Overview

The Branch River, like the Manitowoc River, exhibits a dual “personality.” Upstream from Taus Road,
the Branch River is slow and soft bottomed with a stream gradient of about one foot per mile.
Downstream from Taus Road the Branch River drops about 11 feet per mile through a rocky channel for
11.2 miles before it joins the Manitowoc River 11.4 miles from Lake Michigan.
Historic reductions in the percentage of forested and wetland vegetation have resulted in a watershed that
lacks adequate opportunities for infiltration and retention of precipitation and snow melt resulting in
flashy runoff which overwhelms existing stream channels and aquatic habitat. This excessive runoff also
strips valuable sediments and nutrients from the terrestrial environment and delivers them to our streams
and lakes where they result in degraded water quality and poorer habitat which can kill sensitive and
intolerant fish and aquatic invertebrates. Flashy runoff also limits the amount of water available to
sustain adequate flows during drought. Restoration efforts should focus on increasing the overall
percentage of forested and wetland vegetation in this watershed to restore a more natural hydrologic
regime and minimize the impacts of flashy runoff and an altered hydrologic regime.
The Branch River (Manitowoc County portion) has been classified as an exceptional resource water under
NR 102. It is one of the few rivers in the state that provides steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
fishing. The river also supports a unique fish resource, the Greater Redhorse (Moxostoma valenciennesi),
which is worthy of special protection. The Greater Redhorse, which was listed as a special concern
species in 1979 and upgraded to threatened in 1989, is sensitive to chemical pollutants, turbidity and
siltation. Populations are threatened with domestic sewage and particulate runoff (Becker 1983). Siltation,
turbidity and chemical pollutants may be even more of a limiting factor for the Redhorse's diet organisms.
The river has also been proposed as a priority stream for the purchase of easements under the Stewardship
Stream Bank Easement Program, NR 51.63.
The Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection (FMHP) is working on developing a new
fishery area on the Manitowoc and Branch rivers. FMHP staff propose to manage this area for angler
access, habitat protection and fish habitat restoration. Specifics on the proposal are available in the 1990
Manitowoc/Branch River Fisheries Plan (Draft). The draft plan includes the area up to County Trunk
Highway (CTH) J on the Branch River and up to Clark Mills on the Manitowoc River. A list of fish
species found during a shocker survey in 1983 demonstrates the river supports good species diversity.

From: Willman, Guy and Mike Toneys. 2001. The State of the Lakeshore Basin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.

Date  2001

Author  Michael Toneys

Overview

One particular stretch of the Branch River should be considered a key habitat area and acquired if
possible. This particular stretch lies within property owned and managed by the Rahr Malting Company.
About a mile of the Branch River runs through the approximately 365-acre Rahr property. In addition to
the extensive Branch River frontage several large and stable springs that contribute significant flow to the
Branch River are on this property. This spring flow is especially important to the stableness of the Branch
River during seasons of lower river flow. This area has also served as important smolting habitat for
stocked steelhead yearlings before they migrate to Lake Michigan. To date, all steelhead smolt stocked in
the Manitowoc - Branch river system have been released within or just upstream from the Rahr property.
This stretch of the Branch River also has several excellent adult steelhead holding areas. In 1996, a stretch
of the Branch River became eligible for stewardship easement acquisition. Approximately 20 miles of the
river between the Brown/Manitowoc County Line and downstream of North Union Road is eligible for
easement acquisition for increased water quality protection. Since the Branch River is one of the better steelhead streams in the basin, easements should include angler access. The Branch River is managed by the WDNR as a Class I steelhead stream and as such receives annual smolt stockings of Chambers Creek and Skamania stains of steelhead. The river also receives stockings of coho salmon.
A proposed cold water discharge from the Lemberger Landfill Site (Superfund Site) could impact the fishery and other aquatic life in the Branch River near HWY J. Groundwater discharge typically is cold with low dissolved oxygen levels Flow conditions may also affect the fishery. A consulting firm will be conducting pre and post surveys of the discharge area to determine what affect the discharge has on the fish community structure. The consultants will use John Lyons warmwater criteria, and calculate in Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI). The IBI is used to assess biotic integrity and environmental quality in streams. The pre-discharge survey is scheduled for June 1966 and discharge is expected to begin in late summer 1996. Additional water quality information was collected during the Branch River Prioirty Watershed Appraisal.

From: Willman, Guy and Mike Toneys. 2001. The State of the Lakeshore Basin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.

Date  2001

Author  Michael Toneys

Impaired Waters

Branch River from its mouth to CTH J. (miles 0 to 12.42) was put on the impaired waters list in 2002 for PCB contaminated fish tissue and in 2020 for phosphorus. This segment was assessed for phosphorus, bugs, fish, chloride, and temperature in the 2020 and 2022 cycles. Phosphorus levels were too high both cycles.

Branch River from CTH J to the Brown-Manitowoc county line (miles 12.41 to 20.15) was put on the impaired waters list in 1998 for PCB contaminated fish tissue and in 2020 for phosphorus. The phosphorus listing was confirmed in the 2022 cycle.

Branch River from Brown-Manitowoc county line to headwaters (miles 20.15 to 36.78) was put on the impaired waters list in 1998 for PCB contaminated fish tissue.

Date  2022

Author  Ashley Beranek

Condition

Wisconsin has over 84,000 miles of streams, 15,000 lakes and milllions of acres of wetlands. Assessing the condition of this vast amount of water is challenging. The state's water monitoring program uses a media-based, cross-program approach to analyze water condition. An updated monitoring strategy (2015-2020) is now available. Compliance with Clean Water Act fishable, swimmable standards are located in the Executive Summary of Water Condition in 2018. See also the 'monitoring and projects' tab.

Reports

Recommendations

Management Goals

Wisconsin's Water Quality Standards provide qualitative and quantitative goals for waters that are protective of Fishable, Swimmable conditions [Learn more]. Waters that do not meet water quality standards are considered impaired and restoration actions are planned and carried out until the water is once again fishable and swimmable

Management goals can include creation or implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis, a Nine Key Element Plan, or other restoration work, education and outreach and more. If specific recommendations exist for this water, they will be displayed below online.

Monitoring

Monitoring the condition of a river, stream, or lake includes gathering physical, chemical, biological, and habitat data. Comprehensive studies often gather all these parameters in great detail, while lighter assessment events will involve sampling physical, chemical and biological data such as macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities integrate watershed or catchment condition, providing great insight into overall ecosystem health. Chemical and habitat parameters tell researchers more about human induced problems including contaminated runoff, point source dischargers, or habitat issues that foster or limit the potential of aquatic communities to thrive in a given area. Wisconsin's Water Monitoring Strategy was recenty updated.

Grants and Management Projects

Monitoring Projects

Watershed Characteristics

Branch River is located in the Branch River watershed which is 108.49 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (54.90%), grassland (21.90%) and a mix of wetland (15%) and other uses (8.10%). This watershed has 185.55 stream miles, 166.61 lake acres and 8,942.97 wetland acres.

Nonpoint Source Characteristics

This watershed is ranked High for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked for runoff impacts on lakes and High for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of High. This value can be used in ranking the watershed or individual waterbodies for grant funding under state and county programs.This water is ranked High Stream for individual Rivers based on runoff problems and the likelihood of success from project implementation.