Summary
The Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy, in collaboration with the Save the Dunes Council, Town of Chesterton, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Porter County Surveyor’s Office, Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Nature Preserves, Izaak Walton League of Porter County, Porter County Natural Resources Conservation Service, Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund, Northwest Indiana Steelheaders, Chesterton High School Student Action for the Environment Club, Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Research Station, and numerous other concerned stakeholders, created this Coffee Creek Watershed Management Plan (WMP). The plan serves as the community’s road map to achieve the watershed stakeholders’ vision for Coffee Creek, which states that Coffee Creek supports a healthy cold water biological community and provides and attractive resource for citizens.
The Coffee Creek WMP documents the efforts of concerned stakeholders to identify, understand, and address the water quality and related problems facing Coffee Creek and its watershed. The plan contains a detailed description of the watershed’s natural features, an evaluation of the water quality problems, a prioritized list of stakeholders’ goals for the water quality in the watershed, and a comprehensive action plan to achieve those goals.
Area residents and other watershed stakeholders have long recognized the value of Coffee Creek. The plan grew out of concerns voiced by the Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy and other stakeholders over how to best protect and manage this valuable community resource. To address these concerns and focus management efforts, the Conservancy applied for and received 319 funding from the IDEM for plan development. With assistance from the consulting firm of JFNew and many active stakeholders, the Conservancy directed the development of the Coffee Creek WMP.