Grants Will Fund 27 Lake And River Enhancement Projects

Last updated on Wednesday, October 31, 2018

(UNDATED) - New grants for the care of Indiana’s water bodies totaling $1.192 million have been awarded through the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) program.

The grants were awarded by DNR director Cameron Clark and fund projects in 20 counties and affect 26 different lakes, rivers and streams. They include grants benefitting projects ranging from Posey County on the Ohio River to the City of Elkhart, near the border with Michigan.

Local sponsors submit applications for LARE assistance and commit to sharing a portion of the total cost. DNR's share comes from a fee paid annually by boat owners when registering their boats with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Several projects address bank erosion and lakes or streams, and many of these also have an aquatic-habitat enhancement component. Seven watershed land treatment grants go to county soil and water conservation districts to help landowners reduce runoff of sediment and nutrients. Prevention of non-point source pollution in the form of sediment or nutrients is more economical than trying to remove it from lakes and streams in the future.

Two grants will be used to address the removal of low-head dams -- one in Elkhart County on the Elkhart River and one in Harrison County near Corydon. Removing dams that serve no current purpose improves stream habitat and allows fish and other aquatic life to be reconnected for better biological diversity. As an added benefit, safety for boaters, paddlers, anglers, or swimmers is improved when such dams are eliminated.

"The LARE program is over 30 years old now and these new grants continue the use of funds from boat owners to support conservation efforts to protect and enhance our lakes and rivers," said Mark Reiter, director of DNR Fish & Wildlife. "With funding from LARE, local partners are making our waterways safer, enhancing habitat, reducing erosion and improving opportunities for boating and fishing throughout our great Hoosier state."

The list of projects by water body, county, project and grant award:

Big Long Lake (LaGrange) Lake bank stabilization $24,000
Clear Lake (Steuben) Island shoreline stabilization $4,000
Cobus Creek (Elkhart) Engineering feasibility study of streambank stabilization $30,000
Deer Creek (Grant) Stream bank stabilization $100,000
Driftwood River (Bartholomew) Watershed land treatment $21,000
Duck Creek (Hamilton) Streambank stabilization $50,000
Elkhart River (Elkhart) Dam removal $100,000
Fawn River (Steuben) Watershed land treatment $25,000
Fall Creek (Marion) Streambank stabilization $50,000
Glenn Flint Lake (Putnam) Watershed diagnostic study $25,000
Indian Creek (Harrison) Dam removal $95,000
Indian Creek (Tippecanoe) Engineering feasibility and design for streambank stabilization $28,000
Lake Manitou (Fulton) Watershed diagnostic study $32,000
Little Lick Creek (Blackford) Design and permitting for stream bank stabilization $13,000
Lost River (Orange) Watershed land treatment $30,000
Ohio River (Posey) Stream bank stabilization $100,000
Patoka River (Orange) Watershed land treatment $30,000
St. Joseph River (St. Joseph) Stream bank stabilization and habitat enhancement $45,000
Sullivan Lake (Sullivan) Lake bank stabilization $67,000
Tri-Lakes (Whitley) Watershed diagnostic study and water quality monitoring study $32,000
Trail Creek-Cheney Run (LaPorte) Design for Stream bank stabilization $90,000
Upper Tippecanoe River (Kosciusko) Watershed land treatment $15,000
Upper Tippecanoe River (Whitley) Watershed land treatment $24,000
Walnut Creek (Blackford) Stream bank stabilization $32,000
Webster Lake (Kosciusko) Island shoreline stabilization $24,000
Whitewater River (Wayne) Watershed land treatment $20,000
Winona Lake (Kosciusko) Lake bank stabilization $86,000

Total = $ 1,192,000

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