During some recent work at the Parnell Street bridge, our Riparian crew uncovered a plethora of bryozoans. What are they you ask? They are orbs or blobs that attach to woody debris in the rivers, but they are not toxic or poisonous and are harmless to touch. Bryozoans are a sign of clean water quality which is excellent news for the Saint Joseph River. Even further, they help clarify the water from sediment (which our rivers are full of), keep algal blooms at bay, and are great sources of food for fish and insects.
Fort Wayne, IN: Canal Feeder Dam and Robison Amusement Park, 1896-1919 posted February 5, 2020 on Towns and Nature blog included a September 2020 Facebook post that stated: Dam was in middle of “S” curve (see an arial view) on St Joe River by former site of Swift-Goshorn mill at Paradise Lagoon, just downstream from feeder canal (Summit Point). The earthen dikes are on both sides of the river, if you know where to look. This area is undeveloped floodplain, just east of Northpointe Woods clubhouse. I believe some of that is now private property, but it used to belong to City of Ft Wayne, before that it was the old Kroemer farm. I used to go back there in the seventies. Interesting thing is that area was meant to be the originally proposed site of the Fort’s backup water supply. They had planned to dam the river again in the twenties/thirties, but instead opted for the Cedarville Reservoir further upstream.
St Joseph River (Lake Erie) Watershed TMDL at Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The St. Joseph River watershed (SJRW) is in northwestern Ohio, south central Michigan, and northeast Indiana. The watershed encompasses approximately 1,085 square miles and drains to the Maumee River. The SJRW consists of one 8-digit hydrologic unit (hydrologic unit code [HUC] 04100003) that is further subdivided into eight 10-digit hydrologic units. The Indiana portion of the SJRW consists of 591 square miles including Fish Creek (0410000304), Cedar Creek (0410000307), Sol Shank Ditch (0410000305), Matson Ditch (0410000306), and St. Joseph River (0410000308) 10-digit HUC watersheds.
