Jackson, Lakes Group Negotiating On Wetlands Plan
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Syracuse resident Brad Jackson says he will wait to hear a proposal from a local lake association before going ahead with plans to build a home on Syracuse Lake.
"I'm going to call the Army District Corps and put the permits on temporary hold," Jackson said.
Jackson, a county commissioner, seeks to fill in a part of the wetlands to provide a front yard and boat landing at the lake's open water. The area is 50 feet by 200 feet. As mitigation, fill material would be taken from the west end of the property and a wetlands area would be constructed at that location.
He said he delaying the process in order to begin negotiations with Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation Inc., who has expressed an interest in purchasing the land from Jackson.
Jackson met with a WACFI representative over the weekend to discuss a time frame for the negotiations.
The WACFI previously approved sending a letter of protest to the District Corps of Engineers in Detroit, Mich., and to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Office of Water Management, Indianapolis, regarding Brad Jackson's application.
"We were asked to respond to his request and were asked to send letters to the Corps and IDEM," WACFI President Robert Myers said Monday.
Myers said if they reach an agreement with Jackson to purchase the land, funds would come from various sources.
"Probably," Myers said, "we would have a fund-raiser. We'd ask property owners around the lakes to donate money. People donate to us all year round. We are a registered nonprofit foundation."
Myers said the group has not gone to the government at any time for any support. He said it felt it didn't need to do that. WACFI manages its own property, and volunteers do the trash pick-up. If it purchases the Jackson property, it would not create any management problems, Myers said.
"I don't think that property would need management," he said.
Myers said that the property is a piece of land on high ground that abuts a wetland.
"The state is very reluctant to have wetlands developed. We'll have it appraised," he said. "We're rather methodical to our approach to these kind of things. Brad may want to donate the land for tax purposes."
In its initial letter to the Army Corps, the WACFI stated seven reasons why it opposes Jackson's wetland alterations. The reasons, and Jackson's responses on Friday, were:
• It fractionalizes the only remaining wetland on the lake.
Jackson said, "It will put a division in it, but it won't change the size."
• It would appear to open the rest of the wetland to development.
For Jackson's part, he stipulated in his deed that there would only be one residence in that area. Jackson would also never seek any more permits nor would a concrete seawall ever be built.
• Indiana Department of Natural Resources has conducted studies which indicate this to be an extremely sensitive environment area and has said this wetland should be protected.
"We're not doing anything actually to the lake," Jackson said. "Nature's a little more resilient than most people think. It was actually man-made to begin with."
On Monday, Myers said, "We should not disturb the wetlands because we don't have many of them anymore."
• Commonwealth Engineers Inc., Indianapolis, conducted a diagnostic lake and watershed study in 1995 and also recommended this wetland be protected. Further, they said this wetland area is "vital to the health of a self-sustaining fishery in Syracuse Lake."
Jackson said, "We're not going to lose any wetlands."
• Indiana Department of Natural Resources in March published a report stating, "largrmouth bass exploitation is approaching a critical level at Wawasee and Syracuse lakes."
Jackson said the statement was not applicable to his project.
• While the WACFI opposes the wetland alteration completely, it also believes the proposed mitigation to be inappropriate. The natural wetland to be filled constitutes a fractionalization of the larger wetland. This wetland is on the lake's open water edge and would seem to be more valuable from an ecology view than the proposed new man-made wetland which would be at the rear of a present wetland away from the open lake.
If discussions go well, Jackson hopes to see the controversy disappear, he said.
WACFI is a charitable foundation that people. More than 250 people donate to the foundation and are considered sponsors, not members, Myers said. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Syracuse resident Brad Jackson says he will wait to hear a proposal from a local lake association before going ahead with plans to build a home on Syracuse Lake.
"I'm going to call the Army District Corps and put the permits on temporary hold," Jackson said.
Jackson, a county commissioner, seeks to fill in a part of the wetlands to provide a front yard and boat landing at the lake's open water. The area is 50 feet by 200 feet. As mitigation, fill material would be taken from the west end of the property and a wetlands area would be constructed at that location.
He said he delaying the process in order to begin negotiations with Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation Inc., who has expressed an interest in purchasing the land from Jackson.
Jackson met with a WACFI representative over the weekend to discuss a time frame for the negotiations.
The WACFI previously approved sending a letter of protest to the District Corps of Engineers in Detroit, Mich., and to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Office of Water Management, Indianapolis, regarding Brad Jackson's application.
"We were asked to respond to his request and were asked to send letters to the Corps and IDEM," WACFI President Robert Myers said Monday.
Myers said if they reach an agreement with Jackson to purchase the land, funds would come from various sources.
"Probably," Myers said, "we would have a fund-raiser. We'd ask property owners around the lakes to donate money. People donate to us all year round. We are a registered nonprofit foundation."
Myers said the group has not gone to the government at any time for any support. He said it felt it didn't need to do that. WACFI manages its own property, and volunteers do the trash pick-up. If it purchases the Jackson property, it would not create any management problems, Myers said.
"I don't think that property would need management," he said.
Myers said that the property is a piece of land on high ground that abuts a wetland.
"The state is very reluctant to have wetlands developed. We'll have it appraised," he said. "We're rather methodical to our approach to these kind of things. Brad may want to donate the land for tax purposes."
In its initial letter to the Army Corps, the WACFI stated seven reasons why it opposes Jackson's wetland alterations. The reasons, and Jackson's responses on Friday, were:
• It fractionalizes the only remaining wetland on the lake.
Jackson said, "It will put a division in it, but it won't change the size."
• It would appear to open the rest of the wetland to development.
For Jackson's part, he stipulated in his deed that there would only be one residence in that area. Jackson would also never seek any more permits nor would a concrete seawall ever be built.
• Indiana Department of Natural Resources has conducted studies which indicate this to be an extremely sensitive environment area and has said this wetland should be protected.
"We're not doing anything actually to the lake," Jackson said. "Nature's a little more resilient than most people think. It was actually man-made to begin with."
On Monday, Myers said, "We should not disturb the wetlands because we don't have many of them anymore."
• Commonwealth Engineers Inc., Indianapolis, conducted a diagnostic lake and watershed study in 1995 and also recommended this wetland be protected. Further, they said this wetland area is "vital to the health of a self-sustaining fishery in Syracuse Lake."
Jackson said, "We're not going to lose any wetlands."
• Indiana Department of Natural Resources in March published a report stating, "largrmouth bass exploitation is approaching a critical level at Wawasee and Syracuse lakes."
Jackson said the statement was not applicable to his project.
• While the WACFI opposes the wetland alteration completely, it also believes the proposed mitigation to be inappropriate. The natural wetland to be filled constitutes a fractionalization of the larger wetland. This wetland is on the lake's open water edge and would seem to be more valuable from an ecology view than the proposed new man-made wetland which would be at the rear of a present wetland away from the open lake.
If discussions go well, Jackson hopes to see the controversy disappear, he said.
WACFI is a charitable foundation that people. More than 250 people donate to the foundation and are considered sponsors, not members, Myers said. [[In-content Ad]]