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{{about|the East Arm of the Little Calumet River|the Little Calumet River proper|Little Calumet River}}

{{Infobox river
| name = East Arm Little Calumet River
| name_native =
| name_native_lang =
| name_other = Little Calumet River East Branch
| name_etymology =

| image = East Arm Little Calumet River Heron Rookery west from 600 East towards the Heron Rookery.JPG
| image_caption = Looking west (downstream) towards the [[Heron Rookery]] from 600 East in Pines Township.
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| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = [[Indiana]]
| subdivision_type3 = Region
| subdivision_name3 = [[Porter County, Indiana]]
| subdivision_type4 =
| subdivision_name4 =
| subdivision_type5 = Cities
| subdivision_name5 = [[Chesterton, Indiana|Chesterton]], [[Porter, Indiana|Porter]], [[Burns Harbor, Indiana|Burns Harbor]]

| length =
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| source1 =
| source1_location = [[New Durham Township, LaPorte County, Indiana|New Durham Township]], [[LaPorte County, Indiana]], United States
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|41|36|15|N|086|51|25|W|display=inline}}<ref name=gnis >{{gnis|450501|East Arm Little Calumet River}}</ref>
| source1_elevation = {{convert|770|ft|abbr=on}}
| mouth = [[Port of Indiana|Port of Indiana-Burns Waterway]]
| mouth_location = [[Burns Harbor, Indiana|Burns Harbor]], [[Porter County, Indiana]]
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|41|36|48|N|087|10|31|W|display=inline,title}}<ref name="gnis"/>
| mouth_elevation = {{convert|584|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=gnis/>
| progression =
| river_system =
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| tributaries_left = [[Reynolds Creek (East Arm Little Calumet River)|Reynolds Creek]], [[Sand Creek (East Arm Little Calumet River)|Sand Creek]], [[Coffee Creek (East Arm Little Calumet River)|Coffee Creek]], [[Salt Creek (Little Calumet River)|Salt Creek]]
| tributaries_right = Carver Ditch
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}}

The '''East Arm Little Calumet River''', also known as the '''Little Calumet River East Branch''', is a {{Convert|22.1|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}}<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329155652/http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ |date=2012-03-29 }}, accessed May 19, 2011</ref> portion of the [[Little Calumet River]] that begins just east of [[Holmesville, Indiana]] in [[New Durham Township, LaPorte County, Indiana|New Durham Township]] in [[LaPorte County, Indiana|LaPorte County]] and flows west to [[Porter County, Indiana|Porter County]] and the [[Port of Indiana|Port of Indiana-Burns Waterway]].<ref name=gnis/>

==History==
[[File:Joseph Bailly Homestead 1835 2011-08-07.JPG|right |thumb |[[Joseph Bailly Homestead]] on east bank of the Little Calumet River in [[Porter, Indiana]].]]
[[File:Ardea herodias -Illinois, USA -flying-8 cropped.jpg|upright|right |thumb |[[Great blue heron]] (''Ardea herodias'') flying with nesting material.]]
[[File:Erythronium americanum - Heron Rookery65.jpg|right |thumb |[[Erythronium americanum|Yellow trout lily]] in bloom on the East Arm Little Calumet River]]
[[File:Little Calumet River with no riparian buffer just above Heron Rookery 2011-08-07.JPG|right|thumb |Example of farming right up to the river's edge. Loss of riparian vegetation leads to run-off carrying sediment and pollutants (e.g. fertilizer) directly into the river, reducing water clarity and quality.]]
Although its origins are unclear, the Calumet name seems to reflect the nature of the river. It may have come from the Old French word ''chalemel'', which has to do with reeds, or it might be a corruption of the [[Potawatomi]] word ''gekelemuk'', which means "a low body of deep still water".<ref>{{cite report |title=Watershed Diagnostic Study of the Little Calumet — Galien River Watershed |author=Mark O’Leary |author2=Neil Thomas |author3=Doug Eppich |author4=David Johannesen |author5=Steve Apfelbaum |date=September 2001 |pages=1–77 |url=http://www.in.gov/dnr/lakemich/files/calumet.pdf |accessdate=2011-05-10 }}</ref>

In 1822 [[Joseph Bailly]] (born Honore Gratien Joseph Bailly de Messein) established a homestead and fur trading business at the now historic [[Joseph Bailly Homestead|Bailly Homestead]], a part of [[Indiana Dunes National Park]], on the east bank of the Little Calumet River in [[Porter, Indiana]]. The Potawatomis brought the beaver pelts by canoe to Bailly in the spring of the year and then he shipped them to [[Straits of Mackinac|Mackinac]], from whence they were traded to Montreal and then Europe. By 1830, the beavers were depleted and Bailly opened a tavern on the [[Fort Dearborn]] to Detroit Road (present day [[U.S. Route 12|U.S. Hwy. 12]]).<ref name=InterpretiveMarker>{{cite web |title=Bailly Homestead Interpretive Marker |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://ianhistor.tripod.com/hlmkr/baillyho.html |accessdate=2011-08-07 }}</ref> The fur trading era in northwestern Indiana had come to an end.

Until 1926 the river continued west to [[Illinois]] as the Little Calumet River proper, but excavation of the Burns Waterway caused the flow from the eastern arm of the Little Calumet River to be diverted directly into [[Lake Michigan]] at [[Burns Harbor, Indiana]].<ref>{{cite report |title=State of Indiana Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program Environmental Assessment |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |page=13 |date=September 2007 |url=http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/assessments/docs/IndianaFinalCNPEA.pdf |accessdate=2011-05-02 }}</ref>

==Watershed and course==
The East Arm of the Little Calumet River flows west under the [[Indiana Toll Road]] and into Round Lake at Holmesville, then is joined by Carver Ditch on the right, and then on the left by [[Reynolds Creek (East Arm Little Calumet River)|Reynolds Creek]],<ref>{{cite gnis|441923|Reynolds Creek}}</ref> Sand Creek, Coffee Creek, [[Salt Creek (Little Calumet River)|Salt Creek]]<ref>{{cite gnis|451863|Salt Creek}}</ref> and by the Little Calumet River (west arm), then exits via the Burns Waterway into [[Lake Michigan]].

The watershed begins in the physiographic unit known as the Valparaiso Morainal Area. The [[Valparaiso Moraine]], located south of the [[Lacustrine Plain]], is an arc-shaped moraine complex that parallels the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The moraine divides LaPorte and Porter County into northern and southern drainage areas. The area north drains into Lake Michigan; south of the moraine water drains to the [[Kankakee River]]. Numerous [[Kettle (landform)|kettle lakes]] sit on the moraine.

==Habitat and wildlife==
A [[great blue heron]] (''Ardea herodias'') [[Heron Rookery|rookery]] was protected and made part of the [[Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore]] in 1980. The herons, numbering 98 nesting pairs as of 2001, have made their home on the eastern portion of the wet woods along the Little Calumet River for more than 60 years. They return to the region after wintering in the southeast and south central States.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Into the Wild: Heron Rookery |author=Lisa Phillips |journal=Chicago Wilderness Magazine |year=2001 |url=http://www.chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2001/IWheronrookery.html |accessdate=2011-05-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724065258/http://www.chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2001/IWheronrookery.html |archivedate=2011-07-24 }}</ref>

[[North American beaver|Beaver]] (''Castor canadensis'') were hunted for their fur since the era of the French trappers only to be extirpated from Indiana in the nineteenth century. In 1935 re-introductions of [[Wisconsin]] and [[Michigan]] beaver into Indiana were successful and the aquatic herbivorous mammal was spotted in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore beginning in 1968. Whitaker reported in 1994 that beaver were trapped in the river north of [[Chesterton, Indiana|Chesterton]] and that he had found signs of beaver in the lower portions of the river.<ref name=Mammals>{{cite journal |title=Mammals of the Grand Calumet River Region |author=John O. Whitaker |journal=Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science |volume=108/109 |pages=122–144 |date=1999-01-01 |url=http://www.indianaacademyofscience.org/Documents/Proceedings/V108-109/PIAS_v108_v109_p122-144.aspx |accessdate=2011-05-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323180143/http://www.indianaacademyofscience.org/Documents/Proceedings/V108-109/PIAS_v108_v109_p122-144.aspx |archivedate=2012-03-23 }}</ref> Beaver create wetlands which remove sediment and pathogens and increase trout and salmon abundance as their ponds make ideal fish-rearing habitat. Research in the western United States, found that extensive loss of beaver ponds resulted in an 89% reduction in [[coho salmon]] (''Oncorhynchus kisutch'') smolt summer production and an almost equally detrimental 86% reduction in critical winter habitat [[carrying capacity]].<ref name=Stillaguamish>{{cite journal |title=The Importance of Beaver Ponds to Coho Salmon Production in the Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington, USA |author1=M. M. Pollock |author2=G. R. Pess |author3=T. J. Beechie |journal=North American Journal of Fisheries Management |volume=24 |pages=749–760 |year=2004 |issue=3 |doi=10.1577/M03-156.1 |url=http://duff.ess.washington.edu/grg/publications/pdfs/Pollock.pdf |accessdate=2011-05-09 }}</ref> Contrary to popular myth, most beaver dams do not pose barriers to trout and salmon migration, although they may be restricted seasonally during periods of low stream flows.<ref name=Pollock>{{cite journal|title=Hydrologic and geomorphic effects of beaver dams and their influence on fishes |first1=Michael M. |last1=Pollock |author2=Morgan Heim |author3=Danielle Werner |journal=American Fisheries Society Symposium |volume=37 |year=2003 |pages=213–233 |url=http://www.albergstein.com/cao/Best%20Available%20Science/Fish/Beaver%20dam%20effects%20paper%20final.pdf |accessdate=2011-05-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707103342/http://www.albergstein.com/cao/Best%20Available%20Science/Fish/Beaver%20dam%20effects%20paper%20final.pdf |archivedate=2011-07-07 }}</ref>

The nonvenomous [[northern water snake]] (''Nerodia sipedon'') inhabits the river, where it often winters in the rubble around bridges, and is often seen near Bailly's Homestead.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Natural History of the Chicago Region |author=Joel Greenberg |page=327|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXA1VVOSUg4C&q=little+calumet+river|accessdate=2011-05-25 |year=2004 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-30649-0 }}</ref>

In June 2015, the Little Calumet River East Branch Watershed Management Plan was produced via a partnership led by [[Save the Dunes]].<ref>{{cite report |title=Little Calumet River, East Branch Watershed Management Plan |date=2015-06-16 |pages=266 |publisher=Save the Dunes |url=https://savedunes.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/lceb-wmp-october-2015.docx |accessdate=2015-11-29 }}</ref>

==Pollution and conservation==
Portions of the lower river and its Salt Creek tributary are now protected by [[Indiana Dunes National Park]]. The Heron Rookery protects a mid-section and a portion of the headwaters including part of Round Lake is protected by the 106 acre Little Calumet Headwaters Nature Preserve, part of the 160 acre Red Mill County Park, established in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title=Little Calument Headwaters Nature Preserve |publisher=Indiana Department of Natural Resources |url=http://www.in.gov/dnr/naturepreserve/files/np-LittleCalumetHeadwaters.pdf |accessdate=July 15, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Red Mill County Park |publisher=LaPorte County |url=http://www.laportecountyparks.org/redmill.html |accessdate=July 15, 2017 }}</ref>

The East Arm Little Calumet River watershed is listed as impaired for "Mercury Fish Consumption Advisory, PCB Fish Consumption Advisory, and Pathogens".<ref>{{cite report |title=Little Calumet-Galien Watershed |publisher=Michigan Department of Environmental Quality |url=http://lakemichiganforum.org/userfiles/file/watershed-pdfs/little_calumet_watershed.pdf |accessdate=2011-05-02 }}</ref>

==Recreation==
The lower part of the Little Calumet River, along with [[Salt Creek (Little Calumet River)|Salt Creek]] and [[Trail Creek (Lake Michigan)|Trail Creek]], is stocked by the [[Indiana Department of Natural Resources]] with [[steelhead trout]] (''Oncorhynchus mykiss''), [[Chinook salmon]] (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha''), and [[coho salmon]] (''Oncorhynchus kisutch''). These fish are non-native [[potamodromous]] [[salmonids]] from the West Coast which run up from Lake Michigan to the creeks where they were stocked in an attempt to spawn, although Indiana's creeks are too warm for significant salmonid reproduction, requiring regular re-stocking.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Hot Lake Michigan Summer Skamania |journal=Indiana Game & Fish |author=Tom Berg |url=http://www.indianagameandfish.com/fishing/salmon-steelhead-fishing/IN_0705_02/index.html |accessdate=2011-05-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110402014351/http://www.indianagameandfish.com/fishing/salmon-steelhead-fishing/IN_0705_02/index.html |archivedate=2011-04-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stocking Schedule |publisher=Indiana Department of Natural Resources |url=http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3626.htm |accessdate=2011-05-09 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of rivers of Indiana]]
*[[Calumet River]]
*[[Indiana Dunes National Park]]
*[[Heron Rookery]]
*[[History of the Indiana Dunes]]
*[[Joseph Bailly Homestead]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{gnis|450501|East Arm Little Calumet River - Geographic Names Information System}}
* [http://www.savedunes.org/ Saves the Dunes non-profit conservation organization]
* [http://www.nwipa.org/index.html Northwest Indiana Paddling Association]

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Indiana]]
[[Category:Rivers of Porter County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Rivers of LaPorte County, Indiana]]

East Arm Little Calumet River - Revision history

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