Lake/River Basin: Lake Michigan

Project Description:  Restoration efforts have begun on a deeply incised and unstable river in Elkhart and St. Joseph County, Indiana that drains 49,000 acres of agricultural and suburban landscape to the St. Joseph River in South Bend, Indiana. Excessive bank erosion results in the loss of hundreds of trees annually, which have to be removed to prevent major blockages and flooding. The work includes bioengineered bank stabilization, honeysuckle removal to promote native vegetation, and implementing the Watershed Assessment of River Stability and Sediment Supply procedure to target projects and policies which will increase base flow and decrease peak discharge in Baugo Creek.