Human Impacts

Why would someone want to settle in the calumet area?  With the lake being close to the area it provided many opportunities to flourish.  The Water was a large resource for the settlers, it made it possible for traders to send there good to the Mississippi.     The alterations in the way the water runs off the land have been the most dynamic of all the changes made to the calumet area environment. (Schoon pg 102)  There were damns canals ditches and levees created to move this water.  Indiana didn’t have many canals made, unlike Illinois.  Much of the calumet, the little calumet river and the Kankakee River travel straighten mad made channels.  Settlers set up general stores and Inns along native American trade routes. The further south of the lake the landed was very difficult to navigate. Also if you didn’t have a keen sense, the Indian trails were very difficult to navigate.  (schoon pg. 72) 

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Once the rail roads came into the area, it made travel much easier.   Railroads connected the calumet region, with the east coast.  Beginning in the; ate 1840’s these eastern companies wanted to be able to get merchandise to Chicago and farther west, farmers welcomed these lines. It made transfer needed supplies much easier. (Schoon pg 81) 

I grew up in Lowell; I have lived here my entire life.  Actuary I bought a house two down from where I grew up.  My house sits atop a large hill, on the west side of town.  It’s said that my house was the first house on the west side.  My home was built in 1862; sp yes I take pride in where I grew up.  Cedar creek runs through the center of the downtown area.  It is the remains of a channel where glacial melt waters once rushed southward.  According to Schoon Lowell has some of the most fertile farming land of the entire calumet area ( Schoon pg 171)

 Natural Resources

First of all the natural waterways, attracted many families, they could use these waterways to move goods and as a source of food.  Another kind of waterway they used was a moving waterway, such as a water driven saw.    The very fertile lowlands also created a great place to settle.  Several early pioneers’ settlements appeared where Potawatomi had their villages.  (Schoon pg. 63)  Many settlers were afraid to settle in the prairies because the fear if tress can’t grow neither can crop.  Some farmers choose the higher dry ancient shore lines to live.  This place being primarily dry, made a good place to farm .  The EJ&E railroad chose to use the vast amount of sand to build there rail lines. These dune areas didn’t pose a wash out threat.  

  

Asian carp are moving north up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The we're introduce in the south to help with cleaning aquaculture facilities. The escaped into the wild and are threatening natural species of fish. (asiancarp.us)


Dale Roberts is the mayor of a small town in souther Illinois, they have an annual fishing tournament for the species. The weird thing is that for this tournament there is no fishing poles, or tackle. Only a boat and nets, but not the type of fishing nets you may be thinking. These nets stay out of the water. These fish are amazingly skittish at the sound of a boat motor the keep out of water. Sometimes up to 10 ft (asiancarp.us)


These fish are on there way north and are soon to reach the great lakes, which means they could have a permanent residence. In February, the Obama Administration announced the 2012 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework that includes a series of new measures to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp. (asiancarp.us)
here is a link to the plans for the protection of the great lakes. http://AsianCarp.us/documents/Carps_Management_Plan.pdf

Here is a large silver head Asian carp. (treehugger.com)

A Small demonstration of what these menace fish can do. (Freshwaterfuture.org)

These fish not only pose a threat to the natural Eco system of the natural river systems, but these fish can be dangerous to fisherman safety.  With a large three to 8 pound fish being able to leap out of the water at 10ft they can easily hit an unsuspecting angler as they are boating. 

(Cleveland.com)