Wolf Lake (Indiana/Illinois) - Ecology

Ecology

Wolf Lake, along with the other neighboring lakes, was once among the most biologically diverse places in the Midwest. Eighty years ago, the renowned naturalist Donald Culross Peattie described Wolf Lake as one of North America’s preeminent natural areas, “…a famous hunting ground for aquatic wildlife...where the plants form one of the most remarkable assemblages of aquatics in the country...no body of water of equal size can boast such a list.” It is still an extremely unique and diverse area. On August 23, 2002, more than 150 experts in botany, zoology, and related ecological fields assembled at Wolf Lake and in the surrounding forest, prairie, and marshland to identify and record as many living organisms as possible within a single 24 hour period. The purpose of this undertaking, known as the Calumet Bioblitz, was to document the extraordinary biodiversity of green pockets that have survived within the urban and industrial landscape south of Chicago.

The water in Wolf Lake was about 18 inches higher until 1998 when the Illinois Department of Natural Resources removed several beavers and their dams that had been built across Indian Creek. The subsequent drop in water depth encouraged weed growth and changed fishing conditions. Beaver sign indicates that there are beaver on the lake currently.