Grasses, not Lawns, Good for Chain of Lakes 

Groups work to preserve, reintroduce native plants to lake shores

Phil Wieland / Times of NW Indiana 22jan01

Editor's note: This is the third part of a four-part series concerning the pollution of Valparaiso's Chain of Lakes. The series highlights the problems, the politics and the possible solutions.

VALPARAISO -- What the Valparaiso Chain of Lakes needs is more redhead grass, bushy naiad, purple flower bladderwort and spiny coontail and less purple loosestrife and Eurasion milfoil.

While bushy naiad and spiny coontail might sound like the names of punk rockers, they are actually some of the 14 endangered, threatened or rare species identified in the Chain of Lakes watershed by Robin Scribailo, who teaches aquatic botany and wetland ecology at Purdue University North Central. Other rare species found include the water marigold and Vasey's pondweed.

Scribailo was one of the guest speakers at last year's Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed Group seminar held at Camp Lawrence. The watershed group is a potpourri of government representatives, residents, environmentalists and others living in the watershed working to improve the water quality of the lakes.

The purple loosestrife and Eurasian milfoil are foreign invaders that tend to move in as lakes degrade, taking over and muscling out native plants like the five listed above. While the Chain of Lakes have a burgeoning crop of both invaders, Scribailo said the lakes still have a high quality of species diversity.

"We've tried to work with people and get them to recognize these species and try to avoid impacts," he said of the rare plants. "They are thriving in the upper lakes -- Wauhob, Long, Moss and Round. One of the things that saves them is the lakes have small watersheds. Flint has a watershed from a large area of the city that gets more of the urban pollution."

Scribailo and his graduate student Mitch Alix did a comprehensive study of the lakes in 1998. Scribailo returns regularly, often bringing his other students, who help gather data on the lakes and are able to put their learning to practical use. They do their own research projects while also doing water chemistry surveys, gathering historical data, testing for E. coli and surveying the lakes for all manner of plant and animal life."

I think this will be an exciting interaction between the campus and the watershed group," he said. "It will be a real eye-opener for the students as nothing prepares them in the class for working with government."

Controlling things like the milfoil, which thrives in lakes contaminated with chemical fertilizers and goose droppings, is one of the goals of the watershed. Scribailo said he is trying to encourage less reliance on herbicides because they kill beneficial water plants along with the milfoil. The answer might be the milfoil weevil.

The weevil, which eats only milfoil, was introduced in three lakes in the state and might be tried at Flint Lake if they aren't already there. The other aspect of controlling milfoil is controlling the goose population, and that can be done with plantings of tall grasses around the lakes.

Hobart botanist Sandy O'Brien is working with the watershed group on an experimental planting of a variety of grasses and wetlands plants at Rogers-Lakewood Park. O'Brien said the terrain is too steep to be an ideal location for the plantings, but it is hoped an indication of its success will be known by the end of the year.

"The main goal is to demonstrate a goose deterrent," O'Brien said. "The geese really love mowed lawns. They evolved where vegetation is short, and they don't like where there is tall grass."

She said the grasses will grow to heights ranging from two to five feet. In addition to discouraging geese, the grasses are expected to provide other benefits, such as creating a better hunting ground for frogs, dragonflies, turtles and other creatures. The roots also will help filter the water and build up the soil.

"It's better than having a lawn, which has been called 'a green desert,'" O'Brien said.

Scribailo is involved with this experiment, suggesting plant species for the buffer strips. He's also helping write grants applications for state funding, for more extensive surveys on water quality and other things.

A study of the Flint Lake watershed's three main lakes funded by the Valparaiso Lakes Area Conservancy District is set to begin in the spring. The study could be expanded to include other lakes. Also, the Indiana Department if Natural Resources this month agreed to do a summer study of the fish in four of the lakes.

Porter County Surveyor Kevin Breitzke said the conservancy district's study could lead to some projects to improve the lakes. Meanwhile, the work is going to take commitment from volunteers and education.

"One of the things a couple of members did was do some grass plantings to help control some of the geese," Breitzke said. "We've encouraged property owners to do leaf collection through the solid waste district, and we've tried to educate people about their septic tanks through seminars."

If it happens, bushy naiad and spiny coontail could be a chorus instead of almost a solo act.

Phil Wieland can be reached at pwieland@howpubs.com  or (219) 462-5151, Ext. 352.