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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Evaluation of Reference Conditions for Coastal Sand Habitats of Southern Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore GLRI #94 Task Agreement #J 6300100405 Final Report ON THE COVER Lake Michigan and Mt. Baldy view from the east looking west along the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore coastal shoreline. Photograph used with permission from National Park Service, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Evaluation of Reference Conditions for Coastal Sand Habitats of Southern Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore GLRI #94 Task Agreement #J 6300100405 Thomas P. Simon, PhD The School of Public and Environmental Affairs 1315 E. Tenth Street, Room 341 Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 Charles C. Morris, PhD National Park Service Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 1100 N. Mineral Springs Road Porter, Indiana 47468 March 2012 The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Data Series is intended for the timely release of basic data sets and data summaries. Care has been taken to assure accuracy of raw data values, but a thorough analysis and interpretation of the data has not been completed. Consequently, the initial analyses of data in this report are provisional and subject to change. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Data in this report were collected and analyzed using methods based on established, peer-reviewed protocols and were analyzed and interpreted within the guidelines of the protocols. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.indiana.edu/~spea/faculty/simon-thomas.shtml). Please cite this publication as: Simon, T. P. and Morris, C.C. 2012. Evaluation of Reference Conditions for Coastal Sand Habitats of Southern Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. GLRI #94 Task Agreement #J 6300100405. Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Bloomington. GLRI #94 Task Agreement #J 6300100405 March 2012 Contents Page Figures........................................................................................................................................... vii Tables ............................................................................................................................................. xi Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ xiii Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... xv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Local and Regional Setting ...................................................................................................... 1 Great Lakes Water Level Fluctuation ...................................................................................... 1 Historical changes in the Southern Lake Michigan Coastal Shoreline ................................... 2 Natural Costal Shoreline Processes ........................................................................................ 2 Effects of Man-made Coastal Structures ................................................................................. 3 Coastal Shoreline Management. .............................................................................................. 4 Lake Michigan Coastal Shoreline Erosional Areas ................................................................ 5 Study Area and Site Descritions .............................................................................................. 6 Methods......................................................................................................................................... 11 Study Design .......................................................................................................................... 11 Field and Laboratory Methods .............................................................................................. 12 Sediment toxicity ............................................................................................................... 12 Sediment Chemistry .......................................................................................................... 13 Sediment porosity, grain size characterization, and compaction ..................................... 14 Pebble Counts ................................................................................................................... 15 Sand Fractionation models ............................................................................................... 15 Statistical Analysis ................................................................................................................. 15 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 16 Existing grain size composition of sand substrates within the park’s coastal shoreline of southern Lake Michigan ........................................................................................................ 16 Shoreline Characterization ............................................................................................... 16 Grain size distribution ...................................................................................................... 16 Sediment Models ............................................................................................................... 20 Washington Park ........................................................................................................ 20 Mt. Baldy East ........................................................................................................... 22 Mt. Baldy West .......................................................................................................... 24 Central Beach ............................................................................................................. 26 Dunbar Beach ............................................................................................................ 28 Beach house blowout ................................................................................................. 30 Dune Acres ................................................................................................................ 32 Portage Lakefront ...................................................................................................... 34 West Beach ................................................................................................................ 36 Lake Street Access ..................................................................................................... 38 Pebble Count Analysis ........................................................................................................... 40 Relationships between Lake Shoreline Reaches .................................................................... 41 Sand compaction .................................................................................................................... 45 Porosity .................................................................................................................................. 45 Sediment Chemistry Characteristics and Toxicity to Biota ................................................... 45 48 Hour Sediment Elutriate Test Results with Daphnia pulex ......................................... 47 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 49 Sediment chemistry ............................................................................................................... 49 Sediment toxicity ................................................................................................................... 49 Observations of the Elutriate Water ...................................................................................... 49 Least-impacted conditions for sand compaction and porosity along the coastal area of southern Lake Michigan. ....................................................................................................... 50 Emerging and existing threats or stressors .....................................................................