The Habitat subcommittee is focused on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife issues throughout the entire Elkhart River Watershed. This group will look to protect and preserve areas of high quality habitat as well as restore areas that have been impaired by human disturbances using sound scientific principles and proven techniques that will not only take into account the interest of the local flora and fauna, but the opinions and needs of local stakeholder groups.
Currently we are in the beginning stages of looking at the possibilities of creating a fish passage at the furthest downstream dam on the Elkhart River (next to the INOVA Credit Union). There are several options that are being considered:
1) Complete removal of the dam,
2) The installation of a fish passage, or
3) A combination of the two called notching, where a portion of the dam is removed.
When one of these options is completed a number of fish species will again have access to portions of the Elkhart River and its tributaries up to the dam in the City of Goshen.
Portions of the funds for this project will be provided by the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration (GLFER) program, which was created by the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. This “program authorizes the [Army] Corps of Engineers ([A]COE) to partner with federal, state, and local agencies and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to plan, implement, and evaluate projects supporting the restoration of the fishery, ecosystem, and beneficial uses of the Great Lakes. Examples of projects might include removal of unnecessary barriers in Great Lakes tributaries, creation of fish passage devices, riparian habitat stabilization, and restoration and creation of wetlands,” (http://www.glfc.org/fishmgmt/statement_epw.pdf).