Red Cedar River (Michigan)
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The Red Cedar River is a
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. The river, which is a
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the Grand River in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, drains a watershed of approximately in the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area and suburban and rural areas to the east. The river flows through the campus of
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
, and is considered a cultural symbol of the school, including being mentioned in the school's fight song.


Name

The river was presumably named for the
juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...
species ''
Juniperus virginiana ''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as eastern redcedar, red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico an ...
,'' commonly known as red cedar, a plant native to the region. Prior to a 1966 decision by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the river was shown as Cedar River on federal maps, despite being known as the Red Cedar River locally. The board's review was prompted by a 1962 letter from Milton P. Adams, then-secretary of the Michigan Water Resources Commission, who noted in his letter that "generations of M.S.U. students have solemnly and with hearts full sung the glories of their Alma Mater 'on the banks of the Red Cedar.' Countless great careers have been launched, lifelong romances have budded, and strong characters have been wrought in these environs, presumably on the banks of the 'Red' Cedar.


Course

The river's source is Cedar Lake in Marion Township in southern Livingston County. It flows for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed May 19, 2011
first northwestward through Fowlerville, then westward through northern Ingham County. In Ingham County it flows through Williamston, Okemos,
East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
, and finally Lansing, where it empties into the Grand River. In East Lansing the river passes through the campus of
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
. The river is not navigable by boats larger than recreational size.


Watershed

The river's watershed is approximately in size. Among the river's larger tributaries, ordered from its mouth to its source, are Sycamore Creek, Pine Lake Outlet (the outflow of Lake Lansing), Sloan Creek, Deer Creek, Doan Creek, Kalamink Creek, the West Branch Red Cedar River, and the Middle Branch Red Cedar River. The Red Cedar River Watershed (RCRW) contains a diverse mix of rural lands dominated by agricultural land use and small communities, suburban areas, and highly urbanized lands. The watershed is home to thousands of residents who live, learn, work, and recreate within its lands and waters. Farms, factories, and shopping malls are necessary for quality of life. Equally important are clean water for fishing, swimming, and drinking, and natural landscapes for aesthetic relief. The river and its watershed are also home for a myriad of plants and animals that rely on a clean, protected environment to flourish.


Water quality

Since the national
Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the primary respo ...
in 1972, the river has greatly improved and is safe for swimming 74% of the year (the exception usually being right after heavy rains which bring higher levels of ''E. coli'' from runoff waters). The Red Cedar is regularly monitored by MSU Water with the contaminant reports posted by the Michigan State University International Center. Despite these improvements, littering and pollution into the river and onto its banks is a common problem and includes bikes, parking barricades, general trash, and occasionally large items such as car tires and mopeds. To combat this problem, twice per year the undergraduate MSU Fisheries and Wildlife club holds a "Red Cedar Clean-Up" event that brings students, faculty, alumni, and community members together to remove and recycle items found in the river and its banks.


Michigan State University campus

The Red Cedar River is a familiar campus landmark at Michigan State University. The name of the river is featured in the first line of MSU's fight song, and MSU students can be found studying in the parkland along its banks. A number of student activities centered around the Red Cedar over the course of MSU's history, including freshman vs. sophomore "tug-o-war" spanning the river and a Water Carnival featuring student made floats drifting in procession. People on campus frequently feed the large community of mallard ducks that congregate near the river. Alongside the river on MSU's campus is the W.J. Beal Botanical Garden, the oldest continuous botanical garden in the United States. The garden was started in 1873. The river is popular in the summer for
canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...
ing and
kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...
ing. (The campus canoe dock is self-mockingly named Red Cedar Yacht club, Yacht Club.) During floods, the river forms a standing wave at the campus dam that can be surfed. In the winter, the river often freezes over and students walk or play on the ice despite the inherent danger. During its inaugural season in 1922, the MSU hockey team played games on the frozen river. Fishing was banned on the campus in the 1960s; the ban was rescinded for a section of the river in 2013. Wildlife in the river includes 33 species of fish and various other aquatic animals, and study of the river and its ecosystem is incorporated into relevant areas of the university's curricula. From December 1979 to 1981, Dr. Patrick M. Muzzall from MSU's zoology department collected the following species:
white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii'') is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is common ...
, northern hog sucker, spotted sucker, golden redhorse, silver redhorse,
rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red-eyed fish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (bi ...
,
green sunfish The green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') is a species of aggressive freshwater fish in the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae) of order Centrarchiformes. The green sunfish does not always grow large enough to be an appealing target for anglers, ...
,
pumpkin seed A pumpkin seed, also known as a ''pepita'' (from the Mexican , 'little seed of squash'), is the edible seed of a pumpkin or certain other cultivars of squash. The seeds are typically flat and oval with two axes of symmetry, have a white outer ...
,
warmouth The warmouth (''Lepomis gulosus'') is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) that is found throughout the eastern United States. Other local names include molly, redeye, goggle-eye, red-eyed bream, and strawber ...
,
bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...
,
smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...
,
largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...
,
black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae). It is endemic to North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie (''P. annularis'') in size, s ...
, stoneroller,
carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...
, hornyhead chub, common shiner, rosyface shiner, sand shiner, bluntnose minnow, western blacknose dace, creek chub, grass pickerel, brook stickleback, black bullhead, yellow bullhead, brown bullhead, rainbow darter,
johnny darter The johnny darter (''Etheostoma nigrum'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to shallow ...
,
yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...
, blackside darter, and central mudminnow.


See also

* List of rivers of Michigan


References


External links


Real time water data
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

Red Cedar River Watershed Management Plan
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
Institute for Water Research, 2015
Red Cedar River Watershed Management Plan
Upper Grand River Watershed Alliance, 2006
Red Cedar Watershed 2015 Stream Monitoring Report
Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council {{Authority control Michigan State University Michigan State University campus Rivers of Michigan East Lansing, Michigan Geography of Lansing, Michigan Rivers of Ingham County, Michigan Rivers of Livingston County, Michigan Tributaries of Lake Michigan