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Strategic Initiatives Littoral Program |
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When the first European settlers came to Northwest Indiana, they called the lakes and wetlands of what is now the City of LaPorte “gemlike”, remarking that they had “ …an exuberant supply of water, even in the driest seasons”. And within those watery realms lived a complex and wonderful web of diverse life. But the settlement and development of the City of LaPorte was to affect those surface water ecosystems in sometimes drastic ways. At first they were overused, for everything from steamboat excursions to municipal water sources. When these overuses coupled with drier climatic periods taxed the water levels so much that dry-ups of the lakes and wetlands occurs, it was assumed that they would never again regain their water. Parts of them were then split asunder and platted, assuming that henceforth they would remain as dry land. But the cycles of nature turned once again to wetter long range. And many of these “subdivisions” ended up being on the bottoms of lakes and wetlands, once again. The circumstances of Hudson Lake were strikingly similar to those of LaPorte. The 20th Century brought a variety of efforts to preserve LaPorte’s surface water resources. But sadly, because of the considerably fragmented state of these resources, these efforts nearly always ended up incomplete. Some wonderful ecologically diverse lake and wetland resources ended up “falling through the preservation safety net”. And they remained as tracts outside of parks and preserves, often presenting a temptation for destructive development. |
 LaPorte County, areas shaded black are lakes, wetlands, creeks, and rivers. |
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Through the Littoral Program, the LPCCT identifies these “diamond in the rough” lake or wetland tracts whose needed preservation has long been overlooked. The LPCCT seeks to secure this preservation, either through acquiring the tracts and establishing preserves, as in the case of Ridgeway Wetland. Or else LPCCT will aid other entities, like the LaPorte City Park & Recreation Department, in the restoration of Craven Pond or the Teledyne Kiwanis Park wetlands. The LPCCT is committed to restoring the ecological glories of LaPorte’s lakes and wetlands and Hudson Lake. |
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LaPorte County Conservation Trust, Inc. 405 Maple Avenue LaPorte, IN 46350 219-778-2810 info@lpcct.org |
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