The Galena River Watershed in Northeast Laporte County and Northwest St
FINAL DRAFT GALENA RIVER WATERSHED DIAGNOSTIC STUDY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN Prepared for La Porte County Soil and Water Conservation District By Baetis Environmental Services, Inc. March 2010 This page intentionally left blank EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Under a grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Lake and River Enhancement Program (LARE), the LaPorte County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) retained Baetis Environmental Services, Inc. to develop a diagnostic study and watershed management plan (WMP) for the Galena River watershed in northeast LaPorte County and northwest St. Joseph Counties, in north-central Indiana. The Galena River is part of the Little Calumet-Galien Watershed (Hydrologic Unit Code 04040001) which spans coastal areas of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The headwaters of the Galena River are near Springfield Township in LaPorte County, approximately five miles north of LaPorte, Indiana and flow northeast through the northwest corner of St. Joseph County, Indiana and into Berrien County, Michigan. The Galena River watershed is 112,222 acres; approximately one-quarter of the watershed, 29,684 acres, lies in Indiana, the remainder in Berrien County, Michigan. This WMP concerns only on the Indiana portion of the watershed, where the drainage is the Galena River. A WMP covering the river as it flows through Berrien County, Michigan, where it is referred to as the Galien River, has been previously prepared by Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr, and Huber (2003). In Indiana, the Galena watershed remains relatively undeveloped; the two principal land uses are forest and agriculture. There are no large urbanized areas in the watershed. In comparison to other areas in the Little Calumet-Galien Watershed, the Galena River has not been significantly impacted by human influence.
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