Brendan Kearns, right, talks to fellow members of the Wabash River Heritage Corridor Commission during a stop on the pedestrian walkway overlooking the Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area on Wednesday. Also on the walk was Tavia Hedrick, natural resources programmer for the Vigo County Parks and Rec. Department, third from left. Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza
A room in the upper-floor of the Terre Haute History Center was filled Wednesday afternoon with many of the community’s ardent advocates for the Wabash River.
They were joined by allies from elsewhere.
Officially, they’re known as the Wabash River Heritage Corridor Commission, a state entity comprised of members from each of the 19 counties bisected by the waterway. Those members are appointed by their county commissioners.
The WRHCC’s stated mission aims to protect and enhance the natural, cultural, historical and recreational resources and encourage sustainable development along the Wabash. Its modest Wabash River Heritage Corridor Fund — totaling about $170,000 — is generated by Indiana’s royalties from oil pumped from beneath the riverbed in Gibson County, and enables the commission to allocate grants for conservation and recreational amenities.
Les Zimmerman, a commission member from Vermillion County, boiled down the WRHCC’s description.
“We’re ambassadors for the Wabash River,” Zimmerman said earlier Wednesday, as several commissioners toured the pedestrian walkway along U.S. 150 between Terre Haute and West Terre Haute amid morning sunshine.
The commission meets four to five times a year at various locations across the state. The timing is good for its springtime stop in Terre Haute this year. Earlier this month, the community unveiled its new Wabash Riverfront Master Plan, aimed at creating “the most beautiful, vibrant, prosperous riverfront in Indiana.” Several Hauteans involved in the updated master plan attended Wednesday’s WRHCC meeting, and listened intently. Terre Haute’s goal to create the state’s best riverfront is a tall order. Still, if follow-through happens on the elements of that plan — greater riverfront access; pedestrian-friendly streets; development districts and expanded, connected trails and recreation opportunities; stabilization of the Wabash’s eroding east bank and flood resiliency; and a riverwalk — Terre Haute will reach its goal, and residents, newcomers and visitors alike will benefit.
There are many ways to protect and enhance the official state river, and commission members from beyond Terre Haute offer crucial ideas and experiences.
A priority for WRHCC member Randy Lehman is persuading reluctant farmers to adopt soil conservation measures such as planting crops no-till style, planting cover crops, rotating crops and practicing nutrient management. Lehman represents Adams and Wells counties in the state’s northeast corner.
“[The farming measures] just need to be adopted,” Lehman said during Wednesday morning’s stroll on the pedestrian walkway overlooking the Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area.
It’s a problem that manifests far from Indiana. Sort of. Studies in the past decade showed that Indiana contributes about 11% of the nutrient runoff that winds up in the Mississippi River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. The decomposing algae formed a “dead zone” the size of New Hampshire, depriving fish and plants of oxygen.
But Hoosiers also see the effects of nutrient runoff in the Wabash.
“There’s a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus getting into the river,” Lehman said. “It turns the water green. That’s not very appealing for recreational use.” Lehman pointed out an effort in neighboring Ohio, where the Wabash begins. It involves pumping water from creeks into wetlands, where it then drains “cleaner” into lakes and aquifers.
Also on the walk was Michael Beauchamp, who represents Wabash County, home of the quaint city of the same name, positioned between Lafayette and Fort Wayne. For him, it’s important for Hoosiers to recognize the recreational value in keeping the state river clean. Beauchamp understands that value. He’s boated the entirety of the 511-mile Wabash as an outdoors adventure with each of his kids on their 21st birthdays. If fact, those journeys went beyond the Wabash itself.
Beauchamp and his kids floated their 14-foot boat along the Wabash — the first time powered with an 8-horsepower motor in 2001, then boosted to 14-horsepower on the next two trips in 2003 and 2007. His boating excursions also ventured to other waterways, traveling from New York to the Wabash; from Great Falls, Montana, to the Wabash; and from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. He and fellow WRHCC member Keith Poole, also of Wabash County, boated the Clearwater, Snake and Columbia rivers.
“That’s what got me interested in taking care of the Wabash River,” Beauchamp said. “I saw so many things that made me sad about the way we take care of the river.”
So, Beauchamp joined the WRHCC in 2011. That same year, his hometown of Wabash also launched its annual Clean Out the Banks initiative, and a nonprofit community action group, the Wabash River Defenders. Within three years, more than 125,000 pounds of tires, scrap steel, construction materials and other debris got removed from the river, according to the Defenders’ website.
Residents are protective of sites that formerly were dumps.
“For people now, it’s like a neighborhood watch,” Beauchamp said. “They guard the river.”
That’s a good sign. In states with lax environmental protections, like Indiana, grassroots guardians of rivers raise awareness through their activities.
Some projects benefiting from WRHCC grants are closer to home. Those include the transformation of the old B& O Railroad Bridge in Montezuma into a pedestrian bridge. A $150,000 commission grant funded that project, which was completed in 2017. It required the local community to come up with 20% of the cost, and that matching amount could come through money, other resources or labor.
Montezuma chose labor to cover its “soft match,” supplied by a determined crew of 60- and 70-something retirees, as Parke County Commissioner and project volunteer Jim Meece explained in 2017. Gotta love that.
Now, trails leading from the pedestrian bridge are being extended through corridor grants, helping connect Parke and Vermillion counties in a recreational way, Zimmerman — the Vermillion County WRHCC member — explained.
“ As a group, we try to reach out to people in an educational or informational aspect,” Zimmerman said.
The more Hoosiers know about their state river, the more they care for it.
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