1999/2000 . Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science l08/109 :105—12 1

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILE SOF THE

GRAND CALUMET RIVER BASI N

Kenneth S . Mierzwa : TAMS Consultants, Suite 3200, 180 North Stetson, Chicago .Illinois 60601 USA

Spencer A . Cortwright : Department of Biology, Indiana University Northwest, Gary .Indiana 46408 US A

David A. Beamer' : Department of Biology, Indiana University Northwest, Gary ,Indiana 46408 US A

ABSTRACT. The Grand Calumet River and its associated dune and swale areas of northwest Indian ais a globally unique ecosystem . However, it has been nearly obliterated by indus t r ial, commercial, an dresidential development . Remnant natural areas, some protected, some not, harbor an incredibly divers earray of amphibians and reptiles . This area features species whose ranges converge from all four compas sdirections, hence generating the impressive diversity . Clean up of the Grand Calumet River and improve -ment of riparian areas should help maintain this diversity . In addition, preservation of unprotected site sand well-planned habitat linkages will further enhance preservation of this diversity for generations t ocome .

Keywords : ( ;rand Calumet River, Indiana, amphibians, reptiles, habitat quality, habitat protection, dun eand swal e

The ridge and swale area (Fig . I) surround-ing the Grand Calumet River is home to on eof the more diverse assemblages of amphibi-ans and reptiles in northwest Indiana . Eachtime Lake Michigan receded, a dune ridg eformed trapping an elongate wetland behin dit .. Well ove r 100 ridges originally existed i nwhat is now Gary, East Chicago, and Ham-mond, Indiana . Here, as a result of recent geo-logic and climatic events, species more typica lof areas to the north, south, east, and wes tcome together and occur in close proximity .Surprisingly, despite the long and intensive in-dustrial history of the region, several relative-ly pristine natural areas have survived alongwith most of their salamander, frog, turtle, liz-ard, and snake species . The survival of thesenatural areas and their associated faunas pro -

C~uirnrociclr ess : Department of Biology . Easter nCarolina University, Greenville, North Carolin a27858 USA .

vices unique opportunities for preservatio nand restoration .

In addition to the immediate riparian area .the contiguous ridge and swale sites were in-cluded in the study . Since amphibians and rep-tiles are less mobile than many other verte-brates and less likely to colonize remote orisolated habitats, existing centers of hiodiver-sity must be inventoried . and the data factore dinto management decisions . Information avail -able from recent inventories and older muse -um specimens and publications supplemente dour own field experience in the area . Nomen-clature follows Collins (1990), except the forthe more recent elevation of Rufo Pubeler-i t ospecific status (Sullivan et al . 1996) .

PRE-SETTLEMENT CONDITION S

Origin of the herpetofaunal assem-blage .—Presumahly, amphibians and reptile sentered what is now the Grand Calumet Rive rarea shortly after the end of the Wisconvina nglaciation. Remains of the cold-tolerant tur-

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ties, (heft~drer serpentirza and Chrvscmys pie-ta, have been found in association with mas-todon hones in southeastern Michigan an deast-central Indiana (t-Tolman & Andrew s1994) at sites dated to 13,000—11,000 year sbefore present (ybp) . Other species that todayhave northern distributions also must hav ebeen present in the boreal forest that coverednorthwest Indiana at that time . However, thepresent-day site of the Grand Calumet Rive rwas still covered by the waters of post-glacia lLake Chicago. Subsequent fluctuation of lak elevels (Chrzastowski & Thompson 1992 ;Chrzastowski et af . 1991) and climate chang e(Ahearn & Kapp 1984 ; Ebbers 1984) pro-foundly influenced the sequence and locatio nof later colonization events .

The diverse herpetofauna includes northernelements (e .g . . the blue-spotted salamander ,Aiubvstrnrta laterale, and Blanding's turtle ,Emsxdoidea blandingii) and eastern species(e .g ., the eastern newt, Notophthulmus viri-desceos, and the green frog, Rana cicrmitans) .These species may have been present sincenot long after glacial retreat, and they persis ttoday in moist woodland and wetland habitats .Species of western or southern origin an dcharacteristic of warmer or drier condition s(e .g . . Fowle's toad, Hofo .fowleri, the six-linedracerunner, Cnemidophorns sezlinea/us, an dthe western slender glass lizard, Ophisaoru satle;uwlus) presumably entered the. Calumetregion during a hypsithermal interval (Smith& Minton 1957) about 6200 to 5050 ybp(Ahearn & Kapp 1984) . Today, these specie sinhabit xeric dunes or open grasslands .

The parallel sand ridges north of the Gran dCalumet River did not form until about 2500 —1000 ybp (Thompson 1992) . This landscapeis very young, even for our recently glaciate dregion . Amphibian and reptile populations in-habiting dune and swale habitat must hav ecolonized new wetlands and ridges as the yformed .

In the 1830's, the Grand Calumet River wa sa shallow, sluggish body of water bordered b yemergent marshes . Nearby upland ridges wereusually open sand savanna interspersed wit hareas of dry-mesic to wet sand prairie . Adja-cent swales also were diverse, with open wa-ter, marsh, and shrub swamp communities .Because of the diversity of available habita tand the unusual history of the areas, a unique

Figure I . —A 1939 aerial photo a section ofthe Grand Calumet River in west Gary and eas tFlammond (westernmost north-south road is Clin eAvenue, the border between the two cities) . Thenumerous rows of dune and swale are evident . LI .S .20 is the southernmost east-west roadway, and U .S .12 angles from the southeast corner of the photo tothe northwest corner. The Grand Calumet River(dark curved line) snakes through the bottom thirdof the photo . Ivanhoe Nature Preserve is the secondand third "blocks" of swales northeast from th eintersection of Cline Avenue and U.S . 20. The"hooked" dune ridges to the north of the Gran dCalumet River mark successive mouths of the rive ras the mouth migrated eastward with the develop -ment of each new ridge. Photo and descriptio ncourtesy of Steve Brown, Indiana Geological Sur-vey .

assemblage of amphibians and reptiles wa spresent at the time of settlement .

Sources of information .—Any reconstruc-tion of the pre-settlement herpetofauna mus trely in part on somewhat later sources . Thefirst museum specimens form the area wer ecollected in 1902, but no records of amphib-ians or reptiles in the Grand Calumet Rive rarea were published prior to Shelford (1913) ,who listed species at a few localities west ofGary .

Combining early published sources, speci-mens in area museum collections, and knowl-edge based on the best remaining natural areas

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and examples of particular habitat types, a po-tential total of 34 species of pre-settlemen tamphibians and reptiles has been compile d(Table 1) . The sluggish open-water channel o fthe Grand Calumet River must have been in-habited by a variety of fully aquatic species .Snapping turtles (Che/''/ia s. serpent/nu) ,musk turtles (Stet—no/hems odorants), andpainted turtles (Chrysenru .s pieta ntarginala )were certainly present in the lagoons by Mill-er, now in northeast Gary, in the early part o fthas century, because they are documented b ynauseam specimens . Shelford (1913) reportedthe three species listed ahove, as well as ma pturtles (Grapternys gcographica), in pondsnorth of the river at Clark Street (Sites I I an d12 in Fig . 2), and these species may have bee npresent in the channel as well . Mudpuppies(Nerturus marulosus) still occur in Wolf Lake(straddles the Indiana/Illinois state line i nnorthwest Hammond) and in Lake Michigan ;they may have entered the river before sever ewater degradation .

Riparian wetlands probably provided for-aging areas for all of the above species, aswell as, semi-aquatic species such as bullfrog s(Rana (ates/1 iana), green frogs (Rana clarn-ittuts titelcrnola), Blanding's turtles (Gmvdoi-dect hlctdingii), and common water snake s(Ne rodict sipea/an) . Terrestrial species mayhave entered riparian areas on occasion, bu tdid not permanently reside there .

Swales adjacent to the river provided hah-itat for a rich array of species . Salamandersand frogs used these wetlands for breeding ,and several species of turtles and snakes prob-ably reached maximum abundance there .Shelford (1913) listed tiger salamanders (Am-bvs/ouut I . tigrirnrnt), red-spotted newts (No-toph/halntus t~iridcsccns), northern leopardfrogs (Rana pip/eras), snapping turtles (Che -/v(1ra s . serpeulina), musk turtles (Sternoih-erats odorants), painted turtles (Cht .vsentv spieta marginata), map turtles (Graplernv sgeographies), and garter snakes (Thuntnophi ss . sir/a//s) from swales near Clark Street (Site s1 I and 12 in Fig . 2) . Various terrestrial specie soccupied the intervening sand prairie and sa-vanna.

CURRENT STATUS

Grand Calumet River channel . Becauseof severe water quality degradation, only afew tolerant reptiles presently inhabit the

'table I . Potential amphibian and reptile spe-cies during presettlemcnt times in the Grand Calu -met River basin . All authors of species arc as i nMinton (2001) .

Fogs and toad sAcris crepitan .s b/arulurrdi (Northern cricke t

frog )Bair) cunt riconus (American toad )Bafo fowlori (l owler's toad )HYlct r'ersica/Or (Gray tree frog )l'seudacr'is crucifer crucifer (Spring peeper )Pscutlacris trise rich triseriata (Western choru s

frog )Rana catesbeiana (Bullfrog )Rana clamitans me/auotcr (Green frog )Rana pipiens (Northern leopard frog )

SalamandersAmbv .stoma /aterale (Blue-spotted salamander )Ambsu'tomo 6grinum tigrinunt (Eastern tiger ,sal -

amander ),/ecturus macn/osus (Mudpuppy )NotophthaInus r~iridesccns (Eastern red-spotted

newt )Plethodon cinemas (Redback salamander )

SnakesCo/abet- constrictor (Blue racer)Tlaphe vulpina r'ulpina (Western fox snake )Heierodoa platirhinos (Eastern hognose snake )Lconpropeltis triattgu/um (Milk snake )Nerodia .sipcdon (Connnon water snake)Opheodrs-.5 Ycrrtalis (Smooth green snake )Regina septenn uittata (Queen snake )Storer/a dekcnn rrrig/uonrnr (Midland brow n

snake )Thamnop/n .s prom nus prariunts (Western ribbo n

snake )7luunnophi5 rot/ix rat/i_x (Plains garter snake )Thamnophls .sir a/is sit-to/is (IEaslern garte r

snake )

'Turtle sChe/ydret serpentbta .serpentines (Commons snap -

ping turtle )Clrssc~mv.5 pinta ma ginata (Midland pa nte d

turtle )C/emmys. gutlata (Spotted turtle )Emsydoic/ea blaw/ingii (Blanding's turtle )Gruptemvs geogrctphiru (Common map turtle )Sternoiheru .s odorcuus (Common musk tur tle )

I .i,'ard sCtuintu/ophorns set/Meatus (Six-lined racerun- -

ncr )Lumeces/asciauts (Five-lined skink )Ophisaurus anenuauts atteuucrtus (Western slen -

der glass lizard)

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channel of the Grand Calumet River. Snap-ping turtles and painted turtles have been re -ported from the eastern reaches of the river(Sobiech et al . 1994), and the authors oh-served both species at several locations fro mthe Hammond Sanitary District (Site 3 in Fig .2) to United States Steel Corporation (Site 1 4in Fig . 2) . Both species are relatively toleran tof poor water quality . At present, no amphib-ians are permanent residents of the open chan-nel, although individual animals may enter th earea from time. to time .

Riparian areas .—Recent searches of ripar-ian marshes have not revealed any amphibian sor reptiles . Monospecific stands of commo nreed (Phragnrites australis), which now dom-inates many, if not most, wetlands in the Cal-umet region (Choi 2002, this volume), maynot provide useful habitat for most species .Areas densely dominated by cattails (Tvphalcrti%olia), which also are very common, pro -vide marginally better habitat structure . Here ,however, poor water quality and dense layer sof cattail thatch are the limiting factors pre -venting amphibian and reptile colonization .Some common species, such as garter snakes ,may enter the riparian wetlands on occasion .

Stands of young floodplain forest, charac-terized by pioneer species such as cottonwoo dand usually by a dense understory, are presentat several locations along the river margin .These habitats are largely impenetrable . I fwetlands isolated from the river exist in thecottonwood thickets, they could be used b ysome common amphibian species for breed-ing, but the sites are probably too heavil yovergrown and shaded for most reptiles .

ADJACENT SITES

While the Grand Calumet River and bor-dering riparian wetlands support a depauper-ate herpetofauna, several natural areas nea rthe river are noted for their species richness .Some parcels of lesser quality also supportamphibians or reptiles tolerant of habitat mod-ification . These sites are described below ona reach-by-reach basis from east to west .

Grand Calumet (Lagoons reach . The la -goons at the easternmost end of the GrandCalumet River (site 16 in Fig . 2) are partiall ybordered on the north and south by Mille rWoods, which is part of Indiana Dunes Na-tional Lakeshore . Areas immediately south o fthe lagoons consist largely of dry-mesic sand

savanna with interspersed marsh and pon dcommunities in swales . The area to the nort his a diverse dune complex in immediate prox-imity to Lake Michigan and includes unusua lcommunities such as pannes (Wilhelm 1990) .The Miller area is located in a transition fro mthe more mesic, sheltered areas (which be -come increasingly more common) to the east .and the more open and increasingly prairi eand savanna dominated sites to the west .

Specimens of amphibians and reptiles col-lected from the Miller area are available fro mas early as 1902 . Several prominent scientists ,including Carl Hubbs, Karl P. Schnndt, an dWalter Stille, visited the area during the firs thalf of the 20' 1 ' century . However, locality datafor these early specimens are usually vagueand many of them may have been collecte doutside of the current boundaries of the Na-tional Lakeshore . More recent data (Table 2) ,gathered in the mid-1980's, is available fromResetar (1988) and Werth (1990) . The stud ysite (Site 15 in Fig . 2) of Werth (1990) waslocated a little more than I km south of th eLagoons, but the site included habitat repre-sentative of the general area .

Resetar (1988) listed 18 species of amphib-ians and reptiles occurring within Mille rWoods (area around Site 15 in Fig . 2) at thetime of his study . One of these, howler's toad ,is characteristic of the pannes and blowout snorth of the Grand Calumet Lagoons, thoug hthe other 17 species arc more general in oc-currence . All 18 species could occur in th eimmediate proximity of the lagoons . Only twoother sections of the National Lakeshore, th eCowles Bog Unit and the Eastern Unit (bot hwell east of the Grand Calumet River), sup -port greater herpetofaunal species richnes s(Resetar 1988) .

Additional species have been reported his-torically from Miller Woods (Site 15 in Fig .2) and surrounding areas (now largely con-verted to industrial, commercial, and residen-tial development), but are not documentedfrom Miller Woods within Indiana Dunes Na-tional Lakeshore (Aryls crepitans blanchardi ,(Wither constrictor, Elaphe P . r'rdpiva, En -nieces fasriatus, Nerodia .sipedon, /-'Iihodonciner-cus, Rana pipiens, and Tharrrnophis r. ra-dix) . In Miller Woods, these species may bepresent but as yet undocumented, locally ex-tirpated, or still present in habitat remnant soutside of Miller Woods per ,se . Act-is crepi-

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Table 2 . -Species of amphibians and reptile sfrom Miller Woods (Site 15) recorded by Reseta r(1988) and Werth (1990) .

flogs and toad sfluid fuss leri (Fowler's toad )h i/a icrsicolor (Gray tree toad )Psew/aeri.s r . crnci/er (Spring peeper)Psecr(lucri.s t. triscriata (Western chorus frog)Rorno ccne .sbciuncr (Bullfrog)Rana cicmriluns nuilcuurtn (Green frog )

Salamanders and newt sAnrbs stome /atercrle (Blue-spotted salamander )Ambe.stonia tigrinnm 7igriraranz (Eastern tiger sal -

amander )Notophlhu/rnu .s

b/ scens (Eastern red-spottednewt )

Snake sthe rodon plotirhinos (Eastern hognose snake)Storcrio dekcn'i wrightorurn (Midland brow n

snake )7hnrnnophis pro_rimirs pro_xirnus (Western ribbo n

snake )Inoinnophis sirtcrlis .sirlu/is (Eastern garter

snake )

"hurtlesflu /s ro .s . .serpentino (Common snapping tur-

tle )C/7rs si nu s pinta marginoto (Midland painted

turtle )Grnrloidea b/caulingii (Blanding's turtle)51<111otheru .s odornttrs (Common musk turtle )

Ii/aid sCnemic/opboru .s .sex/meatus (Six-lined raeerun -

ner)

tans blunchardi and Rana pipiens have dis-appeared from many historical localities i nnorthwestern Indiana . Wilhelm (1990) note dthat many of the locales in the general Mille rarea that were visited by early botanists havebeen destroyed . The existence of Plethodo ncinereus labeled "Miller" in a museum col-lection implies that (as Wilhelm (1990) sug-gests) mesic forest pockets once existed nea rMiller Woods . This species is still commo nnear Dune Acres (IS km east of MillerWoods) where the required habitat is present.

USX reach . The USX (United StatesSteel Corporation) reach (Site 14 in Fig . 2) ofthe Grand Calumet River corridor includessome remnant ridge areas with black oak a swell as successional species such as cotton -

wood . A botanical survey would help deter-mine the extent of potential reptile habitat . I fthis site is used to bury contaminated sedi-ments or materials, more research, includin gflora and fauna, would be useful . An effort t orelocate animals prior to construction could heconsidered .

Gary Sanitary District reach . The Clar kand Pine complex (Sites 10—12 in Fig . 2 ) o fseven sites is located north of the Grand Cal-umet River at the eastern end of the Gary San-itary District reach and extends slightly int othe adjacent USX reach . The seven natural ar-eas may include perhaps the highest concen-tration of rare and endangered plant and ani-mal species remaining in Indiana (Bowle s1989) . Although only Clark and Pine East di-rectly borders the Grand Calumet River, sev-eral of the areas are divided from each othe ronly by railroad tracks or roads, and to som eextent, they probably still function as a unit .Several of the ponds studied by Shelford(1913) were within or near the Clark and Pin ecomplex . Other collectors, such as I-Tubbs an dMeeks, also collected in the general area; andspecimens are available from as early as 1902 .

Clark and Pine East (site 12 in Fig . 2 —areaeast of Clark Street), sometimes referred to a sthe Bongi site, borders the Grand CalumetRiver just east of the U .S . Route 12 bridgeand extends to the north . The approximatel y102 ha site was acquired by the Division o fNature Preserves, Indiana Department of Nat-ural Resources, in 1993 . The area was origi-nally a classic example of ridge and swal ehabitat . At various times in the past, severa lof the ridges were mined for sand . The re-sulting low, wet, flat areas subsequently re -vegetated mostly with native species, includ-ing an unusual panne-like assemblage .Relatively undisturbed-but-overgrown san dsavanna alternates with swales in the east-cen-tral part of the site . Management of Clark an dPine East continues and consists largely ofbrush clearing and controlled burning. Am-phibians and reptiles were inventoried durin g1990 and 1991 by Mierzwa et al . (1991) aspart of the Illinois-Indiana Regional Airpor tStudy . The most intensive inventory effort, in-cluding quantitative drift fence sampling usingpitfall and funnel traps (see I-Ieyer et al . 1994for a detailed discussion of drift fence tech-niques), was focused within a complex of dry-mesic sand savanna, mesic to wet sand prairie .

MIERZWA ET AL. AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILE S

marsh, and shrub swamp in the least disturbe dportion of the site . During each visit to thesite, visual sweep searches were also carrie dout in other parts of the site .

The 17 ha Clark and Pine Nature Preserv e(Site 11 in Fig . 2) is located just northwest o fClark and Pine East . The two sites are sepa-rated by Clark Street . The Nature Preserve ha sbeen under state ownership for some time an dhas been intensively managed . The nature pre -serve is generally wetter and more open tha nClark and Pine East with extensive areas o fpond, marsh, sand prairie, and open sand sa-vanna . The sand savanna includes both blac koak (Quercus ve/utirta) and jack pine (Pintt sbcotksiarta) ; the plant communities were de-scribed in detail by Bowles (1989) . Clark an dPine Nature Preserve was sampled for am-phibians and reptiles by Resetar (1988), usin ga combination of drift fence and visual sweepsearches .

Other sites within the complex are privatel yowned. Lakeshore Railroad Prairie, a smal lsite located just to the north of Clark and Pin eEast, has pond, marsh, panne, sand prairie ,and sand savanna communities, the latte rdominated by jack pine . Clarke Junction Eas tand Clarke Junction West (Site 10 in Fig . 2)are located northwest of Clark and Pine Na-ture Preserve . These sites also include pond,marsh, panne, and sand prairie communitie sbut suffer from shrub encroachment . Limitedinformation on the herpetofauna of these sites ,based on only a few visits, is included i nMierzwa et al . (1991). Morgan & Burlin g(1979) visited several Clark and Pine comple xsites and reported the presence of some am-phibians and reptiles, but their lists include a tleast one apparent misidentification and wil lnot be included here . The list of amphibian sand reptiles observed by Mierzwa et al .(1991) and Resetar (1988) within the Clar kand Pine complex is presented in Table 3 .Eighteen species occur within the complex a tpresent, an unusually high number for a rel-atively small site . Unusual species include Ac'-/15 crepilans Nam:hard/ (a once common spe-cies that has nearly disappeared from northernIndiana) and the state-endangered Clemnvsguttcrta .

A few additional species have been report-ed from the general vicinity of Clark and Pine ,but their presence is based either on old mu-seum specimens or on more recent anecdotal

'fable 3 .--The amphibians and reptiles oh -served by Mierzwa et al . (1991) and Resetar(1998) within the Clark and Pine complex (Site s10-12) .

Frogs and toad sAcris crcpitan .s blartcharc/, (Northern riekc t

frog )13ufo crrner'icarurs (American toad )Pscudcacr'is t . triscriata (Western chorus log )Rana catesheiaoa (Bullfrog)Rana (landfalls melanota (Green froC )

Salamanders and newt sAmbvstoma I . tigrinum (Eastern tige r salaman-

der)Notnphthcdrnrr .s viridescens (Eastern red-spotted

newt )

SnakesLcunpropeltis tricrngulum (Milk snake )Nerodia .sipedon. (Common water snake)Storeria dekavi wr'ightorum (Midland brown

snake )Thanmophis p . proximu.s (Western ribbon snake )Thanmophi.s .s . sirtcrli .s (Eastern garter snake )

S rpenlina (Common snapping tur-

a (Midland painted

Lizard sCnemidophorus se.r/ineatu .s (Six-lined racerun -

ner )Ophisaurus a . attenuates (Western slender glas s

lizard)

reports without specimen documentation .These species are : Ambystoma /aterale(1978), Bufo few/eh (1917), Heterodon pla-tirhinos (1902), Hyla ver'sicolor- (1904), an dRegina septemvittata (1990) . If any of thesespecies are documented, that would only en-hance the notable diversity of the site .

Little is known of the herpetofauna alon gother portions of the Gary Sanitary Distric treach . Some degraded habitat is present on th eGary Airport property (Site 9 in Fig . 2), an dthe authors have collected Thamnophiv .s. sir-tails and Ophisaurus a . atlenuatu.s' there .Mierzwa et al . (1991) reported on the herpe-tofauna of Ivanhoe Dune and Swale (Site 8 i nFig . 2), a site owned by The Nature Conser-

Turtle sChe/ydra

de )Chrvsemys pieta margi n

turtle )Clemmys grruata (Spotted turtle)Ernvdoidea blandirrgii (Blanding's turtle)

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Table 4 .---Species reported (Mierzwa et al .1991) for the DuPont site (Site 7 in Figure 2) .

Frogs and toad sBuie cu77erienniis (American toad )Pseudcuv-is triscriahr trisc'ri(Ncr (Western choru s

frog )Rurrn e/ninitans melcauota (Green fro ;*_ )

Salamanders and newt s/lmbsy.s/anxr I . Iigriman (Eastern tiger salaman-

der )

Snake sSterlriu de/ran rrrightorutn (Midland brow n

snake )Thnninophi .c a sirttills (Eastern garter snake )

Turtle sChe/ydra .s . .serpentina (Cornnnon snapping tur-

tle)Chrescms's pieta nrarginata (Midland painted

turtle )Erndoidea bkuulingii (B landing's turtle )

Lizards :non e

vancy . Since this site is south of the IndianaPoll Road and effectively isolated from theGrand Calumet River, the Ivanhoe Dune andSwale is not addressed here .

DuPont reach .--The privately owne dDuPont site (Site 7 in Fig . 2) extends alon gthe northern bank of the Grand Calumet Riverbetween Cline and Kennedy Avenues. In ad-dition to marsh and Iloodp1ain forest along th eriver, the site includes extensive areas of dry-mesic to wet sand prairie, dry-mesic sand sa-vanna, and swales with sedge meadow an dmarsh . No historical information is availabl eon the herpetofauna. The site was sampled i n1990 and 1991 for amphibians and reptiles b yMierzwa et al . (1991) using a drift fence andoccasional visual sweep searches . Althoug hthe DuPont site is not as species rich as th epreserves described above, a minimum of nin especies lives there (Table 4) . Since not all hab-itat types were intensively sampled, additiona lspecies may be present at the site .

An area of open marsh is located south ofthe Grand Calumet River, between the DuPon tsite and the confluence with the Indiana Har-bor Canal . The marsh is directly across th eriver from a .1-shaped channel . River waterswirls through this site, which can be char-

acterized as a partially open marsh habitat lo-cated in a river bend . The area is inhabited b yChelydra .si serpentina and Chrvsemys pintarnarginata, which benefit from the intersper-sion of open water and emergent marsh .

Two high-quality natural areas, Gibso nWoods Nature Preserve (Site 6 in Fig . 2) andToleston Ridges Nature Preser ve (just north o fSite 6 in Fig . 2) (also known as the Shell Oi lTract) are located south of this reach . Bacone(1979) included a list of amphibians and rep -tiles for "loleston Ridges . However, these site sare effectively isolated by the Indiana Tol lRoad, so they are not presented here .

East Chicago Sanitary Diistrict reach .An area of upland meadow (Site 5 in Fig . 2 )is located south of the river between the con-fluence of the Indiana Harbor Canal and asubstation just southeast of the East Chicag oSanitary District Plant . The meadow is dom-inated by a variety of herbaceous plant spe-cies, but is susceptible to overgrowth b ywoody species. No amphibians or reptile swere noted during a site visit, but suitabl ehabitat is present for several upland species .

Roxanna Marsh reach.--Little informa-tion is available on amphibian and reptile pop-ulations for Roxanna Marsh (Site 4 in Fig . 2) .The northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens, wasreported at the site in 1984 (Indiana Depart-ment of Natural Resources 1992) . This reportrepresents the most recent record of the spe-cies from the Indiana portion of the Gran dCalumet River watershed . The same surveyrecorded Chelydra s . serpeztina and Chrvse-mys pinta marginate as common in open wa-ter areas . The marsh habitat is of relativel ylow quality and probably supports few speciesof amphibians and reptiles .

Hammond Sanitary District reach .Land south of the treatment plant (Site 3 i nFig . 2) is separated from the river by a dike .Much of the area is overgrown with herba-ceous vegetation . Water is ponded in some ar-eas and supports a breeding population o ftoads . The site has been severely altered, bu tit could support additional species and migh tbenefit from restoration or management.

Culverts reach . This segment (area westof Site 3 in Fig . 2) has very little remainin gnatural area. No information is available fo rthis segment of the Grand Calumet River an dit is unlikely that any significant diversity o fspecies remains there .

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Burnham Prairie reach . Burnham Prai -rie (Site I in Fig . 2) is located along the Gran dCalumet River approximately 2 .0 km to thewest of the Illinois-Indiana state line. Al-though outside of the primary study areas ,Burnham Prairie is discussed here as an ex -ample of the very different Chicago lake plai necosystem. While the Indiana sites discusse dabove are on beach or near-shore sand depos-its, Burnham Prairie is on silt-loam soils de-posited in somewhat deeper water. This prairi eis one of the last remaining examples of th eblack soil prairies once widespread in th eLake Calumet region and discussed at lengt hby Cowles (1901) . The site includes marsh ,wet, wet-mesic, and dry-mesic prairie, and asmall dry-mesic savanna grove with bur oak ,(uercus macrocarpa . Two species that arecommon on the black soil site, Rana pipiensand Thamnophis r. radix, are rare a few ki-lometers east in northwest Indiana . Specie srichness is relatively low, possibly because thesite is small ; however, all six species found a tBurnham Prairie are relatively abundant there(Mierzwa et al . 1991) : Rufo americanus ,Pseudacris t . triseriata, Rana pipiens, Storer-ia dekavi wrightorurn, Thamnophls r . radix,and Thamnopltis s . sirtalis .

EXTANT SPECIES

A total of 33 species of amphibians an dreptiles has been recorded within the water-shed of the Grand Calumet River. Seven o fthese were recorded historically but have no tbeen reported recently . At least 26 species arcstill present . The habitat, distribution, and sta-tus of each species are briefly summarized be-low .

Acris crepitans blanchardi . (Northerncricket frog) . Cricket frogs are associated wit hthe margins of permanent ponds and streams ,and they must have been common at one tim ealong the banks of the Grand Calumet River.Sometime in the late 1970's or early 1980's ,this once abundant frog disappeared fro mmost locales in the northern part of its range.A population at the Clark and Pine comple x(Mierzwa et al . 1991) is the only known t opersist in Lake County . Cricket frogs are quitecommon at both Clark and Pine Nature Pre -serve and Clark and Pine East, and they arefrequently seen along swale edges during thesummer months .

Ambystoma laterale . (Blue-spotted sala -

mander) . This species inhabits wooded com-munities including relatively open savanna ,woodland, mesic forest, and swamp forest.Breeding likely takes place in the swales .Blue-spotted salamanders are uncommon i nthe study area . Werth (1990) found one spec-imen at Miller Woods (Site 15 in Fig . 2) .Mierzwa et al . (1991) collected two in th ewestern part of Ivanhoe Dune and Swale (Sit e8 in Fig . 2) . Morgan & Burling (1979) re-ported one from the Clark and Pine areas (Site.10 in Fig . 2) . The blue-spotted salamander i sa northern species, which is near the souther nlimit of its range in northwest Indiana .

Ambystoma t. tigrinum.--(Tiger salaman-der) . Although seldom seen because of bur-rowing habits, the tiger salamander is not un-common in the vicinity of' the Grand CalumetRiver. The species breeds in marsh or shru bswamp within swales and resides for the re-mainder of the year in dry-mesic sand savann aon the dune ridges . Individual salamanders areoften found in surprisingly open locations .One Illinois population of tiger salamandersincreased dramatically as savannas wer eopened up with brush clearing and prescribe dburns (Mierzwa pers . ohs .) . Adult tiger sala-manders usually do not travel far from breed-ing sites : recent studies in areas of sandy soi lin New York have indicated that up to 80%of the population remains wilthin 100 m of thebreeding wetland with only a few individual smoving as far as 300 m . It is not known i fthese dispersal distances are to be expected i nthe midwestern U .S. Tiger salamanders thatspend most of their time in burrows create d

other small mammalslimited surface activit y

(American toad) .in the western

part of the study area ; and they occur at Clarkand Pine, DuPont, Ivanhoe Dune and Swale ,near the Hammond Sanitary District treatmen tplant, and at Burnham Prairie (Mierzwa et al .1991) . They have not been reported at MillerWoods . Elsewhere in northwest Indiana, pop-ulations frequently are found in river flood -plains . Water quality may constrain the toads 'use of Grand Calumet riparian areas, but som ehave been observed in swales adjacent to theriver at DuPont (Site 7 in Fig . 2) .

Bufo fowleri . (Fowler's toad) . This spe-cies, more characteristic of areas well to th e

by shrews or othe r(Madison 1993) withon rainy nights .

Bufo americanus .American toads are common

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PROCEF,DINGS OF THE INDIANA ACADEMY Oh' SCIENC E

south, is restricted to sandy soil in northwes tIndiana. In the dunes area, the toad typicall ybreeds in blowout ponds and pannes in theimmediate vicinity of Lake Michigan (Brede n1988) . A population at Miller Woods (Site 1 5in Fig . 2), north of the Grand Calumet La -goons, may he the westernmost extant in thedunes area . Historically, the species occurredat Clark and Pine (Site 11 in Fig . 2), wher ein 1917 a specimen was collected at the pon dclosest to Lake Michigan .

Chelydra serpentina (Snapping turtle) .Snapping turtles are tolerant of pollution, an dthey are still present in the Grand Calume tRiver, in riparian marshes, and in most of th enearby wetlands . Because this species is full yaquatic and seldom basks m the sun, the snap -ping tu r tle is usually more common than th eavailable records indicate . This species ha sbeen reported from the Grand Calumet la -goons (Site 16 in Fig . 2), Miller- Woods (Site12), DuPont (Site 7), and the Clark and Pin ecomplex (Sites 10—12) . The snapping turtle i sa habitat generalist that can be found in mos tpermanent water bodies .

Chryseinis pieta rnarginata .—(Painted tur-tle) . Numerous records of this species exist fo rthe study area from as early as 1909 to a srecently as 1996 . The painted turtle is, one o fthe few species still found in the main chan-nel . At times, permanent swales close to th eriver support dense populations, especially a tMiller Woods (Site 15 in Fig . 2), DuPont (Site7), and the Clark and Pine complex (Siites 10 —12) . Painted turtles inhabit both ponds and riv-ers, and they are easily observed because o ftheir proclivity to bask on logs or other float-ing objects .

Clenfnys galtala . (Spotted turtle) . Thi ssmall, attractive tu rtle is endangered in Indi-ana and in Illinois . The spotted turtle is char-acteristic of shallow, sedge-dominated wet -lands and adjacent marsh borders . The Clarkand Pine complex (Sites 10—12 in Fig . 2) sup -ports one of the largest spotted turtle popula-tions in northwest Indiana, but the species i ssuffering from illegal collecting . Suitable hab-itat is present in swales very close to th eGrand Calumet River at Clark and Pine Eas t(Site 12) . This locale is nearly at the wester ndistributional limit of the species .

Cnernidophorus sexlineatus .—(Six-linedracerunner) . This lizard inhabits xeric, sparse-ly vegetated dunes . Populations in northwest

Indiana are widely disjunct from the mai nbody of the range, located well to the south ,and presumably represent a relict populationfrom a time of warmer or drier climate . Al -though the racerunner is strictly an uplandspecies, this lizard is found in close proximit yto the river at several locations where san dprairie or open sand savanna communitie spersist . Recent records are available fromClark and Pine (Site I I), Brunswick Cente rSavanna ("Brunswick Park" south of Site 1 2in Fig . 2) (Mierzwa et al . 1991 ; Resetar 1988) ,and Miller Woods (Site 15) (Werth 1990) .

E;anydoidea blandingii . (Blanding's tur-tle) . This is a federal "species at risk" (for-merly "Category 2"), and Blanding's turtle i sincluded on special conce rn or watch lists inmost states in which it is found . Recent atten-tion has focused on the long life span (>6 0years) and late age of maturity (14—20 years )of this species (Congdon et al . 1993) . Becauseof these life-history characteristics, loss of re-productive females via highway mortality ,over-collecting, or other causes may have sig-nificant long-terra effects on population via-bility . Blanding's turtles live at point sthroughout the study area ; recent reports ar eavailable from Miller Woods (Site 15), Clar kand Pine East (Site 12), Clark and Pine NaturePreserve (Site 1 I ), Lakeshore Railroad Prairi e(just to the north of Site 12), Ivanhoe Duneand Swale (Site 8), and DuPont (Site 7) . Pop-ulations appear to he at low density at mos tsites . Blanding's turtles are most common i nswales that include pond and marsh commu-nities and particularly those with considerabl esubmerged vegetation . Individuals are occa-sionally encountered on land . Short-termmovements in excess of 800 m have been oh -served (Mierzwa unpubl . drata), suggestingthat relatively large sites may be needed t osupport a viable population in the long-terra .Blanding's turtles have been observed in slug-gish, well-vegetated rivers such as Dead Rive rat Illinois Beach State Park and may hav eonce inhabited the Grand Calumet River ;however, early observers apparently over -looked this species . The range of the Blan-ding's turtle is mostly to the north of theGrand Calumet River area .

Heterodon platirhinos .—(Eastern hognos esnake) . The only recent report of hognosesnakes has been from Miller Woods (Site 15)(Werth 1990). This species historically was

MIER/WA ET AI —AMPtHIBIANS AND REPTILES

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found at Clark and Pine (Site 11) . This uplan dspecies is found in sand prairie and sand sa-vanna ; it may occasionally forage for toadsnear wetland margins .

Hyla versicolor complex .—Gray treefrogsare common at Miller Woods (Site 15), bu tthe only record of their presence elsewhere inthe study area is based on a 1904 specimen .A variety of semi-permanent wetlands is usedfor breeding ; the adults spend the rest of th eyear in nearby trees and shrubs . Population sin northwest Indiana are thought to he Nolacersicolor, and the nearest report of the cryp-tic sibling species, I-Rio chrv .soscelis, was i nBerrien County . Michigan (Bogart & Jaslo w1979) .

Lainpropeltis triangulurn . (Milk snake) .Milk snakes are uncommon in the study area .Resetar (1988) reported the species fromClark and Pine Nature Preserve (Site 1 I), an dMierzwa et al . (1991) collected two specimen sat Clark and Pine East (Site 12) over two fiel dseasons . One of these was caught in a driftfence in dry-mesic sand savanna and the otherwas found under roadside debris along Clar kStreet . Elsewhere in the region, milk snake sare characteristic of upland savannas ; but theyare occasionally collected in sedge meadow s(Mierzwa 1993) .

Nerodia sipedan .—(Northern water snake) .This semi-aquatic snake may have once in-habited the margins of the Grand CalumetRiver, but recent observations have been lim-ited to swales in the Clark and Pine comple x(Sites 10–12) (Resetar 1988 ; Mierzwa et al .1991) . Historically, the species was found i nthe Miller area, where two specimens werecollected in 1902. Northern water snakes arethought to be relatively uncommon in th estudy area today .

iVotophthalsnus viridescens . (Easter nnewt) . Newts are aquatic as adults, but the yare capable of terrest r ial movements if pond sdry . The adult phase may be preceded by aterrestrial eft stage lasting .up to several years .Newts are common at Miller Woods (Site 15 )(Werth 1990) and uncommon but present i nthe Clark and Pine area (Sites 10–12), wher ethey were reported by Shelford (1913) an dMierzwa et at . (1991) . In both areas, newtsinhabit pond and marsh communities in per-manent and semipermanent swales .

Ophisaurus a . attenuatus . (Western slen -der glass lizard) . This legless lizard is corn-

mon in the more open western part of thestudy area. Recent observations have bee nmostly in xeric to dry-mcsic sand prairi eopenings on ridges, but one specimen attempt-ed to escape by swimming along the margi nof a Swale (Mierzwa unpubl . data) . Extan tpopulations are known from the Clark an dPine complex (Sites 10–12), Ivanhoe Duneand Swale (Site 8), and frorn disturbed area sat the Gary Airport (Site 9) (Mierzwa et al .1991) . Additional populations arc probabl ypresent . Populations in the study area are dis-junct and near the northern limit of the spe-cies' distribution ; they may represent rem-nants from warmer or drier times .

Pseudacris c. crucifer .—(Spring peeper) .Spring peepers are common at Miller Wood s(Site 15) and in the eastern part of the dune sregion where woodland and forest are wide-spread . In the western part of our study areas ,spring peepers have been reported only fro mTolleston Ridges Nature Preserve (just northof Site 6) . They breed in shrub swamps ,marshes, and vernal ponds ; and adults summerin shrubs and trees .

Pseudacris t. triseriata .--(Western chorusfrog) . This species is characteristic of grass -land and savanna areas . The western choru sfrog is abundant in the western part of th estudy area, but is less common and more spo-radically distributed in the eastern part. Theybreed in marshes : and during the summermonths, adults forage in herbaceous vegeta-tion .

Rana catesbeiana . (Bullfrog) . Bullfrogsare semiaquatic, and they are usually observedat the margins of permanent ponds or rivers .Recent records are available from Millerwoods (Site 15) and Clark and Pine East (Sit e12) ; bullfrogs are probably widespread in th earea but relatively uncommon .

Rana claznitans rnelanota . (Green frog) .Green frogs have been observed at all Gran dCalumet sites sampled in recent years . andthey are relatively common at the larger nat-ural areas . They are semiaquatic, inhabitin gpermanent marshes, ponds, and streams .

Rana pipiens . (Northern leopard frog) .This species is usually associated with her-baceous vegetation, including sedge meadow ,wet prairie, wet savanna, and marsh . Leopardfrogs were recorded in Miller Woods (Site 15 )in 1922 and 1935 . and from Hessville in 1923(area south and southwest of Gibson Woods

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I'ROCF?EDINGS Of i

INDIANA ACADEVIY OF SCIlNC E

Nature Preserve . Site 6) ; hut the only recen treport from the Indiana portion of the stud yarea is from Roxanna Marsh (Site 4) fro m1984 (Indiana Department of Natural Re -sources 1992) . Leopard frog populations werenotably absent at the Indiana sites sampled i nrecent years (Mierzwa et al . 1991 ; Werth1990) . Leopard frog populations have report-edly declined in parts of the Midwest recentl y(I larding & Holman 1992) . At nearby Illinoi ssites, including Burnham Prairie (Site I) andPowderhorn Lake (Site 2 in Fig . 2), norther nleopard frogs are still common (Mierzwa e tal . 1991) .

.Slernolherus odoralus . (Musk turtle) .Several records of this aquatic turtle exis tfrom the Grand Calumet area. In 1918, Car lIiubbs collected a specimen that is now in theField Museum collection from the Grand Cal-umet River near Miller Woods (Site 15) . Othe rspecimens are available from the Grand Cal-umet Lagoons (Site 16) and Buffington (b yLake Michigan m northwest Gary) . Shelfor d(1913) listed musk turtles as characteristic o fthe more open swales close to Lake Michigan .The species probably still occurs in some wet -lands near the river, hut its benthic preferencemakes it hard to document. Werth (1990 )found musk turtles at Miller Woods (Site 15) ,and a single specimen seen crossing a road i nHammond in 1996 was turned in at Gibso nWoods Nature Preserve .

.Storeria dekayi . (Brown snake) . Thi ssmall, secretive species is the second mos tcommon snake at most locations within thestudy area . Most individuals were caught indrift fences or found under boards or othe rdebris . Dry-rnesic sand savanna is probabl ythe preferred habitat of the brown snake ; butsome, individuals have been found in sedg emeadows, wet prairies, or along the margin sof marshes at Clark and Pine (Site I I) (Mier-zwa et al . 1991) .

Thamnophis p . proximus . (Western rib -bon snake) . This semi-aquatic species is char-acteristic of shrubby wetland margins (Ross -man et al . 1996), but is uncommon in th estudy area . So far, the species has been re-ported only at Miller Woods (Site 15) an dClark and Pine Nature Preserve (Site I I) (Re -scull- 1988) . A specimen collected near Mille rWoods in 1919 was found within the "pine-oak association . "

Thamnophis r. radix . (Plains garter

snake) . This species is characteristic of black -soil mcsic prairie . The plains garter snake i sabundant west of the Illinois state line, hut i sextremely rare in northwest Indiana. Thi ssnake is a western species and, except for dis-junct Ohio populations, isnear the easter nlimit of its range here . The only Indiana re -cords from the vicinity of the study areas arefrom the area in or around Miller Woods (Sit e15) (1902) and Hessville (south and southwes tof Gibson Woods Nature Preserve, Site 6 )(1923, 1935) . In contrast, during a 1991 effort ,38 plains garter snakes were caught in driftfences at Burnham Prairie (Site I ) ; and severa lmore were found under boards just west o fWolf Lake and just north of Powderhorn Lake(Site 2) (Mierzwa et al . 1991) . Seibert (1950 )studied this species in the Lake Calumet are aand reported a density of 840 plains gartersnakes per ha in a vacant. lot near 103 111' andStony Island Avenue in Chicago (northwest o fthe neap in Fig . 2) .

Tharnnophis s. sirtalis . (Common garte rsnake) . This snake is the most widespread andabundant snake in the Grand Calumet Rive rArea. The species has been reported, usuall yin substantial numbers, from every site stud-ied to date . In the study area, common garte rsnakes are abundant in dry-mesic sand savan-na and in successional Gelds. They are easil ycollected from under debris. in vacant lots .Cornmon garter snakes do not hesitate to ente rmarshes and ponds to forage for frogs an dfish . This species has been found within me-ters from the Grand Calumet River ; and i n1996 a specimen was observed along a rail -road right-of-way 50 in north of the river a tClark and Pine East (Site 12) .

SPECIES NOW LIKELY EXTIRPATE D

('oluber constrictor. (Blue racer) . Twoold specimens from "Miller" are availabl e(Schmidt & Necker 1935), and one of themwas collected by Meek in 11908 . Morgan &Burling (1979) reported a blue racer from asite southeast of, but apparently isolated from ,Miller Woods (Site 15) .

Elaphe vulpina .—(Fox snake) . A single ,undated but old specimen (Field Museum o fNatural History 2864) was collected at " :Vlil1 -cn." Given significant field effort in MillerWoods in the past 15 years without new cap-tures, then fox snakes are either very rare orextirpated .

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Fumeces . fasciatus . (Five-lined skink) .This lizard is known from a single old speci-men collected at "Miller" (Schmidt & Necke r1935) . The same consideration about rarity o rextirpation for Llaplie vulpina applies to thi sskink .

Graptemys geographic a . (Map turtle) .Shelford (1913) mentioned map turtles fro mswales near Lake Michigan, and museu mspecimens are available from Deep River i nLake County . Although the map turtle is notdocumented in the immediate vicinity of theGrand Calumet River, the species may oncehave lived there, and this turtle certainly wa spresent within a few kilometers of the stud yarea .

NVecturus maculosus . (Mudpuppy) . Min-ton (2001) gives historical records of this spe-cies from Wolf Lake and Cortwright and Bea-mcr have observed the species in Wolf Lak eas recently as 2002 . The mudpuppy still live sin Lake Michigan and probably entered theGrand Calumet River before the mout hclosed . Poor water quality and contaminatedsediments may preclude the presence of thi sbottom-dwelling aquatic species at present .

Opheodrys verualis.--(Smooth greensnake) . A single specimen (Field Museum o fNatural History 2110) was collected at "Mill-er" in 1902 . Green snakes were once commo non the black soil prairies _just to the west o fthe Illinois state line (Seibert 1950) . The near-est known extant population is at Van Vlis-sengen Prairie, which is located just northeas tof Lake Calumet (northwest of the study area ,not. in Fig . 2) .

Methadon eiuereus . (Redhack salaman-der) . Carl Huhhs collected a redback salaman-der "near Miller" in 1917 . This species i scharacteristic of mesic forest and commo ncast of the study area in the National Lake -shore . A small area of suitable habitat wa spresumably present somewhere near Mille rWoods at one time, but may have since bee ndestroyed .

PROBLEMATIC SPECIES

A few additional species have been report-ed anecdotally ; they could occur in the stud yarea, but have not been reported or have beenreported based on probable misidentifications .The spiny softshell, Abalone spinifcra, inhab-its Lake Michigan in Illinois . This turtle is notknown from the study area, but could have

been present historically . The queen snake ,Regina .se pternvittata, was reported fro mClark and Pine Nature Preserve in 1990, bu tthe specimen was not collected (Griggs &Balzano pers . comrnun .) . The observer s werefrom the east coast and were not familiar wit hthe local fauna, so the record is consideredquestionable ; however, queen snakes arefound in the headwaters of the little Calume tRiver in Porter County, so they could he pre -sent elsewhere in the drainage system . Thepickerel frog, Rana paltr,strd ,, was reportedfrom the Clark and Pine complex (Sites 10 —12) by Morgan & Burling (1979), but not b ylater investigators who spent much more tim eat the sites . The cool fen and wooded streamhabitats frequented by this species are not pre -sent at Clark and Pine, and no other lak eCounty records exist . Because the neares tknown extant populations are . several countie saway, the report is problematic . Finally, a re-port of the massasauga rattlesnake, Sistruru scatenates, from Clark and Pine East (bakeMichigan Federation 1984) must be rejected .Extensive sampling there by several people ,including two with considerable massasaugaexperience, failed to confirm the record (Mier-zwa et al . 1991) . The habitat at Clark and Pin eis also quite different from that typically use dby the species . The report may he based on asighting of the superficially-similar norther nwater snake .

POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF DREDGIN G

Dredging of the Grand Calumet River wil lhave little direct impact on the amphibian sand reptiles . Only two species (snapping turtl eand painted turtle) are known to inhabit thechannel at present . Some direct injury or mor-tality could result from dredging operations ,but because both species are common in near-by wetlands, the river population would prob-ably soon be supplemented from those sourc-es . A few other species may occasionally ente rthe river, but these transient individuals rep-resent a small fraction of the population pri-marily residing elsewhere .

Terrestrial or wetland habitat adjacent to th eriver could be impacted by sloughing of thebanks, soil compaction by heavy machinery ,or hydrological alteration related to sedimen tdisposal . Much of the area along the river i shighly degraded, e .g ., with overly dense cat-tails and common reed, so modification of

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIANA ACADEMY 01 , SCIENCE

these plant communities by dredging activitie sis not a significant degradation of amphibianand reptile habitat . In fact, areas dense wit hthese plant species could be improved b ydredging activities if average water level wereto be increased to around one meter .

The primary concern is to protect wetlan dand terrestrial habitat contiguous to the rive rat the higher quality natural areas, such as, bu tnot limited to, Miller Woods (Site 15), Clar kand Pine Nature Preserve complex (Sites 10-12) . and DuPont (Site 7) . These sites includ erare communities used by relatively high den-sities of amphibians and reptiles . Several rareor uncommon species, including the state-en-dangered spotted turtle, Clemmvs guita/o, andstate-endangered Blanding's turtle, Ernvdoide ublandingii, could occur very near the river a tsome of these sites .

HABITAT ENHANCEMENT AN DMANAGEMEN T

Considering the long history of industria luse along the Grand Calumet River, it is per-haps amazing that so many amphibians an dreptiles, some of them rare, persist in the area .However, because of the presence of seve ra lhigh quality natural areas contiguous to theriver, unique restoration opportunities ar eavailable . Appropriate management of som eof the sites described above could enhance th eviability of amphibian and reptile populations .

Water quality in the Grand Calumet Rive rhas improved considerably since point sourc epollution has been reduced : however, most ofthe water in the system still originates as in-dustrial discharge or treatment plant effluent .With the removal of contaminated sediments ,the Grand Calumet or riparian wetlands in di-rect contact with the river might eventually b eable to support a herpetofaunal assemblage o fat least tolerant species . Clean-up of the rive rwill provide an opportunity to speed or ex-pand restoration of the better quality core ar-eas already in public ownership, to lobby fo racquisition of or negotiation of managemen tagreements for other remnants of natural land ,and ultimately to take advantage of the rive rcorridor to once again link up some of th ecore areas .

Several sites identified by the Indiana Nat-ural Areas Inventory, including parts of theClark and Pine complex, remain in privat eownership and are at risk of degradation . Site

13, for example, is being. obliterated by con-struction activities in 2002. Acquisition o fthese sites would help to preserve a numbe rof rare species . Acquisition of land contiguou sto core natural areas, in conjunction with. res-toration activities discussed below, coul dgreatly improve the long-term viability ofsites that currently support high levels of bio-diversity . The best quality sites are in need o fwoody vegetation management, includin gmanual removal of exotic shrubs and the re g -ular use of controlled fire . Enforcement activ-ities to discourage illegal dumping and poach-ing also would he helpful .

Because most of the landscape around th eGrand Calumet River once consisted of , lter-nating ridges and swales, some of the am-phibians and reptiles in the area are capabl eof utilizing both upland and wetland habitat .Restoration efforts that address both habita tcomponents are likely to support the greates tdiversity of wildlife, especially if restoratio nareas are adjacent to the existing core natura lareas . Early efforts can serve to create buffe rareas for existing preserves . Over time thesebuffers could be extended to serve as connec-tions between preserves . The challenges tothis process will he many in this complex ur-ban landscape, but opportunities should h epursued as they present themselves .

Wetlands with a direct river connectio ncould contribute to enhancement of waterquality and potentially provide habitat fo rsome semi-aquatic amphibians and reptiles ,such as mudpuppies, bullfrogs, green frogs ,snapping turtles, painted turtles, and norther nwater snakes . Turtles could benefit from open-ing the existing dense cattail and commo nreed marshes in riparian areas . For this, deep-ening of selected areas in conjunction wit hdredging operations could improve intersper-sion of marsh and open water habitats . Re-stocking or natural immigration of muskrat salso can thin dense stands of cattails .

Many amphibians do not breed in riparia nwetlands, even if cattails and common reed sare thinned, because of fish predation on egg sand larvae . Creation of a few palustrinc emer-gent wetlands isolated from direct contac twith the river could provide habitat for thes especies, including tiger salamanders, Ameri-can toads, western chorus frogs, and norther nleopard frogs . Because groundwater generall yflows toward lower and larger bodies such as

MIFRtWA ET At . . AMP111IBIANS AND REPTILES

11 9

the Grand Calumet River (Watson et al . 1989) ,wetlands of excellent quality have persisted a tDuPont, Clark and Pine complex, Mille rwoods, and other sites, sometimes only meter sfrom the main channel . Restored or createdwetlands separated from the channel by nar-row areas of upland may have a reasonabl echance of maintaining good water quality an dsupporting a variety of plants and animals .

in addition to traditional enhancement an drestoration techniques such as woody vegeta-tion control or wetland excavation, comple xbut innovative opportunities are possible nea rthe Grand Calumet River. Some areas of de -graded habitat are presently of minimal valu eto amphibians and reptiles, but they are im-mediately adjacent to high quality natural ar-eas . Areas impacted by heavy machiner ymovement or other dredging activity could beexcavated to below the water table and the ncovered with clean sand, mimcking the ridgeand swale topography once seen in early aeria lphotographs (see Fig .. 1) . If native vegetationcan be established on both wetlands and in-ter vening uplands, buffer or corridor areascould be established in this way . The technica lfeasibility of such an effort should first becarefully reviewed by appropriate specialists .Potentially suitable locations are present with -in the Gary Sanitary District and DuPont (Site7) reaches, and others may be located throug hadditional field efforts .

In Illinois, particularly near Burnham Prai-rie (Site I), potential buffer restoration oppor-tunities exist . Fill material between the rive rand the natural area could be excavated, as-suming that it can be disposed of safely an deconomically ; and wetlands could be estab-lished in the excavated areas . Similarly, an ylandfill site created for river sediments coul dbe restored with the addition of native soil an dvegetation on top of any cap material . Natura ldispersal or reintroduction of animal specie smight then he feasible . This could he a lin eopportunity to address an environmental prob-lem and establish a semi-natural ecologica lsystem at the same time .

The Grand Calumet lagoons within andnear Miller Woods may be better able to sup -port aquatic life than more contaminatedreaches to the west . After dredging operation sare completed, any measures to control wate rmovement between this and other reaches

could help in maintaining suitable habitat con-ditions .

Corridor linkages . Enhancement of ex-isting riparian wetlands or restoration of wet -lands in areas filled in the past could help t oestablish corridors linking some of the corenatural areas . Such corridors would he espe-cially useful if they included, in addition t oriparian wetlands, at least a narrow uplan dborder seeded with native grassland vegeta-tion and scattered depressions with seasona lwetlands .

The Gary Regional Airport (Site 9), in par-ticular, could be investigated for restoratio nfeasibility along the river. Bordering the air -port are marshes and degraded remnants ofridge and swale topography and at least on einteresting and infrequently seen species, thewestern slender glass lizard. However, politi-cal and security considerations might con-strain restoration efforts at this location . Wet-lands near runways might increase the risk o fbird strikes unless designed appropriately . Thecontrol tower is located near the river, and vis-ibility during controlled burns could be an is -sue .

Areas adjacent to the Grand Calumet Rive rtoday support a surprisingly diverse herpeto-fauna, although the remaining habitat is frag-mented by past industrial land uses . Manage-ment and enhancement of remnant natura lareas, restoration of wetlands and adjacent up-land at more degraded sites, and a long-ter mstrategy for linking or buffering core areas o fopen space could help maintain biodiversit ywell into the future .

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