By JACK SPAULDING
Spaulding Outdoors 

A new accessible boat launching facility in northwestern Indiana will make it easier for paddlers of all abilities to get on the water. The canoe and kayak launch at Michigan City’s Hansen Park complies with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), making it the first of its kind in Indiana.

Known as an EZ Launch, the facility will help make Trail Creek and the Lake Michigan Water Trails system more accessible for both able-bodied paddlers and those with physical limitations.

A public ribbon-cutting was held Sept. 26 at Hansen Park, located at 100 E Street. The public was invited to a free paddle on one of the six Wilderness Inquiry 24-foot voyageur canoes, which were in town all week as part of Trail Creek Week 2015.

Funding for the launching facility was provided in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lake Michigan Coastal Program. Other partners were the Michigan City government, including Mayor Ron Meer, the Common Council and the Parks Department, the Michigan City Redevelopment Commission, the Michigan City Port Authority and the Northwest Indiana Paddling Assoc. (NWIPA).

Charlie Ray of Duneland Group provided in-kind design and engineering services.

The facility will be dedicated to local paddler Lorri Kovitz, who helped inspire the project. Kovitz had a leg amputated several years ago. She was an avid cyclist and hiker, according to NWIPA President Dan Plath.

"Once she had her leg removed, paddling was her only way of really connecting to nature as she once did," Plath said. "We have witnessed for years the struggles that she went through to get into her kayak and on the water."

The facility has also led to the creation of the Northwest Indiana Chapter of Team River Runner. Team River Runner provides wounded and disabled war veterans and their families adaptive paddling programs.

Team River Runner has support from NWIPA, the Valparaiso University Office for Veterans’ Programs and Services and the VU Military Veterans’ Law Assoc. For more information on Team River Runner, email Plath at dplath@nwipa.org

The Indiana Natural Resources Commission on Sept. 14 gave final approval to rule changes governing commercial fishing and sport fishing for catfish.

The new rules raise the minimum size from 10 to 13 inches for catfish caught in rivers and streams, including the Ohio River.

They limit the number of large catfish caught in lakes, reservoirs, streams and rivers (including the Ohio River) to no more than one each per day of channel catfish at least 28 inches long, blue catfish at least 35 inches long and flathead catfish at least 35 inches long.

According to DNR sources, the new ruling applies only to Channel catfish, blue catfish and flathead catfish. The changes apply to both commercial and sport fishing.

The DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife proposed the changes in order to increase survival of younger catfish and ensure continued large or "trophy" catfish opportunities for both sport and commercial fishing.

Larger catfish also have higher reproductive potential and can help control populations of forage species such as gizzard shad and Asian carp.

The Commission granted preliminary approval to the rule changes in November, after which a public comment period will include one public hearing. The rule changes will not be in effect until approved by the attorney general’s and governor’s offices and published in the Indiana Register.

The DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife plans to selectively cull gizzard shad at Lake Waveland in Montgomery County.

The goal is to reduce the gizzard shad population enough to increase largemouth bass populations and produce larger-sized panfish in the 358-acre lake.

Sometime early in October, the lake will begin to be lowered to 2-4 feet below its current level. Once the water level is reduced, draining will cease and a low dose of rotenone will be applied. Rotenone application is slated for Oct. 27, weather permitting. The lake will be closed to fishing and boating on the day of the treatment.

Sometimes used as an insecticide, rotenone is toxic to fish and has been used in fisheries management for decades. The U.S. EPA has approved the use of rotenone formulations to control and sample fish populations. It affects shad at doses too low to drastically affect other species. Boat owners may want to remove watercraft before or shortly after the drawdown begins. It is anticipated the lake level will be down at least 2 feet by mid-October.

Indiana Dunes State Park and the Friends of Indiana Dunes group are offering a free owl-based curriculum for teachers this fall. Timed in conjunction with the state park’s popular saw-whet owl banding program, the curriculum packet provides classroom activities about owls, their ecology and behavior and local banding efforts.

The curriculum is available in a hard-copy binder format and an electronic version. It was developed based on current academic standards. It includes writing, environmental studies and math. Each packet is divided for grade levels 1-6 and is written for busy teachers.

The curriculum can be combined with on- and off-site visits by park naturalists to educate students on the owl banding program happening nightly at the state park from early October through mid-November. The owl curriculum binders are free at the Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center.

For more information, call 219-926-1390. Indiana Dunes State Park is located at 1600 North 25 E. Chesterton, IN 46304.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may contact Jack Spaulding by email at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.