Several Indiana counties, including Jackson, will receive funds to improve their waterways thanks to $1,506,640 in grants recently awarded by Indiana Department of Natural Resources Director Daniel Bortner through the Lake and River Enhancement program.

Grants totaling $908,700 will be used in sediment or logjam removal projects and will support 13 projects in 15 counties.

Jackson and Scott counties will use a $70,000 grant to remove a logjam in the Muscatatuck River. The river serves as the boundary between the two counties south of Crothersville.

Logjam projects include the removal of massive amounts of debris that block the stream channel. Because some woody debris in streams provides valuable habitat, removal projects focus only on large jams that block the entire stream and may cause bank erosion and cutting of new channels.

To learn more about these projects, call Doug Nusbaum at 260-244-6805 or [email protected].

The remaining $597,940 will be used to fight aquatic invasive plants, including 37 projects involving 57 bodies of water in 11 counties. Those projects involve both planning and removal of sediment. Projects to dredge lake inlets or boating access channels receive the highest priority for LARE funding.