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Protecting Northern Michigan's ​Water Resources

Milligan Creek

Milligan Creek has its headwaters in the wetlands surrounding Duby Lake. It then flows through Duby Lake and then through miles of natural area (forests consisting of aspen and conifers), and behind some residential areas, before running into the Black River. Milligan Creek is considered a large tributary of the Upper Black River, and joins the river just below the Kleber Dam.

Overview of Milligan Creek

Watershed

Headwaters

Mouth

Upper Black River

Length

13 miles

Description:

Milligan Creek is a large tributary of the Upper Black River, and flows into the river just below the Kleber Dam. From its headwaters in Duby Lake, the creek flows north through forests of aspen and conifers. Milligan Creek is a coldwater stream that has been designated as a Trout Stream by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, although brook trout fishing has seen a noted decline in recent years. It flows through scenic sections of the Pigeon River State Forest.

Other Threats to Water Quality

  • Nonpoint source pollution
  • Eroding riverbanks

Monitoring

Milligan Creek is monitored every three years through the Watershed Council’s Comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring (CWQM) Program for dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, pH, nitrate-nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chloride levels, and total suspended solids.

Biological monitoring is also performed by volunteers in Milligan Creek each spring and fall as part of the Watershed Council’s Volunteer Stream Monitoring (VSM) Program.

Additional Resources:

Information about Threatened, Endangered, and Special Concern species in this stream’s watershed is available on the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) website. 

Discharge data for this stream is available online through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Low Flow Discharge Data Base.

USGS Current Water Data for Michigan provides stream flow conditions. 

A wide variety of maps, including Vegetation circa 1800, National Wetlands Inventory, Land Cover Change 1800’s to 1978, Wetland Change 1800’s to 1980, and many other resources for this area are available online in the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) Data Resources page.

Learn about safely eating fish from this river in the Michigan Fish Consumption Advisory.

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