Group looks to expand Little Cal public access

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Updated: March 18, 2012 8:18AM

CHESTERTON — Conservation groups, National Park Service personnel and others discussed the challenges and opportunities of protecting the East branch of the Little Calumet River watershed at a Thursday meeting.

Save the Dunes Water Quality Director Jennifer Birchfield described the process of forming a management plan for the watershed, which includes the river in LaPorte and Porter counties as well as various tributaries — such as Coffee and Reynolds creeks — that drain into the river and eventually into Lake Michigan.

Birchfield said the plan will use data and other information to develop how best to protect and utilize the land. The planning process will be financed by a grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Currently, several groups are gathering data — Save the Dunes and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management are collecting water quality samples in the watershed and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is conducting an environmental assessment.

Birchfield encouraged attendees to brainstorm important topics for the plan, including finding money for projects, improving water quality in industrial areas, dealing with sewage overflows, and protecting fishing and habitat from erosion. She said the plan will remain a living document to collect further public input.

Expanding public use of the watershed — through trails along the river or more paddling opportunities — was a priority of many attendees.

Two recent land aquisitions in eastern Porter County may expand public access.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources recently announced plans to convert a former state prison farm near the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore’s Heron Rookery into a bird game preserve, which is located in the watershed.

Tom Anderson, board member for the Porter County chapter of the Izaak Walton League, said the group is finalizing purchase of a 19.7-acre parcel — which will be named the Frame Little Calumet Conservation Area — along the river, near the Porter-LaPorte County line.

Anderson said the land will help protect habitat for various fish species — including native brook trout — and serve as a lab for the group’s outdoor education efforts.

The watershed is owned by a variety of public and private entities, which could make access spotty.

Porter County Surveyor Kevin D. Breitzke echoed Charlotte Read’s suggestion that the group get property owners located in the watershed involved early in the planning process.

“We have to really respect private property rights, so that they don’t feel coerced into giving up a portion of their land,” Breitzke said.

The watershed group plans to meet in June, September and December, while a public hearing is planned for this summer.