The 2009 Family Friendly Float Trip, an event co-sponsored by Friends of Sugar Creek and NICHES Land Trust, was very successful. 43 total participants took to the water on a beautiful late spring day with temperatures in the upper 70s and the water a perfect level for paddling. See photos from the trip here

Friends of Sugar Creek (FSC) is sponsoring a spring creek clean-up on Saturday, May 16. This multi-county event represents a coordinated effort involving FSC, the City of Crawfordsville, and the Friends of Turkey Run & Shades. Volunteers from the general public are sought for clean-ups at two different sites.

Site 1:

The Bachner Nature Reserve and Public Access Site will be dedicated Saturday, April 25 @ 10 AM.

Following the dedication, volunteers will plant more than 5,000 trees on the property. Your help is needed. We will supply tools and snacks.

Directions:
Take 32 West from Crawfordsville
Turn left on 325 (Camp Rotary Rd.)
Turn right on 200 (Offield Monument Rd.
The reserve is at the bottom of the hill to your left by Sugar Creek.

Call Nathan Mullendore at 765-401-0839 with any questions.

MS4 Program Provides H20 Answers
Journal Review (4/11/2009)
by Frank Phillips

If you have noticed that the level of Sugar Creek fluctuates more rapidly than in the past, you are correct.

The unusual rise and fall of the creek can be attributed to development of land in the Sugar watershed, said Gary Weliver, Crawfordsville’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) operator. The watershed includes Montgomery, Parke, Tippecanoe, Boone, Clinton and Tipton counties.

Chalmers, 13, Designs Sugar Creek Nature Park Logo
Journal Review 4/8/2009
by Frank Phillips

Years, perhaps decades from now, Hannah Chalmers will be able to point to the logo for the Crawfordsville Nature Park and say, “I designed that.”

Chalmers, 13, had the winning entry in the logo contest conducted by the Nature Park committee.

“It came down to two entries and we chose Hannah’s,” said Shannon Hudson, a committee member.

Nature Reserve Dedication April 25
Journal Review 3/7/2009
by Don Bickel

This event deserves a broad mark on your calendar and a mental reminder of “Don’t Forget.”

On Monday, April 6, FSC President Zach Cain discussed the ongoing efforts of the organization at a lunch meeting sponsored by the Montgomery County League of Women Voters.

Read Jay Heater's write-up of the event here: Cain Addresses Sugar Creek Issues in LWV Talk

Friends of Sugar Creek would like to thank the League of Women Voters for the invitation to speak.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Weather Channel have collaborated to produce a half-hour documentary about watersheds called "After the Storm." The show highlights three case studies--Santa Monica Bay, the Mississippi River Basin/Gulf of Mexico, and New York City--where polluted runoff threatens watersheds highly valued for recreation, commercial fisheries, navigation, and drinking water.

Students Immersed in Economics on Sugar Creek
Wabash College 3/30/2009
by Steve Charles

What is the economic value of Sugar Creek to residents of Montgomery County? How does damage to the creek affect not only businesses that depend upon it for revenue, but for other businesses in Crawfordsville and the surrounding area?

On Wednesday, March 4, members of the Sugar Creek Nature Park Planning Commission met with Gus Nyberg, the executive director of NICHES, to conduct an ecological assessment of the area designated for the city’s new park. Nyberg provided management suggestions and commented on current plans for trail and shelter construction.