See the Final EA
The Final Environmental Assessment (EA) completed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1999 is provided here in portable document format (pdf). To see the files, you need Acrobat Reader software, and it is available for free on the Adobe web site. The EA is provided as one document and also by chapter to accommodate different bandwidths.
Full EA (4 MB)
Summary (121 KB)
Focus Area Map 1 (268 KB)
Focus Area Map 2 (271 KB)
Focus Area Map 3 (271 KB)
Chapter 1: Purpose and
Need for Action (947 KB)
Chapter 2: Description of
Alternatives (214 KB)
Chapter 3: The Affected Environment
(291 KB)
Chapter 4: Environmental
Consequences (255 KB)
Chapter 5: List of Preparers, References
and Glossary (115 KB)
Appendix 1: Economic Impact
Assessment (1.3 MB)
Appendix 2: Frequently Asked
Questions (255 KB)
Appendix 3: Service/Corps Cooperative
Agreement (75 KB)
Appendices 4 and 5: Chronology of
Important Events on the Kankakee River, and Planning Process and Schedule (77
KB)
Appendix 6: Newsletters (413
KB)
Grand Kankakee Marsh 
Grand Kankakee Marsh Then and Now
Restoring the Marsh
For More Information
The Grand Kankakee Marsh Then and Now
With 500,000 acres in eight counties in northwestern Indiana, the Grand Kankakee Marsh was one of the great freshwater wetland ecosystems of the world. This unique landscape was important for its diverse composition of fish, wildlife and plants, and it was renown for its abundance of waterfowl and wetland-dependent wildlife.
Draining the land for agriculture and development changed the landscape and dispersed the wildlife that depended on it. Of the wetlands remaining in Indiana, only a small percentage remain as they existed 200 years ago, and few support their original complement of plants and animals.
Restoring the Marsh
Reviving the grandeur of the Grand Kankakee Marsh has been a goal for many individuals and organizations. In the 1990s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service studied the potential for restoring part of the Marsh by creating a national wildlife refuge. The Service completed an Environmental Assessment in 1999 and made a finding of no significant impact in establishing the proposed refuge. However, over the past decade, multiple conservation funding needs limited the Service's ability to proceed with this project.
Local initiatives have been active in restoring the Marsh using a combination of partners, grants and local government. The Indiana Grand Kankakee Marsh Restoration Project, or IGKMRP, is a volunteer organization that has brought a variety of partners together on a variety of restoration projects.
The IGKMRP works to buy restorable wetlands and associated upland from willing sellers and restore natural wetland and upland conditions as much as possible before transferring ownership to government agencies or nonprofit organizations.
The organization has completed 83 projects, including restoration of 5,774 acres, acquisition of 8,932 acres, and enhancing 3,700 acres.
Next Steps
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service continues to be interested in the restoration of the Grand Kankakee Marsh. Our role in supporting that restoration, whether it's through establishing a refuge or providing other assistance, will depend on funding and partnership opportunities.
For More Information
For more information on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's involvement in restoring the Grand Kankakee Marsh, you are welcome to call, write or e-mail the Division of Conservation Planning:
E-mail the Division of Conservation Planning at: r3planning@fws.gov
Call the Division at: 1-800-247-1247
TTY: 1-800-877-8339
Send a letter to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Division of Conservation Planning
Attention: Grand Kankakee Marsh
BHW Federal Building, Room 530
1 Federal Drive
Ft. Snelling, MN 55111
