Wolf Lake
A federal project for restoration of Wolf Lake's natural fish, plant and wildlife habitats is underway. The project began in May and has already lowered water levels on the eastern side of the lake by 3 inches, with more reduction to come.
The $5.9 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan aims to open up natural water currents to aid the re-establishment of wetlands and a secure shoreline, and to deepen some parts of the lake to create natural spawning areas for native fish to become self-sustaining.
The Army Corps of Engineers has one problem. The channels between the two sides of the spring-fed lake have become clogged, leaving the Indiana side as much as a foot higher than the Illinois side, which drains through the Calumet River to the Gulf of Mexico.
Dredging equipment now is being mobilized to begin the next phase of the plan after cleanup is completed.
Sand from the deep parts of the lake will be used to create the islands that once dotted its surface and to shore up some 6,000 feet of newly revealed shoreline against erosion.
The restoration project complements a plan to add 15 acres of new wetlands and prairie to the southern end of Wolf Lake to compensate for filling in 11 acres of nearby George Lake and adjacent wetlands to build the Lost Marsh Golf Course.
July 19, 2006 6:56 AM | Category: Flood