This presentation will be an overview of the natural and human history of the White River have shaped the character of the river in the past century. It will include the Great Flood of 1913, the ecological impacts and public safety hazards of low-head dams, the 1999 White River fish kill and subsequent restoration, current water pollution threats such as erosion and combined sewer overflows, and ongoing restoration projects including the Dig Indy tunnel and Emrichsville Dam removal.

Program: Live and Zoom: Restoring and Enhancing the White River

Speaker: Scott Salmon, MS, Executive Director, Friends of the White River.

Introduced By: Chris Moore       

Attendance: NESC: 93, Zoom: 28

Guest(s): Norma Wallman

Scribe: Benny Ko

Editor: Bill Elliott

View a Zoom recording of this talk at: Today's Program 10282024

Mr. Salmon's background includes river guiding, he holds an MPA from IU's O'Neil School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and he had spent five years working with the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife in managing pollution-caused fish kill and response, and low head dam removal for habitat restoration. He has been the executive director of Friends of the White River since 2021.

Friends of the White River is a multi-sponsor-supported public organization that founded the River School, a program that educates young people on river ecology and environmental preservation. For 40 years, the organization has carried out annual river clean-ups to remove trash along the banks. The sponsor of today's talk, our own Chris Moore and his wife, are staunch supporters of Friends of the White River.

All such programs help to keep Indiana beautiful and facilitate recreational tourism. Along with other organizations, private citizenry, and cross-county cooperation, the White River Vision Plan was a huge strategic plan completed in 2019, setting down guidelines for future development and activities involving the river. Friends of the White River is not a commercial nor government-supported entity, though its volunteers often work with them as partners. It promotes river access and education to foster the sustainability of the river.

The following are some of its current programs:

The Environmental Justice Program calls for attention to the danger of low-head dams, there are six on the Marion County section of White River alone and many more across the rest of Indiana. Low-head dams create a vertical whirlpool below them that does not allow objects or humans to extricate from its circular current, and many fatalities have been documented with three alone this year at the Emrichsville Dam (below W 16th St). At The Friends of White River's initiative and funding, large warning signs have been erected along the banks upstream to warn canoeists and kayakers of such dangers. As a result of FWR's advocacy, the city of Indianapolis finally obtained a federal grant to take this dam out. It is projected to happen in 2025.

Reversing Habitat Fragmentation: A dam creates a lake and a river environment. This causes organisms to no longer share a common ecosystem.  The result of damming can be seen upstream and downstream of the Broad Ripple Dam. There are several other low-headed dams in Marion County and one in Hamilton County, all causing similar ecological and safety concerns.

River Clean-up: Annually, FWR volunteers remove tons of trash from the river alongside collaborating friends and organizations.

Education: FWR runs a single-day River School for children aged ten and over from June to October. For children from 10-18, there is a 4-day expedition day camp with six of these planned in 2025. The organization publishes educational slates with beautiful illustrations to teach about wildlife in and around rivers. A map of the White River is available on request. Finally, it offers river leadership and river stewardship training.

See also: Discover White River Map