Kalamazoo River Watershed Heritage Water Trail

Allegan County Parks and the Allegan Conservation District, along with several other partners, are pleased to announce the start of a new project in Allegan County involving the Kalamazoo River watershed. For the past year this partnership group has been working on turning the entire Kalamazoo River watershed into a State of Michigan designated Heritage Water Trail. Dr. Dave Lemberg from Western Michigan University, appointed by the Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries as the heritage water trail coordinator for the State of Michigan, has been working with us to help move this incredible project forward.

The completed project will include water trail maps and guides that will introduce watershed visitors to the history and ecological significance of the Kalamazoo River and its major tributaries. There will also be signs posted along the river pinpointing the heritage sites that will be included in the guidebooks. In Allegan County, the Heritage Water Trail will include the Kalamazoo River main stream from Plainwell to Saugatuck, as well as the Gun River and the Rabbit River. This project will continue to enhance the tremendous natural resource that is the Kalamazoo River Watershed and will help to develop tourism and tourism-related businesses along the river.

Because of the immense size of the watershed, and the large number of major tributaries involved, this project will be completed in phases. The first phase of this project will be the Kalamazoo River mainstream from Morrow Pond in Kalamazoo County to Saugatuck in Allegan County. One hundred historic and ecologically significant sites along this river segment have already been identified, sixty of which are located in Allegan County. Work continues on the site write-ups, the river maps, and the signs that will be placed at the various sites along the river. At this time it is anticipated that work on this first phase will be completed in the spring of 2007.

This is a great opportunity for Allegan County businesses and organizations to advertise in a new and exciting way. In areas of the state with similar water trail systems, local businesses have seen their patronage increase as much as three times that of what it had been before the water trail was established. Site sponsorships are available to businesses and organizations at a cost of $500 for a five year sponsorship. A sponsorship will include advertising space on the selected site sign as well as the business or organization contact information printed in the corresponding guidebook section. At this time we are encouraging any business or organization interested in sponsoring one or more sites on the Heritage Water Trail to contact Kevin Ricco at Allegan County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism or Tina Clemons at the Allegan Conservation District for details.

To learn more about the project, please visit the Kalamazoo River Watershed Heritage Water Trail Web site at the following address: http://www.wmich.edu/glcms/watertrails/kzotrails_1.htm

Article copied (with permission) from District 9 Commissioner’s Comments by Fritz Spreitzer — March 5th 2007.