Saginaw Bay
Saginaw Bay | |
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![]() View from Bay City State Park | |
Location | Lake Huron Lower Peninsula of Michigan |
Coordinates | 43°55′N 83°35′W / 43.917°N 83.583°W[1] |
Type | Bay |
Basin countries | United States |
Surface area | 1,143 square miles (2,960 km2)[2] |
Surface elevation | 581 feet (177 m)[1] |
Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is 1,143 square miles (2,960 km2) in area.[2] It is located in parts of five Michigan counties: Arenac, Bay, Huron, Iosco, and Tuscola.
Watershed
The Saginaw Bay watershed is the largest drainage basin in Michigan, draining approximately 15% of the total land area.[3] The watershed contains the largest contiguous freshwater coastal wetland system in the United States.[3] The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network[4] leads the effort to promote sustainable development in the Saginaw Bay Watershed by coordinating watershed programs and providing grants to innovative projects across the region. It is currently listed as an Area of Concern by the Environmental Protection Agency.[3]
Etymology
Possible origins for the name "Saginaw" could be from the
History
Saginaw Bay Informational Designation | |
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![]() Saginaw Bay historic marker | |
Designated | October 30, 1956 |
This area was long settled by indigenous peoples, lastly by bands of the
France ceded its nominal control of the region to
During development of natural resources in the 19th century, Saginaw Bay was busy with shipping of lumber and other commodities to eastern markets.
Settlements
About 1813, Louis Campau erected an Indian trading post along the Saginaw River, which led to the development of Saginaw City, Michigan in 1816[6] (which was combined with East Saginaw City in March 1890 to form Saginaw, Michigan). The history of other settlements of the Saginaw Bay area was connected to this. Bay City, Michigan is a major port at the lower end of the bay. The two islands in the middle of the bay, Charity Island and Little Charity Island, are excellent fishing grounds.
Fisheries
Because Saginaw Bay is shallower and warmer than the main basin of Lake Huron, its fish community is also different. Both recreational and commercial fisheries operate in Saginaw Bay.
Resurgence of the fisheries began after passage of clean water legislation like the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Clean Water Pact. The walleye fishery began a resurgence in the early 1980s when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources initiated a fingerling stocking program. The sport fishery soon remerged, but the commercial fishery for walleye which was formally closed in 1970, remained closed. The recreational fishery harvest averaged 80,000 walleyes annually from 1986 to 2002 but was hatchery dependent with as much as 80% of the harvest being hatchery fish. A profound food web shift in Lake Huron took place in 2003 with the near disappearance of the invasive alewife. Alewives used Saginaw Bay's near-shore waters as spawning and nursery grounds and were a formidable predator and competitor on newly hatched percid (walleye and yellow perch) fry. In the absence of alewives, walleye and yellow perch reproductive success greatly increased. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources discontinued stocking in 2006, and walleye recovery targets were formally met in 2009. Recreational harvest since then has ranged from about 150,000 per year to as much as 350,000 per year. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources liberalized walleye recreational harvest (higher daily possession limit and lower minimum length limit) in 2015. Although yellow perch also benefitted from the absence of alewives with greater reproductive success, the numbers of adults has declined and remained depressed. This is because of a high mortality rate in their first year of life, believed to be predation from walleye and other predators.
Other historically important species in Saginaw Bay include lake sturgeon and cisco (lake herring). Until the middle of the 20th century, Saginaw Bay supported an enormous cisco commercial fishery. They declined throughout much of the lake and have not recovered in Saginaw Bay. A cisco fingerling stocking program aimed at restoring a breeding population in the bay was initiated in 2017, a joint exercise by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other partner agencies of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Lake sturgeon, which mainly spawn in rivers, are also the subject of a restocking effort led by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, with plantings taking place in the Saginaw River system.
Weather
Saginaw Bay Light No. 1, a navigational light 11 nautical miles northeast of the mouth of the Saginaw River, houses
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Ice_breakup_in_Saginaw_Bay_on_March_20%2C_2022%2C_cropped_from_R2AWF03202022280038%2C_IRS_AWiFS.png/330px-Ice_breakup_in_Saginaw_Bay_on_March_20%2C_2022%2C_cropped_from_R2AWF03202022280038%2C_IRS_AWiFS.png)
See also
- USS Saginaw Bay
- Saginaw Bay Yacht Club
References
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Saginaw Bay
- ^ a b Great Lakes Basin Program Projects Archived 2007-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control
- ^ a b c Saginaw River and Bay Area of Concern U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- ^ "Saginaw Bay WIN". www.saginawbaywin.org.
- ^ Sagninaw Facts and History Archived 2005-12-28 at the Wayback Machine Public Libraries of Saginaw
- ISBN 0-8143-1838-X.
- ^ "NDBC - Station SBLM4". noaa.gov.
- ^ "NDBC - Station GSLM4". noaa.gov.