This Spring, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) approved a 2-year $85,000 grant to produce a Watershed Management Plan for the Little Swan Creek watershed in Branch and St. Joseph counties. After that formal plan is developed and approved, our lake association (and all other interested organizations) will be eligible to apply for larger implementation grants to support changes that will protect and improve water quality in Little Swan Creek and Matteson Lake.

The Branch County Conservation District will serve as the lead agency for the grant, and the Matteson Lake Association will play a major role in the project. Volunteers from our Association will document water quality conditions, coordinate with partner organizations, communicate with stakeholders, identify critical locations and best practices to manage pollution, and ultimately help draft the watershed management plan.

As part of the grant, the Matteson Lake Association committed $25,000 in matching funds to cover costs associated with expanded water sampling. The Colon Township Lake Board also committed $25,000 to help cover environmental consulting costs. Other grant partners include the St. Joseph County Conservation District, Colon Township Lake Board, Branch County Drain Commission, St. Joseph County Drain Commission, Matteson Township, Coldwater GSI Department, St. Joseph GIS Department, Friends of the St. Joseph River, and the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Heath Agency. Clearly, this will be a community effort!

It will take two years to complete all of the grant activities and write the watershed management plan. Over the first several months, we plan to form an Advisory Council, prepare a quality assurance project plan (QAPP), which must be approved by EGLE before we can begin sampling, and train volunteers to help with water sampling in the latter half of this summer.

Thank you to all the Matteson Lake Association members who submitted letters of support for the grant; and thank you in advance to everyone who will contribute volunteer hours to the project.