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>Sugar Creek is special to me because of the whole corridor. It's like stepping back in
time. Meaning that before the fields were cleared and trees were cut and man actually
came in. You can almost visualize what it was like back in the 1800's and 1700's and
before. >About 12,000 years ago we were nearing the
end of a period of glacial ice and all of that meltwater rushing out of that glacier
- seeking out the path of least resistance, running down through the cracks in the rocks,
freezing and thawing -- cutting out and shaping and forming all of these beautiful sandstone
cliffs and canyons, the famous punch-bowls and iceboxes and all of the features that
draw people. >The wildlife just is really rich. About everything
you can see in Indiana you can see right here. Everything from raccoons to banded water snakes,
coyotes -- you see it all. And the special one, now you can see the eagles working the
creek. > So it serves as this really important dispersal
corridor for wildlife as they reproduce and need more room to spread out and find their
own homes. It's also a great migratory pathway. A lot of birds target this area because they
can fly along the stream, there's plenty of water for bathing and drinking, there's plenty
of bugs and stuff to eat along the way, and most importantly there's lots of roosting
spots for overnight resting. Because we have such a thick forest along the edge for such
a long way silt is pulled out of the waters and dropped before it gets into the creek,
so it keeps Sugar Creek very clear. Which is not only important for fly fishermen and
other recreationalists, but is also very important for animals that rely on clear water like
darters. We have seven species of darters that call Sugar Creek home.
> The activities we see along the sugar creek are definitely canoeing is the biggest, but
also fishing is probably the second. When there's not canoeists out there, there's fishermen.
Then kayaking, tubing, and swimming outside our state park boundaries.
> The habitat types are everything from lowland forest to upland forest to even some open
areas that used to be farm fields are going to propogate into forested areas. Some of
the hunting possibilities are for deer, turkey, there's going to be some opportunities for
squirrel and coyote, frog gigging, and trapping opportunities. Pretty much the whole gamut
of opportunities you'd hunt throughout the state you'll be able to hunt along the Sugar
Creek corridor. The goal of the Healthy Rivers Initiative is to create a buffere strip of
vegetated land from east of Shades State Park all the way down to the intersection of the
Wabash River. And our goal is to go from the Wabash River intersection all the way down
to Sullivan county. We are trying to encourage wildlife to come to this area and not only
be better fishing, hunting, trapping opportunities, it's going to bring along the natural aspect
of the bird watchers, the mushroom hunters. It will really benefit not only the wildlife,
but the wildlife users.