NOTICE: Bodily contact advisories for Thornapple River

The Barry/Eaton Health Department is currently working on funding to establish regular E. coli testing for the Thornapple River and tributaries in Eaton and Barry counties.

Many residents and visitors to the Thornapple
enjoy FULL BODILY CONTACT, (i.e. swimming and tubing).
It is a good idea to do more frequent testing
for E. coli on the river for this reason.

Scott Pachuta loading one more
bunch of trash into the pickup truck from the Thornapple River
Cleanup, May 20, 2000.

We collected six pick-up truck loads of trash and toxic waste on the May 20, 2000 River Cleanup. We even collected television sets from the bank and floodplain of the Thornapple River in Barry County. 75 volunteers turned out for this event.

Free yourself! Click here to break out of frames!

I am an environmental educator, and live on the beautiful Thornapple River in Kent County. I have a love for watershed education. This site has information about environmental issues local to the Thornapple River Watershed, in Kent, Ionia, Barry, Allegan, and Eaton counties, in Michigan, USA.

Last updated April, 2002.

For other updates of this site information, see www.thornappleriver.com

WATERSHED EXPO WAS SEPTEMBER 30, 1999!
Supported by a grant from the Grand Rapids Foundation.

VIRTUAL CANOE TRIP!
June 5, 1999 was our annual river cleanup Canoe Trip!
See all the junque we collected.

The Thornapple River Cleanup
The river was in flood stage, so the TRWG and Thornapple River Water Quality Action Committee conducted a bank cleanup, with operations centered in Tyden Park, Hastings, Barry County.
The 2000 River Cleanup was
Saturday, May 20, 2000

The Thornapple River Spring Festival was Saturday, May 20.
Join us in 2002!
River flood stage information at Hastings.
River flood stage information at Caledonia.

THORNAPPLE RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY.

Do you love the Thornapple River?
Have you or your organization been involved in environmental projects in the watershed?
Do you have concerns about the health of the Thornapple River?
If so, please contribute to our survey, supported by a grant from the Frey Foundation.
Thanks!

GRAND RIVER EXPEDITION 2000
July 15-27, over 150 people paddled the entire Grand River!

An idle moment....

ENVIRONMENTAL HOTPAGE LINKS

ON THIS SITE:

Fish Kill on Jordan Lake.
Oil spill and sewage spill on the Thornapple River.
Thornapple River Public Access site map.
Kettle Lake Stream Team 2000.
TRWG and Coldwater River Watershed Council partnered to teach stream ecology in Kettle Lake Elementary, Caledonia Township, Kent County.
Kent County Airport Pollutes Thornapple River Tributary.
The facts, and more of the facts.
The Purple Loosestrife Project.
Caledonia High School students.
Adopt a Tributary!
Thornapple River fact sheet. Just how long is the Thornapple?
Tributaries List! New comprehensive list, by county and township.
County and Township list for the Thornapple Watershed.
Contact information for Thornapple Watershed soil erosion control act enforcement.
Who you gonna call?
Wetlands are important to our watershed. Read all about it!
Rain Gardens. Stormwater retention can be a beautiful thing.
West Michigan Rain Gardens.More information about creating Rain Gardens.
A GUIDE FOR LAND PRESERVATION. A work in progress.
Kent County Land Use Hotpage.
The Southbelt Freeway: impact on the Thornapple River.
Annual River Canoe Trip was Saturday, May 20, 2000. Join us next year!
Thornapple River Watershed Group was awarded grant by Grand Rapids Foundation.
The grant was to plan and present a unique watershed management course. Interested? Read all about it.
That Dam Problem in Caledonia.
Hydropower dam issues on the Thornapple River.
Take our Dam tour!

OFF THIS SITE:

Save the Camelback Bridge.

Fish Species List of the Thornapple River, with fishy links.

Riverhouse: Watershed Ecology and Online Field Guides.
Another TRWG site. This one is especially for you wildlife lovers and fisherfolk.

Know Your Watershed!
Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC). Lots of key information and resources.

The Michigan Drain Code
is in dire need of revamping. It is an environmental nightmare. Read all about it.

Michigan Lake and Stream Association. You may be a riparian! Not sure? Read the definition.

NEW! Interactive GIS maps!! The Institute of Water Research at Michigan State University has given us the most wonderful toy to play with. Go to the GIS site now, and pack a lunch. You will be there for HOURS.

Protecting Inland Lakes. I took this excellent class.
Here are photos from session one: Photos link.

EPA SURF YOUR WATERSHED Thornapple River data.

Saving Our Watersheds: NWF field guide to TMDLs
(or how much crap you can dump into a stream and still call it clean. This is somewhat analogous to how many cockroach parts are allowed in a pound of flour).

How Did the Poison Get into the Trout?
...and other pollution puzzles of the Great Lakes region.

Dioxins in the Great Lakes Ecosystem.
Effects of dioxins in fish, wildlife, and people. Mmm, nummy; eat-'em-up.

EQIP. Environmental Quality Incentives Program NRCS. Landowners, check this out!! Agriculturists, there is $$$ in this for you! The Coldwater River has been designated an EQIP location.

MICHIGAN'S POLLUTED LANDS.
A site near YOU is a superfund cleanup project. Don't believe it? Take a look...enter your town in the search window.

YOUR MICHIGAN REPRESENTATIVES
YOUR MICHIGAN SENATORS
Never underestimate the power of the written word. Write to them. Your opinion can make a difference.

Thornapple River Dam Tour!

Please sign the guestbook!

This is the environmental issues site of Riverhouse, watershed ecology and online field guides. Check back frequently for weekly updates.

Email me at thornapple@hotmail.com
The Thornapple River Watershed Group
P.O. Box 341
Caledonia, Michigan 49316

This is the Tonguemonster!

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