Staff of the Hunt Creek Fisheries Research Station conduct fisheries management-oriented research throughout the State of Michigan. Historical studies at the research station focused on nearby streams, rivers, and small lakes (such as the sinkhole lakes in the Pigeon River State Forest). Several ongoing studies continue to be held on streams and lakes in or near the research station, while other studies are located on streams and lakes throughout the Lower Peninsula or across the entire state.

Geographically, Hunt Creek is an ideal location for conducting controlled studies to investigate the effects of habitat changes on aquatic communities (especially fish populations). The groundwater-dominated flow of Hunt Creek is hydrologically and thermally stable due to the surface geology of the region. This helps to minimize variability in important aquatic habitat attributes such as stream flow and temperature. In addition, land use activities within the research area are strictly managed, and the waters of the research area have been closed to fishing since 1965. This allows researchers to control for variability caused by the effects of human disturbance and angling pressure on fish populations. The regulation of land use activities and closure to angling permits researchers to detect the actual effects of experiments accurately and economically under controlled, yet natural, conditions.

An excellent example of the statewide scope of the Hunt Creek Research Station's work is Michigan's Stream Status and Trends Program. As part of the Stream Status and Trends Program, research biologists at the Hunt Creek Research Station, in cooperation with research and management personnel from across the state, assist with the long-term monitoring and general surveys of streams located throughout Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas.

Click the appropriate link for a list of long-term monitoring sites and general survey streams included in the Stream Status and Trends Program.