By EILEEN OAKS
Marketing and Outreach, The Watershed Foundation

Bart Culver overlooks a privately protected wetland from his tree house observatory.

NORTH WEBSTER — What makes our watershed special? You do. No joke. The people, lakes, land, and rivers of the Upper Tippecanoe River Watershed, spanning from Crooked Lake in Whitley County all the way through Center Lake in Warsaw is one of the most unique watersheds in the world- but we’re sure you knew that already.

“Many times I’m fishing on the lake, I see boaters and jet skiers and I’ll see an osprey come down to eat — and we’re all enjoying the lake at the same time!” said Chae Dolesen, owner of Webster Lake Guide Service.

The Watershed Foundation recently debuted a new video about the wonderment and value our lakes add to our community.

“Outstanding and clearly explained!” commented Tamara Hess on TWF’s Facebook page.

The video focuses on the value of water in our community, for recreation, businesses and health.

Matt Roberts explains in the video the lake benefits of the no-till system used on his family farm.

“If it wasn’t for the lakes in this county many of the businesses, including mine, wouldn’t be here,” explained Bart Culver, owner of Barts Water Sports.

The video explains however, taking our natural lakes and rivers for granted can have dangerous results, such as algae blooms and the death of a lake.

“The cleanliness is what really disturbs me terrifically. I tell the story that there’s a hole over there (in Lake Tippecanoe) that when I was a kid, the divers from the Navy were looking for a plane that got lost. It was 178 feet deep. Today the depth finder reads 128 feet deep. It’s filled with silt.” Joe Tynan, TWF board member and Lake Tippecanoe resident explained in the video.

The video outlines how individuals, partners and TWF all collaborate to keep our lakes healthy for today and the future.

“A big part of our farming practices have been the adaption of no-till to our cropping system. The reason behind this is if you have water running off your fields, it can carry soils with it. So if you have nutrient loading into your lakes, it is coming from the soil itself,” explained Matt Roberts of Roberts Farm. “The whole idea with no-till is that you don’t disturb the soil, you keep the residue on here and it keeps it all from going downstream.”

Joe Tynan reminisces on a childhood story about the depth of Lake Tippecanoe.

The video concludes by explaining the importance of water in our local community and encouraging everyone to take an active role to ensure our lakes and rivers are viable and sustained for the future.

“TWF’s main focus is stopping pollution at its source before it gets to any ditch, wetland or lake,” explained Lyn Crighton, executive director of TWF. “Everyone lives in a watershed and you can have a positive impact or a negative impact on what’s flowing off your property. There are simple things you can do, everyone can do, to make a difference and keep our water safe, clean and healthy for now and for the future.”

To view the video, visit www.watershedfoundation.org or visit TWF’s Facebook page.