Department of Natural Resources grants totaling more than $447,000 will be used to fight invasive aquatic vegetation in Indiana’s lakes.
Kosciusko County organizations will receive $106,142 of the total grant amounts. Additionally Marshall County lakes will receive $36,000 in grants; and Noble County lakes, $9,000.
LaGrange, Starke, Fulton and Pulaski, LaPorte, Steuben, Monroe and Brown, Gibson and Porter county lake organizations also received grants.
Grants and amounts awarded include:
Kosciusko County: Backwater Lake, $2,500; Barbee Lakes Chain (Kuhn, Barbee, Little Barbee, Irish, Sawmill, Banning and Sechrist), $5,000; Beaver Dam and Loon lakes, $2,555; Center Lake, $16,000; Chapman Lakes (Big Chapman and Little Chapman) $22,112; Tippecanoe Lake Chain (Tippecanoe, James and Oswego lakes), $31,500; Wawasee and Syracuse lakes, $20,875; and Webster Lake, $5,000.
Marshall County: Four Lakes area (Mill Pond, Kreighbaum, Cook and Holem lakes), $14,800; Koontz Lake, $8,800; Lake of the Wods, $12,400
Noble County: Skinner Lake, $4,000 and Sylvan Lake, $5,000
The grants were awarded by DNR director Cameron F. Clark through the Lake and River Enhancement program in the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife.
The 36 projects involve 55 lakes in 13 counties. They were selected from applications submitted by local sponsors who share at least 20 percent of the total cost. The LARE grants are “user-funded/user-benefiting” generated through the LARE fee paid by boat owners annually when they register their boats with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
These grants allow for the completion of projects that would be difficult for local organizations to fund on their own.
“By targeting treatments to address invasive plants in lakes, we achieve goals of improving aquatic habitat while enhancing recreational opportunities for fishing and boating,” said Mark Reiter, director of DNR Fish & Wildlife.
Lake users will benefit from efforts to control or manage aggressive non-native species, including Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and starry stonewort, that can take over and clog lakes. The grants can also provide economic benefits to lake communities by improving and increasing public access opportunities for those who fish or pleasure-boat.