LARE Grants Awarded for Sediment, Logjam Removal and Aquatic Invasive Plant Control

By The Times of Noblesville | March 14, 2022

Noblesville’s Morse Reservoir is getting $100,000 for sediment cleanup from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The money is part of an overall package of $1,056,640 in grants awarded by DNR Director Daniel W. Bortner through the Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) program.

The combined total of the grants approved by the DNR is $1,506,640. Grants totaling $908,700 will be used in sediment or logjam removal projects and will support 13 projects in 15 counties. The other $597,940 will be used to fight aquatic invasive plants, including 37 projects involving 57 bodies of water in 11 counties.

Funded projects include grants for both planning and removal of sediment. Removal projects help improve recreation and remove excessive nutrients near inlets. Projects to dredge lake inlets or boating access channels receive the highest priority for LARE funding.

Logjam projects include the removal of massive amounts of debris that block the stream channel. Because some woody debris in streams provides valuable habitat, removal projects focus only on large jams that block the entire stream and may cause bank erosion and cutting of new channels. The sediment and logjam removal projects are (counties are noted in parentheses): 

  • Buck Creek (Marion) – Logjam Removal – $35,00
  • East Fork White Lick Creek (Morgan) – Logjam Removal – $35,000
  • Muscatatuck River (Scott-Jackson) – Logjam Removal – $70,000
  • St. Joseph River (DeKalb) – Logjam Removal – $70,000
  • Goose Creek (Switzerland) – Sediment Removal Plan – $7,500
  • VanBibber Lake (Putnam) – Sediment Removal Plan – $7,500
  • Cedar Lake (Lake) – Sediment Removal – $150,000
  • Koontz Lake (Starke-Marshall) – Sediment Removal – $100,000
  • Lake Wawasee (Kosciusko) – Sediment Removal – $30,000
  • Morse Reservoir (Hamilton) – Sediment Removal – $100,000
  • St. Joseph River (St. Joseph) – Sediment Removal – $100,000
  • Waldron Lake (Noble) – Sediment Removal – $53,700
  • Witmer Lake (LaGrange) – Sediment Removal – $150,000
  • Total – $908,700

To learn more about these projects, call Doug Nusbaum, 260-244-6805, dnusbaum@dnr.IN.gov.

Aquatic invasive plant control grants help control or manage aggressive non-native species that can outcompete native species and dominate plant communities. Some examples include Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and starry stonewort. The grants can also provide economic benefits to lake communities by improving and increasing public access opportunities for those who fish or pleasure boat. The list of aquatic vegetation management projects are (counties are noted in parentheses):

  • Barbee Lakes [Banning, Barbee, Irish, Kuhn, Little Barbee, Sawmill and Sechrist Lakes] (Kosciusko) – $10,000
  • Bass Lake (Stark) – $9,000
  • Big Long Lake (LaGrange) – $21,000
  • Big Turkey and Henry Lakes (Steuben/LaGrange) – $26,000
  • Center Lake (Kosciusko) – $22,000
  • Champan Lakes [Big Champan and Little Champan Lakes] (Kosciusko) – $31,240
  • Clear Lake (Steuben) – $8,000
  • Clear Lake (LaPorte) – $7,600
  • Crooked Lake (Steuben) – $6,500
  • Dewart Lake (Kosciusko) – $24,800
  • Fish Lakes Chain [Upper Fish, Lower Fish and Mud Lakes] (LaPorte) – $25,440
  • Flint and Long Lakes (Porter) – $10,200
  • Four Lakes area [Millpond, Kreighbaum, Cook and Holem Lakes] (Marshall) – $22,120
  • Hamilton Lake (Steuben) – $39,000
  • Hudson Lake (LaPorte) – $24,600
  • Jimmerson Lake (Steuben) – $6,200
  • Koontz Lake (Marshall and Starke) – $27,920
  • Lake Bruce (Fulton and Pulaski) – $5,000
  • Lake George (Steuben) – $6,500
  • Lake James (Steuben) – $1,500
  • Lake Manitou (Fulton) – $1,500
  • Lake Maxinkuckee (Marshall) – $4,000
  • Lake of the Woods (Marshall) – $39,000
  • Lake Pleasant (Steuben) – $14,600
  • Little Turkey Lake (LaGrange) – $5,000
  • Pike Lake (Kosciusko) – $3,500
  • Pine and Stone Lakes (LaPorte) – $39,800
  • Pretty Lake (LaGrange) – $6,500
  • Snow Lake (Steuben) – $1,500
  • Stone and Brokesha Lakes (LaGrange) – $20,940
  • Tippecanoe Lake chain [Tippecanoe, James, and Oswego Lakes] (Kosciusko) – $40,120
  • Waldron Lake and Elkhart River (Noble) – $13,000
  • Wall Lake (LaGrange) – $4,380
  • Wawasee and Syracuse Lakes (Kosciusko) – $13,000
  • Webster Lake (Kosciusko) – $34,380
  • West Otter Lake (Steuben) – $15,600
  • White River (Marion) – $6,500
  • Total – $597,940

To learn more about these projects, call Rod Edgell, 260-244-6805, redgell@dnr.IN.gov.

LARE grants are funded through the LARE fee paid by boat owners annually when they register their boats with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. This user-funded program benefits boaters all over the state. The grants allow for the completion of projects that would be difficult for local organizations to fund on their own. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis, and local sponsors share at least 20% of the cost.

Reports for all past project reports funded through LARE are at larereports.dnr.IN.gov, where you can also learn more about the program. Learn more about LARE at LARE.dnr.IN.gov.

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