Nash Brailler, a 60-year resident along the Tippecanoe River, has his doubts that a proposed cleanup of the waterway is a good idea. Brailler bought advertising in the Times-Union Oct. 2 and 3 urging residents not to sign a letter “from Kosciusko County” asking for access to their land to clean the river. He previously appeared before the Kosciusko County Commissioners to question the project. Letters were sent by the multi-agency committee overseeing river cleanup, which last month selected Gilbert Drainage and Excavating at a cost of $111,000 to begin clearing log jams in order to increase the rate of flow and reduce flooding. Work will begin at the western Kosciusko County border, between Old 30 and Ind. 19, after the deadline today for property owners to respond. Brailler said last week by phone the cleanup is an example of “(expletive)-poor planning and development,” noting that “it’s not the river’s fault, anyone who lives along the river could tell you that.” His fear, expressed in the ad, is that Tippecanoe becomes the “Warsaw Ditch or Sanitary Canal.” His ad caught the attention of Kosciusko Lakes and Streams, which is involved in cleanup plans. Amy Bloemendaal, an administrative assistant with KLAS, said they specifically wanted to address his contention that the plan “wasn’t made public,” noting that landowners have been invited to several meetings since last summer. Meetings included an Aug. 24, 2012, stakeholder meeting invitation sent to environmental organizations and agencies, lake associations and property owners along the stretch of river in consideration, as well as other potentially interested parties, according to information from Nate Bosch, KLAS director. This was followed by a Sept. 6, 2012, stakeholder meeting and the project appearing on the county commissioners agenda for several months starting Dec. 19, 2012. Brallier asked commissioners during a Jan. 2 meeting why he and others received no notice of early meetings about the project. County Emergency Management Director Ed Rock responded that property owners with the largest exposure to the river were picked to attend the meetings held at Grace College, and Commissioner Ron Truex added that it was premature to notify everyone at that point, since they were only then trying to get grants and determine the best way to proceed. Brailler added then that he did see a need for the project, saying that “the river is so badly damaged after the drought. I’ve never seen it so bad.” He said this month that he has seen no increase in flooding, that the river hasn’t been as high in the last decade as he’s seen in the past, and that if anything the water is flowing faster. Rock responded that, according to the National Weather Service, four of the eight historical crests of higher than six feet at the North Webster water guage have happened in the past five years, two of them this year alone. Jon Tyler, Lake Tippecanoe Property Owners Inc. vice president, has told commissioners that 10 of 17 townships along the river have been affected by high water levels in recent years. The cleanup project is a collaboration between the Kosciusko County Office of Emergency Management, the County Surveyor’s Office, Lake Tippecanoe Property Owners, the Kosciusko Lakes and Streams center and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. In addition, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil and Water Conservation District and The Nature Conservancy were consulted in the process and project development, according to Bosch. The project will be conducted with minimally invasive strategies and so will not require permitting from IDNR, IDEM or the Corps of Engineers, according to the statement. It is being conducted through a grant from the Lake and River Enhancement program of the IDNR Division of Fish and Wildlife. “(The) involved parties are conscious of the environmental integrity of the Tippecanoe River and will work to preserve it,” according to the statement. “There will be no dredging. There will be no clear cutting.” Rock has told commissioners that only hand tools will be used in clearing debris, and according to Bosch, only a small portion of the large woody debris and logs in the river will be removed, leaving plenty of habitat for aquatic insects and fish. Habitat for wildlife is another major concern for Brailler, who estimated he’s seen an 80 percent decline in fish species and even went “nine consecutive weeks without a raccoon at (his) house,” which he described as “unbelievable.” Woody debris provides valuable habitat for fish, wildlife, and other aquatic organisms, so removal of logjams will be weighed against the impacts on habitat, according to Bosch’s statement. DNR expertise will be used to help determine potential impacts, and the removal of any logjams will be done in a way that minimizes impact on habitat and the land used to access the stream. “The project will not, cannot and in good environmental conscious has no intention to remove all woody debris,” according to the statement. “The project will only focus on removals in the areas of most severe jamming, which can actually improve the health of the Tippecanoe River and has the potential to help mitigate flooding.” Bosch also addressed work referenced in Brailler’s ad performed in the 1980s by the George Palmiter River Consulting Co. to put snags and drop trees in the river, a project the director said covered approximately 3/4 miles west of Park Schram Road to Armstrong Road at Oswego. There were several activities included in this project, he said: trees that were leaning over the river were cut, then where necessary anchored to the bank for protection in river bend areas where extensive erosion was occurring; the downed trees blocking the center of the river were cut to open the channel; and in some areas, trees along the river bank were cut to allow more sunlight. The part of the project that included “downed trees blocking the center of the river (that) were cut to open the channel” is similar to the plans of the current project, according to Bosch.
