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River gets
clean bill of health
South Bend
Tribune - 8/9
PLYMOUTH -- The
eighth most important river in North America, which runs through
the southeastern corner of Marshall County, is in good health,
according to Chad Watts, Tippecanoe River project manager.
Watts, who works
with the Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy, said a
two-year study has revealed the Tippecanoe River is in a healthy
condition based on the number of organisms and species collected
along the river.
Watts said the
river is designated by The Nature Conservancy as the eighth most
important freshwater system in North America for the protection of
imperiled aquatic species.
The Tippecanoe
River, he said, is home to 21 "at risk" species as well
as six federally endangered species.
One of those
organisms, he explained, includes the club shell mussel, one of
the six endangered species.
What's special
about the club shell mussel in relation to the Tippecanoe River is
that the river houses the largest and most significant population
of the mussel in the world, he said.
The club shell,
Watts explained, is intolerant of pollution, which is telling of
the health of the river.
"This speaks
high praises of the Tippecanoe River because these species can
only survive in conditions that represent good water quality
characteristics, and high quality habitat types," he said.
"The conditions for these species typically occur in only the
highest quality river systems. This makes the Tippecanoe among the
best rivers in the United States and asserts it as the ecological
gem of river systems in Indiana."
Despite the good
health of the river, monitoring will continue.
Watts said the
two-year tests will form a benchmark showing the river's health.
If statistics improve, Watts said he will know the river is doing
well, and if they drop then he will know the river's quality is
going downhill.
He said The
Nature Conservancy will continue to help protect the land around
the river to ensure its continued good health.
According to a
press release from Watts, The Nature Conservancy wants to work
with local residents along the river to help preserve the river.
Nearly 100 acres of native forest have been replanted adjacent to
the river. The forest will filter pollutants that are making their
way to the water.
Though the river
flows through Marshall County, it also lays a path through six
other counties in Indiana. It drains 14 other counties with a
drainage area of 1.25 million acres, mostly dedicated to
production agriculture, according to the conservancy.
It flows for 200
miles from Whitley and Noble counties to the Wabash River in
Tippecanoe County, according to the conservancy. It also contains
four lakes: Webster, Tippecanoe, at the top of its watershed, and
Shafer and Freeman at the lower end of its watershed.
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