What is a Watershed?
A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. John Wesley Powell, scientist geographer, put it best when he said that a watershed is: "that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of the community."
What Is the Portage Lake Watershed?
The Portage Lake Watershed is located in Manistee County, Michigan, and encompasses 21 square miles (15,808 acres) including portions of Onekama, Bear Lake, Manistee, and Brown townships as well as the Village of Onekama. Portage Lake comprises 13 percent of the total surface area of the watershed. Seven named creeks and several unnamed creeks and drains feed Portage Lake, which is connected to Lake Michigan by a manmade channel on its west side.
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