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Michigan Department of Natural Resources Allegan County (T3N, R14W, Sections 33-35) and (T2N, R14W, Sections 1-5, 11) Surveyed August 9, 12, 13, 1991 James L. Dexter, Jr. Environment Sand Creek is a very small, third-order tributary to the Kalamazoo River.
It enters the Kalamazoo River where M-89 crosses the river, about 6 miles
east of Fennville. The creek is a designated trout stream that is classified
as top-quality cold water. Almost all of Sand Creek flows through a forested watershed, and is almost
entirely within the boundaries of the Allegan State Game Area. The underlying
soils in this drainage are primarily Oakville Fine sands which are well-drained
and have little storage capacity. The headwater tributaries, however,
are mixtures of sandy loams and loamy sands which are poorly drained and
have a higher storage capacity. The topography of the drainage varies
from nearly level to rolling hills. Sand Creek is estimated to be 6.2 miles long and to have 7 acres of water.
It has several very small tributaries which may be intermittent in nature
that were not included in the stream length estimate. Sand Creek falls
160 feet from its headwater tributaries to its confluence with the Kalamazoo
River. The average stream discharge is approximately 5 cubic feet per
second. Sand Creek averages 9.2 feet in width and 3.5 inches in depth. The deepest
pools are less than 3 feet deep. Aquatic habitat throughout much of the
mainstream is fair to good. The second survey site (referred to as "Habitat
Improvement Area" on Fish Collection forms) served as a MDNR Surface Water
Quality Division GLEAS procedure 51 reference site. This site ranked high
in habitat quality. Habitat components in the creek included logs, overhanging
brush, and undercut banks (all common); boulders, rocks, pools (sparse
except at site two); and riffles and pools (rare). Bottom substrates in three surveyed sites averaged 7% boulders, 8% rock,
13% gravel, 5% clay, 61% sand, 4% silt, and 2% peat clumps. Areas of high
velocity and fall had little embeddedness of gravel substrates. Peat occurred
only at the uppermost survey site. The only water quality information
on record was collected in 1947. During that survey dissolved oxygen ranged
from 6.8 to 9.0 ppm and alkalinities from 136 to 144 ppm; pH was not measured.
Recorded water temperatures during several summer surveys never exceeded
62°F. Aquatic insects are plentiful in Sand Creek wherever suitable substrate
or woody material exists. A total of 19 taxa were recorded in 1991, including
a very high abundance of several caddis species, and a fair representation
of mayflies and stoneflies. Development within the watershed is extremely limited. Only a handful
of houses are present, and none are on the banks of the stream. The watershed
has second-growth hardwoods, a few fallow fields, and Christmas tree plantations.
Access is excellent as all the fishable water occurs within the boundaries
of the Allegan State Game Area. Sand Creek has been managed for trout since 1936, and perhaps earlier.
Stocking records indicate that brook trout were stocked from 1936-1946,
and in 1951. Rainbow trout were stocked in 1934 and 1944. Brown trout
have never been stocked so far as is known. The earliest survey on record was in 1925, when the watershed was still
recovering from the effects of logging. Conifers were removed in the late
1800s, then a second logging effort removed hardwoods in the early 1900s.
The 1925 survey noted that the surrounding county was "open with local
brush" and gave a recommendation of "no good for trout". Species noted
at that time included mottled sculpin, central mudminnow, blacknose dace,
and horned dace (probably creek chub). Fisheries surveys were also conducted in 1947, 1971, 1972, and 1978.
Species composition through the 1970s included brook, rainbow and brown
trout, coho salmon, mottled sculpin, and blacknose dace (all abundant).
Non-abundant species included green sunfish, white sucker, brown bullhead,
creek chub, central mudminnow, pumpkinseed, and burbot. The fish community in 1991 differed little from that of 50 years ago.
Mottled sculpin, blacknose dace, rainbow trout, creek chub, and brook
trout were the most abundant species (Table 1). Two new species found
in 1991 were johnny and blackside darters. They were probably present
before but today's gear is more efficient for collecting them. Rainbow
trout account for most of the fish biomass. Brown trout were not captured
in 1991, although they were present in 1971 and 1978. The browns most
likely migrated from Bear Creek (located just north of Sand Creek) via
the Kalamazoo River. Only three management problems have occurred at Sand Creek. A stream
improvement program, designed to provide suitable spawning habitat, was
proposed and 24 structures (of unknown type and location) were installed
in 1950. No evidence of these structures was found in the 1991 survey. In the summer of 1978, a flood caused by a 12-inch rainfall caused Sand
Creek to "breach" a bend, eliminating approximately 300 feet of the best
spawning area. A proposal to correct this breach was funded by Wildlife
Unlimited of Allegan - Ottawa Counties in 1985, and the repairs were made
in 1986. The stream repair withstood a 7-inch rainfall event in the fall
of 1986. Now this section provides the best habitat on the entire stream,
especially as a nursery area. In 1988, a culvert replacement on the east M-89 crossing of Sand Creek
was accompanied by some minor habitat improvement by the Michigan Department
of Transportation. Using Fisheries Division's suggestions, several boulders,
floating logs, and a small Wisconsin bank structure were installed immediately
downstream of the culvert. Sand sediments (inherent in the basin) rendered
the boulders and floating logs ineffective, and the Wisconsin structure
was built too high. Low flows in this area (less than 2 cubic feet per
second in summer) contributed to these failures. The present trout fishery in Sand Creek is viewed as fair. Only resident
brook trout reach legal size and are available to anglers. The rainbows
smolt into steelhead and leave the creek while sublegals. Adult anadromous
steelhead, coho, and chinook are present every year, but few are available
to anglers because the fishing season is closed when most are present.
Only those which run early or spawn late may be caught during the normal
season. Poaching is troublesome for DNR Law Enforcement personnel because
the creek is remote yet accessible. The 1991 survey was conducted with DC backpack electrofishing gear at
three sites. Population estimates were conducted at the lower two sites,
but not at the upper site due to lack of trout. Rainbow trout were captured from 1 to 11 inches in length. The combined
population for both sites averaged 622 trout and 16.6 pounds per acre.
Estimates by age group indicated the stream produced about 430 yearling
rainbows in 1991. Recruitment of young-of-the-year rainbows (1 to 4 inches
long, Figure 1) was excellent. I believe
the low number of yearling and older rainbows is indicative of the lack
of deep-water habitat necessary to support older and larger fish. Brook trout 2 to 9 inches long were captured at the lowest two sites.
The estimated average population of brook trout (calculated using the
Baily modification of the Peterson formula) was 86 fish per acre (6.1
pounds per acre). Recruitment of young-of-the-year brook trout appeared
poor (Figure 2). Estimates by age group
indicated a total brook trout population of only 300 fish. Table 2 compares the catch-per-hour statistics of three trout species
from four survey years. These data indicate that brook trout numbers may
be decreasing due to competition from rainbow trout and salmon. Spawning
areas are very limited in Sand Creek, and the large anadromous species
may be superimposing their redds on brook trout redds. In 1991 it appeared
that only a remnant brook trout population remained. The growth rate of brook and rainbow trout in Sand Creek is very good
(Table 3). Brook and rainbow trout were growing well above the State average
rates. All trout species captured in this survey were very healthy and
fat. Length of age-0 brook and rainbow trout is likely not really as big
as stated in Table 3 because scale samples were taken only from trout
4 inches and larger. The estimated age frequency of brook and rainbow
trout in table 4 does not include age-0. Mortalities between age I and
II for both species appear higher than normal, probably due to the lack
of deeper water needed by larger fish. Few streams in southwest Michigan can compare with Sand Creek. It supports
brook, brown, and rainbow trout, plus chinook and coho salmon. Its small
size precludes it from becoming a major fishery attraction, but its scenic
location invites brook trout anglers back each year. Little management activity is needed at Sand Creek. An approved prescription
is on file to repair some erosion damage (loss of rock on berm wall) at
the 1986 improvement site. This work should be completed in 1993 or 1994;
it involves only a few yards of rock. No stocking of the stream is recommended.
Brook trout will most likely remain a minor species due to the large impact
of spawning anadromous species, but I don't believe they will disappear
even though recruitment was poor in 1991. Our management goal into the next century should be to maintain the existing
fishery at its present level or improve it if possible. There may be an
opportunity to construct a barrier to keep anadromous species out of the
good spawning areas, but this would also concentrate them more and attract
more poaching activity. District 12 staff would prefer to wait and see
if a proposed blocking weir at Brandywine Creek in Berrien County is effective
at keeping the anadromous fish out. If so, the cost of building a weir
on Sand Creek will have to be evaluated against the potential benefit
to the fishery. At this time I would say a weir would not be cost effective.
The stream just doesn't seem to have enough deep-water pool habitat to
produce a larger population of adult brook trout. Little opportunity exists
to create this habitat because of the sandy substrates. Report completed: January 1993 Table 1.-Species, relative abundance, and length of fish collected
by DC backpack shocker at three stations on Sand Creek, August 9 and 12,
1991. Weight is estimated for trout only.
Table 2.-Catch per hour of brook, brown and rainbow trout using
electrofishing gear from four sampling years (all sites combined) on Sand
Creek, Allegan County.
Table 3.-Average total unweighted length (inches) at age, and
growth relative to the state average, for fish sampled from Sand Creek
with backpack electroshocker August 9, 1991 to August 12, 1991. Number
of fish aged is given in parentheses.
Table 4.-Estimated age frequency (percent) of fish caught from
Sand Creek with backpack electrofishing gear August 9, 1991 to August
12, 1991
Last Update: 08/05/02
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