Indian Lake Watershed Project Long-Range Management Plan Executive Summary

Indian Lake Watershed Project Long-Range Management Plan Prepared & Written By: Gary Graham, Water Quality Specialist Ohio State University Extension Northwest District Office 952 Lima Avenue, Box C Findlay, OH 45840-2320 (419) 422-6106

Funding:
The preparation and publication of the long range plan wasfunded in part by Ohio State University Extension through the U. S. Department of agricultural funds designated for the Indian Lake Hydrological Unit Area. Funding in part was also provided by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Nonpoint Source Management Program pursuant to Section 319 of the Federal Clean Water Act.

 

Long-Range Management Plan

The Indian Lake Watershed Project Long-Range Management Plan was developed in 1995-96 by Ohio State University Extension in cooperation with the Indian Lake Watershed Joint Board of Supervisors. The purpose of the long-range management plan is to guide the watershed project's future development and growth.

The basis of the plan is "community driven" and relies on the public stakeholders' concerns and issues. The plan identifies the shared vision of watershed residents, local and state agencies, and officials concerning the future of the watershed and lake region. The plan is a "living document" which gives options and directions so limited personnel and resources may be concentrated on efforts likely to produce improved water quality and public support.

Indian Lake

Located in west central Ohio, Indian Lake is a vacation destination, attracting over 1.5 million visitors each year. While the lake is located in Logan County, the watershed covers portions of Hardin, Auglaize and Logan Counties. There are 178 miles of tributaries within the watershed which flow to Indian Lake. The lake is at the head waters of the Great Miami River.

The watershed is a highly productive area with 89 percent of the land in agricultural production. Just over seven percent of the watershed is forested land and only three percent is urbanized. The remaining land is open area or water.

The watershed region was shaped by continental glaciation and running water. The site of Indian Lake originally was five small natural lakes. In 1851, Lewistown Reservoir was constructed to serve as a feeder lake for the Miami-Erie Canal System. The area was designated as a State Park in 1898 and the name changed to Indian Lake.

Indian Lake Watershed Project

Indian Lake was selected as Ohio's first Hydrological Unit Area in 1990. The goal was to reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients entering Indian Lake and its tributaries. While the name has been changed to the Indian Lake Watershed Project, the original goal is still intact. The project is governed by the Indian Lake Watershed Joint Board of Supervisors. Day-to-day water quality efforts are performed by several agencies including: Ohio State University Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Soil & Water Conservation Districts. Other supporting agencies include Farm Service Agency, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Lake Sedimentation

A study by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in 1986 indicated Indian Lake had lost about 35 percent of the storage capacity because of sediment in the lake. Currently, an aggressive dredging program is conducted in the lake and at the inlets of the major tributaries where sediment accumulations are the greatest.

However, dredging is expensive and doesn't address the problem of sedimentation at the source. The Indian Lake Watershed Project was started to look at the source of sedimentation and develop programs to reduce the amount flowing into Indian Lake.

Sediment enters the lake from a variety of sources. The major erosion source is agriculture run-off. Other contributions are erosion of the lake shoreline, streambanks, construction site erosion and residential development. The project has initiated several programs designed to reduce the amount of erosion and sedimentation throughout the watershed.

Early Programs

Because 89 percent of the watershed land is in agricultural use, the beginning programs focused on farm land management and cultivation practices.

In 1990, only six percent of the watershed was no-tilled. This is a process where the farmer doesn't plow or till the soil before planting crops. This allows the past year's crop residue to remain on the surface, trapping moisture and keeping valuable topsoil from eroding away. Other conservation tillage practices include leaving a percentage of the residue on the surface to prevent run-off and erosion. The conventional method includes fall plowing where the vast majority of crop residue is turned under, leaving the soil vulnerable to wind and water erosion.

The Indian Lake Watershed Project offered a Conservation Equipment Buy-Down Program which encouraged farmers to replace conventional equipment with no-till or conservation machinery. This program accelerated the purchase of conservation equipment for many farmers and has helped control erosion from many fields in the watershed.

Current Programs

Indian Lake Watershed Project currently operates programs for farmers and other residents of the watershed. The goal remains to reduce sediment and nutrient erosion into Indian Lake. Several of the current programs stress education, like the Master Watershed Steward program.

This program will establish a water quality stewardship education program for volunteers. Once the individuals have completed the program, they will be required to donate 30 hours to present water quality programs in the watershed and help train other volunteers.

A "Help Water Quality" notebook has been updated and distributed to local businesses and agencies. The notebook contains practical ideas for residents of the watershed to improve water quality.

The Indian Lake Watershed contains over 13,000 acres of Highly Erodible Land. This distinction is given by USDA to soil especially vulnerable to erosion. The project has developed programs designed to demonstrate Best Management Practices for this land. One program is the Intensive Grazing Project. The project features cattle pastured on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. This land is considered highly erodible and establishing pasture will keep a vegetative cover on the land year round, reducing the amount of erosion potential. The project looks at the economic and environment benefit to farmers to pasture the land rather than return to a cropping system.

The Filter Strip Establishment Program concentrates on the stream corridor. This corridor paralleling the stream is especially vulnerable to erosion, run off and pollutants. The program provides cost-share for establishment of the filter strip and compensation payments for filter strip acreage, and also encourages livestock exclusion from streams to reduce erosion and breakdown of streambanks. The Streambank Protection and Restoration program implements stabilization projects to reduce erosion. The practices include willow postings, tree revetments, waddles and other stabilization methods.

Several programs involve working with the Amish community to encourage Best Management Practices for their livestock and crop operations to improve water quality. These include filter strips, livestock exclusion and integrated crop management. The Water Quality Incentive Program is designed to reduce nonpoint source agricultural pollutants in an environmentally and economically sound manner. Project staff will be working with farmers to identify Best Management Practices for their agricultural operation. Other programs for farmers include the Soil Doctor and Reduced Rate Herbicide Usage. The Soil Doctor is a variable rate nitrogen applicator that reads the amount of nitrates existing in the soil and applies only the needed amounts. The Reduced Rate Herbicide Usage demonstrates how farmers can use less herbicide and still achieve the desired yields with their crops.

Proposed Future Programs

Proposed future programs will expand current projects like Intensive Grazing, Filter Strips and Livestock Exclusion. The addition of a special NatureWorks grant will also address nonpoint source pollution. Several new programs will be added. One of these areas is establishing a demonstration restored wetland to demonstrate the effectiveness of wetlands to improve water quality. Another program addresses sinkhole management to improve groundwater.

Two proposed programs focus on education and outreach to the general public in the watershed area. The Lawn Care Program is designed to work with watershed residents and lawn careprofessionals to improve nutrient and pesticide application practices on residential turf. Another program will focus on educating school children and teachers about water quality. The program will train teachers about the environment and provide water quality monitoring equipment. Specific curriculum will be developed for students including local, watershed information.

Evaluating Progress

One important aspect of a program's success is evaluation, which opens the door to continual improvement and updating of a program. The Indian Lake Watershed Project has utilized several evaluation techniques.

In the fall of 1995, a landowner survey was sent to identify concerns for people living on the lake or in the watershed area. During the same time, a survey was sent to lake users, including those who live in the area and others who come specifically to enjoy Indian Lake. Much of the information from these two surveys is a part of the long-range plan.

Other evaluations have included focus groups with agriculture producers, landowners and other specific, targeted groups. Public meetings have been held and follow-up telephone interviews done with participants in specific watershed projects.

The feedback received can point to public concerns that need to be addressed by the project. The evaluation also indicates strong programs and other programs that aren't meeting the needs of the watershed.

The long-range plan contains specific direction for continuing evaluation for the Indian Lake Watershed Project including a request for a staff person to develop evaluation processes for every aspect of the watershed project.

Monitoring Progress

The monitoring can also show where potential pollution sources are occurring. An integral part of monitoring in the watershed will be volunteer monitoring programs. These programs are not only an important source of reliable and relatively inexpensive water quality data, but the programs give the general public an opportunity to become more involved in natural resource protection. Currently, monitoring occurs at nine sites on streams in the watershed.

Other monitoring activities include the Citizen Lake Improvement Program (CLIP) which is a statewide group of volunteers sponsored by the Ohio Lake Management Society. Locally the Indian Lake Watershed Project sponsors CLIP volunteers on Indian Lake. The volunteers sample designated locations twice a month from May to October and collect data on water transparency, water color, water and air temperature, water depth, wind, rainfall, cloud cover, lake level and recreational use. The Indian Lake State Park regularly monitors the water for fecal coliform and drinking water standards. These tests are required for swimming and drinking water.

Some monitoring in the watershed doesn't directly involve water. Each spring, a tillage transect is performed to see how much of the past year's crop residue remains on the field. Conservation tillage leaves a larger percentage of residue on the field, so the transect measures the increasing amount of conservation tillage in the watershed. There has been a tremendous increase in no-till and conservation tillage in the Indian Lake Watershed since the project began programs targeted toward tillage practices. Over 65 percent of the watershed crop acreage is no-tilled, compared with only six percent five years ago.

Future Program Needs In the fall of 1995, an extensive public information gathering effort was made. The public provided input about issues and concerns important to them in relation to Indian Lake and the watershed area. The project has concentrated mainly on agricultural practices and is now looking to involve the urban and residential population. Following are six topics the public indicated were important, listed in order of popularity.

Education and Public Relations - To develop more continuity and coordination, a Water Quality Education Coalition would bring mult-agencies together to develop an education strategy. The watershed project could expand current newsletters, news releases, demonstration site field days and programs such as the Master Watershed Stewards to reach more people about water quality.

Agricultural Sediment, Nutrient and Chemical Management - The agriculture community in the watershed has been a leader in adopting new technology which is beneficial for the environment and their operations. Future programs would expand current filter strip and other stream programs to include more acreage. Other program expansion include Integrated Pest Management and Integrated Crop Management along with additional animal waste managment programs.

Urban/Residential and Sewer/Storm Sewer - Education will be important while the project branches into urban and residential water quality issues. Potential programs will focus on lawn care products, soil stabilization practices for developers and construction companies, increasing green spaces in development and well and septic maintenance.

Lake Recreation - While the Indian Lake Watershed Project is unable to operate as a governing body, the project can offer assistance to organizations such as the Indian Lake Coast Guard Auxiliary and Indian Lake State Park to develop programs for the lake. Future programs may continue installation and maintenance of sediment basins at tributary inlets and shoreline protection.

Habitat Needs - The watershed project will work with Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, to promote habitat improvement for Indian Lake and the watershed. An evaluation of current habitat will be done along with goals for changes to improve habitat.

Watershed Operation Needs - To continue efficiently meeting the needs of the public, the watershed project will continue to utilize current technology. This includes purchasing a computer, Global Positioning System equipment and developing detailed Geographic Information System maps of the watershed area.

Funding Issues

The extensive programs outlined in the Long-Range Plan will require funding. Currently, the Indian Lake Watershed Project operates with grants, primarily from the federal government.

Therefore, the project is looking for alternative funding sources and several options have been suggested. A lake user fee would bring large amounts of money into the project, however, a change in state law would have to be made for the Indian Lake State Park to collect user fees that would stay in the area and not become part of the state's general park fund.

A foundation or endowment could be formed to take advantage of private charitable giving. The watershed project would need to be structured as a non-profit organization or work with an existing community foundation. Once the capital is raised, the project would operate from the interest generated.

Grants could continue to be pursued, both in the public and private sector. The project currently has many grants for operation and projects. However, relying on grants for basic funding is uncertain, and creates an atmosphere of simply existing from grant-to-grant, and not a long term commitment.

Other ideas have included fundraising events, Indian Lake boat license fee, establishing a conservancy district, Indian Lake automobile license and area sales tax.

Looking Toward the Future

The Indian Lake Watershed Project developed the long-range plan to identify the issues facing the watershed and offer solutions and direction for the future. The long-range plan was specifically written with the residents, the watershed and Indian Lake in mind.

The views and opinions of the watershed residents regarding Indian Lake water quality are the building block of the long-range plan. An investment in water quality today will multiply in benefits for the future generations of people who live, work and vacation in the Indian Lake Watershed area.

For more information about the Indian Lake Watershed and the Long-Range Management Plan, contact: Indian Lake Watershed Project 324 County Road 11 Bellefontaine, OH 43311 Phone: (937) 593-2946 Fax: (937) 592-3350

---

---

To Top