At their recent meeting, the Kosciusko County Commissioners declared June 26-July 5, 2010 as Lakes Appreciation Week with the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival kicking off the festivities.  Check out the Commissioners' proclamation below, and visit www.NorthernIndianaLakesFestival.org for more information about the festival coming up on June 26!

Whereas, our community is blessed with an abundance of natural lakes, rivers, and streams, and
Whereas, lakes are critical to the health, recreation, history, culture, and economy of Kosciusko County, and
Whereas, many diverse organizations (nonprofits, governmental agencies, schools and businesses) are committed to protecting and improving our water quality, and
Whereas, individuals can make a difference in our water quality by the choices they make and the actions they take,
NOW, THEREFORE, we, Commissioners of Kosciusko County, Indiana do hereby proclaim June 26 – July 5, 2010 as Lakes Appreciation Week, with the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival kicking off the week on June 26 with the goal to foster an understanding and love for our lakes and streams by giving people a chance to celebrate them together, to learn about how they work, how they impact our lives, and to experience and enjoy them firsthand.

Chain O Lakes State Park 50th Anniversary Celebration - Saturday, June 12, 1pm-3pm

A party and open house will be held in the picnic area near the beach from 1 to 3 p.m.  Activities will include yard games, face painting and a short presentation by interpretive naturalist Howard Luers on the history of the park. Special guest Smokey Bear will visit. Birthday cake and punch will be served for as long as it lasts. There is a park entrance fee of $5 for in-state vehicles or $7 for out-of-state vehicles, or you can use your annual entrance pass. Both are available at the park front gate. For further information, call (260) 636-2654.

Lakes, Lawncare, and Rain Barrels workshop - Saturday, June 19, 9am-Noon - FREE!

In this workshop, learn about lake-friendly lawn care and how you can make your own rain barrel. The workshop will take place at Jellystone Park and Campground on Ridinger Lake in Pierceton. The workshop is free, but registration is required by June 12. You can also purchase a kit to build your own rain barrel for only $25! For more information, see the event flyer and contact Ross at twf-ross@kconline.com or 574-834-3242 to register.

Northern Indiana Lakes Festival - Saturday, June 26, 11am-5pm - FREE!

Join us for the second annual Northern Indiana Lakes Festival at Center Lake in Warsaw. This event is free and includes a ski show by Lake City Skiers, exhibits and booths by water-related businesses and non-profit organizations, canoe tours around Center Lake, interactive song and dance performances for children, a water splash and play area, food, fishing, door prizes and more. This great event is brought to you by the Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation and Kosciusko Lakes and Streams with major support from the Northern Indiana Lakes Magazine and Indiana-American Water. For information, visit www.NorthernIndianaLakesFestival.org

Algae, Bugs, Fish & the Dixie - July 26-30, 9-10:30am
The Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation and Kosciusko Lakes and Streams are presenting a week-long summer camp for kids called “Algae, Bugs, Fish & the Dixie.” For $20 youth ages 6-11 can participate in a fun hands-on session from 9 – 10:30am, M-F, July 26 – 30, at the North Webster Community Center. Participants will learn about water quality pollution and investigate algae, bugs, and fish in Webster Lake. The week culminates with a ride aboard the Dixie Sternwheeler. To register contact Tracy May at the North Webster Community Center at 574-834-1600 x0 or tracy-nwcc@earthlink.net.

DNR News Release

Indiana’s Lake Webster contains more muskies than any other lake in the state and has one of the densest muskie populations in the nation, based on figures compiled by the DRN Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW). Biologists estimate there are about 1,900 adult muskies in the 774-acre Kosciusko County lake. The estimate was calculated from catches of tagged muskies recaptured during sampling each spring since 2006. “Our numbers indicate there are currently about 2.5 muskies per acre of water,” said Jed Pearson DFW biologist who has monitored the muskie population since the fish were first stocked there in 1981.  Most muskie lakes in Indiana and across the nation have fewer than one adult per acre, according to Pearson. Some lakes have fewer than one muskie for every 10 acres of water.

Pearson attributes the high number of muskies in Webster to the high number of fingerlings stocked each year. Since 1997, the DFW has released about 3,800 muskie fingerlings each year into the lake at a rate of five per acre. Stocking rates in other states are typically one or two per acre, sometimes on an alternating-year basis. In several cases, even fewer muskies are stocked in those states. “We’ve probably maxed out the number of muskies that can be stocked in (Webster) lake,” said Pearson. “That’s good news to muskie fishermen but we don’t want to over-stock the lake.”

What might happen if too many muskies are stocked? “We would see some significant declines in muskie growth and shifts toward smaller individual fish as muskies scramble to find enough food to eat,” said Pearson. “So far, muskie growth in Webster is comparable to muskie growth in other lakes.”Biologists estimate that muskies in Webster from ages 4 through 8 average 31, 34, 36, 38, and 42 inches long, respectively, with some muskies more than 48 inches long present. “We think we have a good balance in terms of muskie numbers and size,” said Pearson.

Over-stocking could also lead to negative impacts on other species, or perhaps even cannibalism as adult muskies eat newly stocked fingerlings. “We haven’t detected any negative impacts of the muskie population on other fish in Webster,” said Pearson. “There seems to be ample number of gizzard shad and other forage fish for them to eat.”

Although muskies are abundant in Webster, the DFW has no plans to reduce the stocking rate. “We get our muskie eggs from females at Webster for Indiana’s hatchery program,” said Pearson. “We want to make sure there are plenty of adult muskies to keep the stocking program going.”

DNR News Release

To better understand how fish populations and fishing conditions change from year to year, the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) will begin a series of surveys in June at five natural lakes in northern Indiana. The surveys are designed to track annual changes in number, size, weight, and growth of various fish species in each lake over the next five years. Lakes selected include 308-acre Adams Lake in LaGrange County, 206-acre Crooked Lake in Whitley County, 32-acre McClure Lake in southern Kosciusko County, 22-acre Mud Lake in Fulton County, and 187-acre Waubee Lake in northern Kosciusko County.

The lakes were chosen because they represent a variety of lake sizes, habitat conditions, and fish communities. “We know fishing fluctuates from year to year, but we don’t know the magnitude of the changes or reasons for the changes,” said Steve Donabauer, DFW assistant fisheries biologist and coordinator of the project. “We also don’t know how lakes change through time and how factors such as habitat damage, watershed management practices, and climate may affect fishing,” Donabauer said.

Donabauer labeled the five lakes as “fixed sites” because they will be monitored annually. However, DFW biologists will also sample 11 other natural lakes that will be chosen randomly each year. A variety of information will be gathered at each. “We will use shocker boats, gill nets, and traps to sample fish communities in each lake during June. We will also monitor basic habitat features, such as depth, water clarity, oxygen content, aquatic plants, and microscopic zooplankton,” Donabauer said.

Dubbed the “Status and Trends Project,” the five-year study will enable biologists to predict how fish populations in all of Indiana’s 450 natural lakes are changing based on what they find at the study lakes. “We don’t have the manpower or resources to survey every natural lake in the state,” Donabauer said. “This project, therefore, will help us track what is happening throughout the natural lakes region and form the basis of any region-wide approaches we take to protect and manage fish populations.”

All data obtained from the project will be compiled annually and then electronically stored, analyzed, and made available to anglers, lake associations, government agencies, universities and the general public. In addition to the fixed sites, other lakes to be surveyed this year include Everett in Allen County, Banning and Fish in Kosciusko County, Emma and Mateer in LaGrange County, Clear in LaPorte County, Thomas and Koontz in Marshall County, Big and Upper Long in Noble County, and Henry in Steuben County.

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