ANDERSON – The Indiana Archaeology Council is opposed to the proposed Mounds Lake reservoir citing possible damage to historic sites within Mounds State Park.
Don Cochran, archaeologist emeritus at Ball State University, said the reservoir project threatens significant archaeological sites in the state park.
He was one of the panelists that addressed concerns about the proposed reservoir hosted by the Heart of the River on the Anderson University campus last week.
The Anderson/Madison County Corporation for Economic Development is proposing construction of a $450 million reservoir that will dam the White River in an area around Mounds Mall and extend to Yorktown. The dam will create a 2,100-acre lake with the depth ranging from 50 feet at the dam to nine feet in the Daleville area.
Cochran said when the Mounds State Park site was originally acquired by the state the intent was to restore the natural environment around the historic ancient mounds.
“The reservoir violates the stated intent,” he said. “There are nine to 12 earthworks remaining in the park.”
Some of the mounds located in the state park are believed to be more than 2,000 years old.
“There is no other site in Indiana like at Mounds State Park,” Cochran said.
The reservoir project would impact the state park during construction and produce shoreline erosion of the bluffs overlooking the White River.
“Erosion is a given,” Cochran said. “There are three mounds within 100 feet of the shoreline bluffs.”
Mitigation elements are possible, but Cochran believes none would be effective in protecting the mounds. He said one would be placing stone, plastic mesh and planting to stabilize the banks along White River. He said the steep slopes leading to the river would have to be reconfigured, but he believes erosion will still take place.
“There could be an excavation of part of the area for artifacts, but would result in the destruction of the remainder of the site,” Cochran said.
The Indiana Archaeology Council opposes the proposed Mounds Lake saying it would have devastating and destructive impact on the unique earthworks known as Anderson Mounds within the park.
The Indiana Archaeology Council is an organization of professional archaeologists who support the proper excavation of sites and educate the public on social and scientific important of the state’s cultural resources.
The Anderson Mounds are listed in the National Register and represent one of the best preserved earthwork sites in Indiana, the council said in a statement. This site was a place of ceremonial and ritual significance to the Native American builders. The site contains burials from that era, and it is of immeasurable importance to recognizing the cultural heritage of central Indiana.
There are many other archaeological sites, both known and yet to be discovered, within the lake footprint including many of Native American habitations and burial sites, Delaware villages, the Moravian mission site, an amusement park, and the hydraulic canal.
Last week, the presence of endangered bats in the area of the proposed reservoir could bring the project to a halt, a wildlife biologist said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have to formally review the planned $450 million Mounds Lake reservoir that would stretch about seven miles from a dam in Anderson, Ball State University biologist Jim Carter said.
The reservoir could create new habitat for the endangered bat but it would take many years to grow the mature trees the bats use for maternity colonies during warm months.