Indiana Grand Kankakee Marsh Restoration Project

www.igkmrp.org

The Grand Kankakee Marsh was one of the premier wetland ecosystems in North America with nearly 1 million acres along the Kankakee River including emergent marsh, wet prairie, sedge meadow, shrub-scrub, and floodplain forest communities interspersed with black oak savanna and upland prairie. From its source near South Bend to the Illinois state line, the Kankakee River meandered some 250 miles through 2,000 bends, with an average fall of only 5 inches per mile.

The marsh was legendary for the wide variety of plant and animal species that attracted sport and market hunters from around the world. Accounts from the late 1800’s describe barrels of frog legs, wagonloads of pelts, and railroad cars of game bound for the Chicago markets while European as well as American sportsmen relished the particularly abundant waterfowl and other wetland game birds.

By the early 20th century efforts to drain the marsh for agriculture use had deepened and channelized the river and reduced its length in Indiana to less than 85 miles. For the most part the conversion of the landscape to intensive row crop production remains to the present time in spite of frequent flooding.

Attempts to bring back portions of the marsh in some of the wetter, more difficult to farm areas had little success before formation of the IGKMRP.

The project launched in 1994 to pursue funding under the federal North American Wetland Conservation Act. The initial grant application for $1.5 million had 16 diverse partners that brought $2.4 million of matching funds for the goal of linking a network of 26,500 acres protected acres of wetlands for wildlife.

The project now has more than 30 funding partners, including local, state, and federal agencies, private conservation organizations, corporations and small businesses, farmers and individuals. Currently, the project is in the 4th Phase of a projected 5-phase effort, and has acquired nearly 9,900 acres, restored more than 6,800 acres, and enhanced nearly 4,000 acres of wetland and associated upland. A total of $4.5 million in NAWCA funds has been matched with more than $15 million in non-federal partner funds through Phase 4 for acquisition.

Success of the Indiana Grand Kankakee Marsh Restoration Project is measured not only by the on-the-ground accomplishments but also from the improved cooperation and understanding between partners who have not traditionally shared the same goals. The project provides a model for innovation for accomplishing large scale conservation with broad support in the local population. There are over 81 projects that impact all 7 counties of NWI plus St. Joseph.

Dan Plath

Northwest Indiana Paddling Association http://www.nwipa.org/