White River Bluffs Nature Preserve – Future Plans

The location for the proposed nature preserve lies on the far eastern edge of the Highland Golf and Country Club in Indianapolis, covering an area of 12.2 acres. The White River Bluffs are a unique geologic feature produced by glacial deposits of gravel over 12,000 years ago. The preserve, which is set to open in 2021, will be dedicated to protecting and supporting some of Indiana’s most valuable (and vulnerable) wildlife species. For example, the Central Indiana Land Trust announced in their Spring 2020 newsletter their plans for a hanging butterfly habitat, comprised of plants such as milkweed, prickly pear cactus, purple coneflower, and violets to encourage the migration and breeding of pollinators.

The habitat and ecology of the White River are some of the top priorities for preservation included in the White River Vision Plan. The natural areas assessment for this project includes inventories of many of the rare and valuable species that call this river home. Freshwater mussels are one of these species, which predominated in the river in the early 1800s with more than 70 different species of mussels. Mussels act as natural filters for the river, removing large amounts of sediment and organic matter as they move along the bed.  From the 1890s through the 1960s, freshwater mussels were harvested for the button and pearl industries, and now they compete with invasive Asian clams for habitat in the river.

Fish have also played an important role in the river’s ecology. Since 1895, 158 fish species have been known to exist in the White River’s watershed. Carp were introduced to the river after forest-clearing and wetland drainage in the 1800s had caused a mass decline in natural fish populations. Since then, carp have disturbed the riverbed by eating and uprooting vegetation and outcompeting native fish for resources. Furthermore, discharges of chemical waste and runoff from urban and agricultural areas have contributed to the deprivation of oxygen in the water and, in some cases, to the direct poisoning of fish. Due to the levels of pollution, a fish consumption advisory has been issued for the entire White River, limiting consumers to eating a maximum of eight ounces of White River fish per month.

Central Indiana Land Trust. (2020). CITL Spring 2020 Newsletter. https://conservingindiana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CILT_newsletter_spring20_web.pdf. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.

Department of Metropolitan Development. (2019). Task Three Report: Hydrology, Water Quality, & Ecology. White River Vision Plan, https://mywhiteriver.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/WRVP-Task3-Hydrology-Ecology-Report_Web.pdf, Accessed 25 Apr., 2021.

Parker, R. (2020). Land Trust Closes on Highland Country Club Purchase. Inside Indiana Business, https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/41673232/land-trust-closes-on-highland-country-club-purchase, Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.