Northwest Indiana Nature

The southern rim of Lake Michigan in northwest Indiana is a healthy, resilient and ecologically connected coastal site that provides critical habitat for plant and animal diversity with equitable benefits for humans and wildlife. 

The Nature Conservancy’s Southern Lake Michigan Rim project works with residents and partners to improve this biologically rich area and to enhance the connections between people and industry with nature. The Region (as it’s fondly called by many) has globally rare habitats such as dune and swale and the Indiana Dunes, all amazingly juxtapositioned against intense development intersected by railroads and roadways.

December 2025

Revitalization and Quality-of-Life Improvements Influenced by GLRI Funding

This article originally appeared in the Times of Northwest Indiana.

My husband and I are bicycle enthusiasts. As a result, sometimes our vacation destinations are selected based on bike trail availability, and Duluth, Minnesota is a city that really stands out. Our last visit there had us riding from the north end of the city almost to Irving Park on the city’s far south side, much of the time enjoying views of Lake Superior and the mouth of the St. Louis River.

Whether it’s Lake Superior or Lake Michigan, something about riding along the shoreline reinforces just how special our Great Lakes are to us and the planet. Both lakes have a commanding presence with an almost infinite horizon line. The beauty is captivating, even more so when you consider all the Great Lakes contain 21% of the world’s fresh water. For me, though, the ride was even more interesting because I was aware that some time ago the view—and environment—would have been much different than today.

Duluth and NWI are Great Lakes areas of concern
Both Duluth and Northwest Indiana were shaped by major industries, especially steelmaking, driving their economies and, at the same time, eventual issues with legacy pollution. As a result, both areas are designated as Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) as part of a treaty between the U.S. and Canada, where, according to EPA, “significant impairment of beneficial uses has occurred as a result of human activities at a local level.”

The Duluth shoreline was littered with industrial debris, and the river was described as a “cesspool of floating logs, oil slicks and dead fish.” The lakefront, port and estuary of the St. Louis River not only looked awful, but the bottom sediment was heavily polluted with mercury, PCBs, dioxins, heavy metals, E. coli from municipal sewage and more. Sound familiar? The Grand Calumet River is famous for these same legacy pollutants—with cattle hides from late-19th century tanneries replacing the log debris.

The good news is that Duluth’s clean-up and restoration is now more than 80% complete (by my calculations), and, in comparison, similar efforts in the Grand Calumet River AOC are more than 60% complete. What made that possible? The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which was created by Congress in 2010.

Since that time, GLRI has proven to be an effective funding source and has spurred collaboration between 16 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as state agencies, municipalities, private funders and nonprofits, to address significant environmental and habitat restoration concerns throughout the Great Lakes (not just AOCs).

From an economic perspective, the return on investment for every federal dollar invested in GLRI projects is returned more than four times over. Research coordinated by the Great Lakes Commission and Council on Great Lakes Industries and led by the University of Michigan’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics also found that GLRI projects completed have resulted in improved quality of life and a resurgence of outdoor recreation in cleaned up and restored areas.

That is where the bike trail in Duluth comes into play, as well as ongoing efforts to build the Marquette Trail near the Grand Calumet River. GLRI funding does not generally fund trail development, but as the Duluth area was cleaned up, community leaders and active transportation enthusiasts—and also paddlers—were able to see beyond the degradation and envision the turnaround of an area that was once in decline.

I’m happy to report that we are doing the same here, and it’s not all related to bike trails. In the next year or so, community leaders, nonprofits and governmental agencies will begin working together to craft a future vision and plan on how the Grand Calumet River AOC will be “activated” for recreation after the AOC overcomes all its 12 current impairments. The effort is being led by the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service. Be on the lookout for public meetings where your voice can be heard.

Future funding and advancements at risk
One potential roadblock could bring all AOC revitalization to a halt or slow it down: the GLRI must be reauthorized before 2026 ends. The GLRI Act of 2025 (S.B. 528) has wide bipartisan support. Currently, the bill rests within the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works. If it is advanced from committee, it will then need to be approved by the Senate and ultimately signed by the president.

Let’s keep Grand Calumet River area restoration and quality-of-life improvements, like bike trails, on track by getting GLRI re-authorized!

November 2025

Tree Plantings Expand Crucial Canopy Cover in Northwest Indiana

This article originally appeared in the Times of Northwest Indiana.

I’ve been up to my eyeballs lately trying to get 100 trees planted in several parks in the City of Gary. It sounds like it would be easy—everyone loves trees—but there is more to it than meets the eye. I’m not complaining, but it’s been a whirlwind of activity; all geared toward tree-planting events scheduled in November at Marquette and Brunswick Parks in Gary.

It all started five years ago when The Nature Conservancy (TNC) helped develop and deliver an urban forestry plan and tree inventory for parks to the City of Gary, supported by funding, in part, from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' (IDNR) Lake Michigan Coastal Program. After several administration changes, especially in the Gary Department of Parks and Recreation, the plan finally got traction when TNC received funding from the IDNR’s Community & Urban Forestry Program to plant 100 native trees and remove at least 30 trees deemed hazardous in the tree inventory in 2024.

The next step was for me and Leo Sawyers (Northwest SCA's community program manager) to place flags across the sites so that 811 could be called on to make sure we weren’t digging in a dangerous spot. Leo is SCA’s thoughtful and dedicated leader of a crew that has helped teach hundreds of northwest Indiana residents how to plant and maintain trees. I met him through CommuniTree, a multi-organizational, collaborative urban forestry partnership that engages in grant and donor-funded tree plantings in northwest Indiana.

The collective impact of CommuniTree’s work has been astounding. Since its inception in 2017, nearly 14,000 trees have been installed, enhancing tree canopies in municipalities across the area. This fall alone, trees have been planted in East Chicago, Hammond and now Gary. Jen Birchfield, a natural resource planner for the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, currently coordinating CommuniTree’s efforts (also the president of the Michigan City Tree Board) informed me that 500 alone are in the process of being planted there.

Don’t Overlook Maintenance

Once all these trees are in the ground, they are required to be maintained for two growing seasons. Personally, I think this part of the process frequently gets overlooked over time. I’ve seen so many new trees suffering, especially as I visit parks and bike through the region. That is where the SCA will again be of service. Starting next spring, they will monitor the weather and diligently water and re-mulch the trees in Gary through the growing season to ensure their viability. We will host two more public events in 2026 and 2027 to share our maintenance knowledge with others.

Regardless of who owns all these regional trees, they are all considered part of the “urban forest” of northwest Indiana. In addition to the many benefits already mentioned, trees also filter water before it enters the groundwater and improve air quality by soaking up pollutants like ozone and carbon dioxide, filtering particulate matter that can settle in our lungs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

This is where you come in. Do you have space for trees in your yard or parkway? Before growing season is upon us again, consider how you can also add to our collective tree canopy by planting a tree, especially ones that are native and well-suited to growing conditions here (as opposed to invasive species like ornamental pears). For guidance, check out a list available through IDNR. Happy tree planting!

October 2025

Dune and Swale Habitat—a Rare, Great Lakes Phenomenon

This article originally appeared in the Times of Northwest Indiana.

When I was in high school in Munster, I was privileged to be part of a class called “Project Biology.” It was a defining time for me because it’s where I learned about ecological succession and that there is more to the Indiana Dunes than the beach. As part of the class, we traveled about 20 miles to the dunes and did systematic ecological sampling along a line to learn how the vegetation and ecosystems change as you leave the waterline.

The main attraction for many in the class was a trip to the Florida Keys to snorkel and gather information for a year-end term paper comparing similarities and differences between the two areas. I don’t recall if the term “biodiversity” was part of our curriculum, but I’m sure the concept was presented to us in some sort of fashion.