front cover of The Huron River
The Huron River
Voices from the Watershed
John Knott and Keith Taylor, Editors
University of Michigan Press, 2000

"The Huron River . . . was called 'Cos-scut-e-nong Sebee'. . . . [It] is a beautiful, transparent stream, passing alternatively through rich bottoms, openings, plains, and sloping woodlands, covered with heavy timber."
---History of Washtenaw County, Michigan, 1881

The Huron River---stretching 130 miles through three counties---has inspired numerous writers throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Contained here is a collection of new poems, essays, and stories, accompanied by maps, photographs, and illustrations that celebrate the Huron River. Over twenty locally and nationally known literary figures, including Alice Fulton and Charles Baxter, have contributed to this volume. In addition, the work of biologists, naturalists, and even an arche-ologist have been included to give a richer sense of the physical and cultural environment.

Each of these writers reminds us that our lives are more intertwined with the river and its watershed than we might think. The Huron River opens with these words: "Watersheds are the oldest and most durable markers of place. . . . These boundaries affect our lives by defining our natural environment, not only its topography but its soils, its plant and animal life, and to some extent its weather. The water that sustains most of us is the water that flows through our local watershed."

And the river's strength is wondrous unto itself. "The water will always be there, and it will always find its way down," writer Gary Snyder tells us. The river is sometimes visible, sometimes not; yet it "is alive and well under the city streets, running in giant culverts."

John Knott is Professor of English, University of Michigan. After working as a bookseller for twenty years, Keith Taylor now teaches writing part-time for the University of Michigan and works as a freelance writer.

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front cover of Super Creatures of the Huron River
Super Creatures of the Huron River
Sara Adlerstein-Gonzalez
Michigan Publishing Services, 2021

Super Creatures of the Huron River aims to teach children about stream ecology, with a focus on the fascinating “bugs” that can be found in the Huron River. State and national inventories record one hundred dams on the Huron River system, which is typical of rivers and tributaries in the Great Lakes Basin. What was once a free-flowing system is now interrupted by dams on both the river’s main stem and its tributaries. Although dams can provide some benefits, they produce severe negative impacts on the rivers they harness. Dams alter a river’s chemical, physical, and biological processes, including fragmenting and blocking the natural movement of fish and other aquatic species. Although these negative impacts have become more obvious over the past two decades, the environmental costs of dams have only recently captured scientific attention.

Super Creatures of the Huron River is a project conducted by a team of University of Michigan (UM) faculty and students, in collaboration with Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) researchers. Sara Adlerstein developed the project. Working closely with her were Carolyn Berge, Jeffrey Evans, and Mike Wiley from UM and Paul Steen and Pam Labadie from HRWC. Illustrations for the book were created by master of science student Jennifer Fuller. The picture book will be used as a tool to support streamside activities led by the HRWC.

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