Indiana Biological Survey

Division of Fishes Projects

Great Lakes Nearshore Habitat

Fish sampling on the Lake Michigan nearshore with a 50ft beach seine

The southern Lake Michigan drainage in the Calumet Region of Northwest Indiana has a complex geological history. This includes a series of declines in Lake Michigan water levels that contributed to the build-up of dune and swale topography. This landscape includes rows of ponds that parallel the Lake Michigan shore. Those nearest the present lake shore are the youngest, and pond age increases with increasing distance from the present shoreline. The drainage also contains several large wetlands and waterbodies between the rows of Dunes (e.g., the ponds of Miller Woods and West Beach, the Great Marsh, and Long Lake. This area also includes riverine systems such as the Grand Calumet and Little Calumet Rivers and tributaries, Trail Creek, and the Galien River. These principal watersheds drain both public and private lands.

Public lands in northwest Indiana include the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU), Deep River County Park, Clark and Pine Natural Preserve, and Indiana Dunes State Park, while private lands are those in private ownership. The INDU was established in 1966 to offer recreational opportunities for the public and to serve as an area for protection of native biota. Streams in this area are primarily lowland streams characterized by long, deep pools and short, shallow riffles. These streams lack significant habitat heterogeneity as characterized by a variety of substrates. Available habitat structure is primarily woody debris from fallen deciduous trees. Wetland draining, channelization, and removal of riparian corridors destroyed habitat stability by reducing the amount of the formerly prevalent emergent wetlands.

Major impairments to the structure and function of northwest Indiana’s aquatic habitats include channelization, water quality degradation, addition of toxins and agrochemicals, agricultural sedimentation, drainage, deforestation, and the addition of nonindigenous species. Water quality in the Grand Calumet River has been severely degraded and in certain reaches does not support native fish populations. Only recently have some fish species returned to the most heavily degraded habitats.

Lake trout Salvelinus namaycush	Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu