 This lack of development along the banks of the upper Shiawassee make it one of the least flashy, with regard to floods, in the lower part of the state.It means that as one paddles down the river, mostly you see trees and fields as opposed to houses and lawns and the river does not go into flood stage because a rainstorm came through, making paddling safer than on flashy rivers.It means that habitat for the endangered Blanding's turtle and the fringed gentian, is preserved.