation Resource Alliance

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