WHITE CLOUD -- Two decades after it was designated a "Natural River," the White River is suddenly getting a lot of attention from scientists, conservationists and government officials determined to protect one of Michigan's finest trout streams.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has awarded Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute a $155,000 grant to study the health of the White and draft a plan to address environmental problems facing the river.

The White is one of 16 designated Natural Rivers in Michigan. That designation, which is assigned to high-quality rivers threatened by human activities, limits development along the White's 70-mile-long main branch and its numerous tributaries.

"There are a lot of great things about the White River, but there are obviously some problems," said Nichol De Mol, a research assistant at GVSU's Water Resources Institute who will lead a two-year study of the river.

De Mol said the state-funded study will result in a river management plan, a blueprint for preserving the river's best qualities and restoring areas where road crossings, the removal of trees and storm water runoff have increased water temperatures in the cold water river and blanketed gravel-bottom trout spawning areas with sand and silt.

Tom Hamilton, a former government fish biologist who lives along the White River in Whitehall Township, said now is the time to protect the White -- before it faces the types of environmental crises that have devastated other rivers in the United States.

"I don't think people here realize how lucky they are to have a river like this," said Hamilton, vice-chairman of the White River Watershed Partnership.

The White was placed on the state's Natural Rivers list in 1975 because it was the "southern most major trout stream in the Lake Michigan (basin)," according to a state report. "Except for the areas around Hesperia and White Cloud, much of the White River, especially the lower reaches, is wild in nature, scenic, remote and crossed by few bridges."

The river originates in the Oxford Swamp, a sprawling wetland in northeast Newaygo County. The river's main stem is a thriving trout stream that flows through numerous wetlands and lush forests, and is fed by dozens of lakes and frigid streams, before it empties into White Lake and Lake Michigan.

The lower White River, between Hesperia and White Lake, is a quick-flowing in stream in some areas. It supports a thriving salmon and steelhead fishery and is, in many ways, comparable to the Pere Marquette River, according to a state report.

State officials put the White on Michigan's list of Natural Rivers, along with the Pere Marquette, Rogue and 13 other rivers, because it was a high-quality stream with unique natural features that warranted protection, said Matt Fry, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources official who works in the Natural Rivers program.

State law imposes tougher land use and zoning restrictions in areas along designated Natural Rivers. The Natural Rivers program, for instance, limits construction and the removal of vegetation in a 400-foot-wide corridor along the designated rivers.

Land use and development along the White is a major concern among property owners along the river, according to a recent survey GVSU conducted. Most of the 137 riverfront property owners who responded to the survey said they were concerned about increased development; 97 percent supported tougher land-use controls to protect the river, said Betty Gajeski, a GVSU research assistant who discussed the survey results Thursday at the first White River Summit.

"You've got a group of people living along the river who really believe that zoning restrictions are beneficial for the river," Gajeski said. "They are willing to manage their land for the benefit of the river and the wildlife habitat."

Though most of the survey participants expressed support for tighter land use regulations, many were unfamiliar with the tougher zoning rules that go along with the Natural River designation, Gajeski said.

The survey was an attempt to measure how property owners along the White feel about the quality of the river.

"People who returned the survey thought the overall health of the river was good," Gajeski said. "There is no doubt they know the health of the river is important to the value of their property."

Gajeski said concerns cited by property owners included: storm water runoff from farms potentially affecting water quality in the river; sand and silt from eroding stream banks suffocating fish spawning areas; and an apparent decline in the trout population in parts of the river.