By Kathryn Foster, Citizen Scientist,  Friends of EverBloom Board

Minerals in adjacent soil, chemicals washing downstream from fields, and upstream industry all impact stream water quality. As a result, every water body is unique and each water treatment plant must filter out a unique set of contaminants.
A program named RiverWatch sends out trained Citizen Scientists every year, in May and June, to test stream water quality. Teams test by searching for macroinverterbrates, or insect larvae. Healthy streams contain a wide variety of insect larvae in the spring, before larvae hatch and the insects emerge. Streams with large amounts of contamination have fewer insect larvae. Citizen scientists also measure stream depth, water clarity, temperature and flow. They note any algae or aquatic vegetation as well as the types of plants growing adjacent to the streams. Monitors also look for mussels, and any invasive species.
In our community, Riverwatch teams test the feeder streams that empty into local reservoirs. Lake Bloomington gets most of its water from Money Creek with a smaller amount coming in at the south edge from Hickory Creek. Evergreen Lake gets much of its water from Six Mile Creek on the south side of the reservoir. Four tributaries feed into Six Mile Creek (and eventually the Lake). Two other streams: T2 and T3 supply the remainder directly into Evergreen Lake.
Riverwatch Citizen Scientists have tested three of the streams over the years. T3 has been tested three times. Teams tested Hickory Creek twice and Money Creek once. The team tested T-2 this year to get a baseline for water quality since the installation of rip rap last fall.
The testing goal is to identify trends that can inform the local water providers about treatment needs, and consumers about the state of the Bloomington water supply quality. Ideally, we would like to test all the feeder streams to get a better idea of what is coming in to the reservoirs and where it’s coming from, but high water levels have been a challenge.
Lab sessions happen later in the summer to identify the larvae and other things found in each stream. This data goes into a statewide database to show problem areas and identify trends. Stream water quality ratings for the local streams in the past have ranged from excellent to poor. In past years, T-3 and Money Creek received good ratings while Hickory Creek earned a poor rating. 
In agricultural areas, contamination can come from field chemicals used to fertilize or control pests. It can also come from chemicals used to de-ice roads in the winter, or high phosphorus levels caused by animal and bird feces. Spring and fall rains wash these chemicals into area streams. The chemicals reduce oxygen levels in the water needed for larvae to grow. Later in the summers the impact of chemicals shows up as algae blooms. Keeping these chemicals from polluting streams is an ongoing challenge.
The City of Bloomington in conjunction with the McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District work to maintain and improve the health of both reservoirs as the City depends on them for water supply. Pollution is only one concern.
Silt is the biggest problem in Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake. Silt washes off the streambanks during heavy rains. Wind and wave action on the lakes wash away shorelines, undercutting trees and other vegetation that also fall into the lakes. All that silt (that can contain runoff from fields) sinks to the bottom of the lakes, reducing water capacity. In the past five years, the City and partners have added Rip Rap (large rocks) along the northern shoreline of Evergreen Lake to help hold the soil in place. Rip Rap also been placed along the T-2 and T-3 feeder streams on the south end of Evergreen Lake to prevent heavy rains from washing away the streambanks. It’s working, but it can’t undo the damage done by years of siltification.
Getting into the creeks is fun and educational. Residents can take the Citizen Scientist course and sign up to monitor their favorite stream each year. Learn more about RiverWatch programs and how to become a Citizen Scientist at their website. Contact Friends of EverBloom if you’d like to learn more.
Local Water Facts:

• Normal residents receive their water from wells.
• Bloomington residents get their water from Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake.
• Well users must test water regularly and adjust their own treatment plan for safe tap water.
• Both municipalities test and treat their water to meet all federal EPA standards.
• Some residents take an extra step and test and filter their tap water to remove any residual contaminants.

 

​Area residents may be surprised to discover McLean County’s Comlara Park has 29 trails around Evergreen Lake offering hikers beautiful outdoor adventure. 36+ miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails await nature enthusiasts.  Volunteers and County Staff work year-round to keep the trails in good condition.
Friends of Everbloom, a group of outdoor enthusiasts, is sponsoring a Comlara Park Hiking Challenge to see how many individuals can complete all 29 trails in one year.
 
Some trails, like Shady Hollow and Hillside, are rated among the top hiking trails in Central Illinois on the All Trails App.  Step on a trail and instantly find yourself in the woods, climbing hills, crossing creeks, and seeing beautiful views of Evergreen Lake. You can choose to walk grassy, mowed paths through meadows or take the narrow trails used by runners and bicyclists to feel wrapped in the woodlands. Some trails are “out and back” rather than loops, so factor that into the time you set aside for your hike. The John English Memorial Trail on the east side of the lake is over four miles one way. If you hike there with a friend you may want to park a car at one end and drive to the other trailhead to start. Most trails have good signage making it easy to navigate and find your way back to the parking lot. Trails have small brown signs indicating the trailhead.
 
Bloomington/Normal residents who want to get into nature, can be at a Comlara Park trailhead in about twenty minutes. Once away from traffic and noise, hikers will enjoy bird songs, towering trees moving in the breeze, cool shade, quiet, and soothing lake views.
​
Trails are open year-round, closing only for a few weeks during hunting season. I’ve seen deer bound across a path, swans swimming in the lake, a barred owl fly overhead on a trail named for him, and turtles sunning themselves on a log while out on the trails. Central Illinois hikers don’t have to worry about deadly animals while hiking, but it’s a good idea to wear a hat and bring insect repellent between May and November. (Check for ticks when you get home.) Stay on the trails to avoid poison ivy.
 
Comlara is a County Park, only about 12 miles north of the Twin Cities. Take I-39 North to Exit 8, Lake Bloomington Road, and turn left at the stop sign. Comlara Park is about a mile west, on the left side of the road. Follow the signs to the Visitor Center. You can also find maps of the trails online and get off I-39 at Hudson Road to reach the trails on the south side of the lake.

To take the Comlara Park Hiking Challenge, come to the Visitor Center to sign up. Return to the Visitor Center every time you complete a trail to add a stamp to the form. (During the Covid-19 situation, you can print off your Challenge form and note the date you hike a trail on the form. Get the form stamped when you are ready to visit the park offices.) Finish all 29 trails and get a Hike Comlara Patch. See trails and directions at the McLean County website.
 

Download the full story with pictures or read below (no pictures)

​From Evercarp to Evergreen -
A healthy and record winning fisheries is alive and well in Bloomington thanks to strong partnerships.
 
Story By Mike Garthaus
 
A quiet lake in central Illinois is producing some monster fish—one state record to date and the potential for many more.
In 2001, a 9.68-pound saugeye (a hybrid cross between a female walleye and a male sauger) was caught on Bloomington’s Evergreen Lake and surveys conducted by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists showed saugeye weighing in at more than 12 pounds—and muskie also over the current state record.
What makes these statements so impressive is the change in the fisheries at Evergreen Lake.  When Evergreen Lake was constructed in 1970 to serve as a second water source for the city, the fisheries was dominated by common carp, bullhead and minnows, earning it the local nickname of “Evercarp Lake.”
The local fisheries biologist reported in 1974: “Carp are present in uncountable thousands per acre and are already severely stunted and over-crowded. The only good, fishable population in the lake is the largemouth bass, and their days are numbered.” 
How does a lake go from earning an unflattering nickname to having a state-record saugeye and potential record muskie? The answer is cooperative efforts from fishing clubs, the McLean County Department of Parks and Recreation, the City of Bloomington, and IDNR.
The Bloomington-Normal Bass Club was the first club to step up and help improve the lake’s fisheries. High densities of carp interfered with largemouth bass spawns to the point they could not produce enough young to maintain a bass fishery.
In 1988 and 1989, Mother Nature produced a severe drought that dropped water levels in Evergreen Lake to record-low levels, killing many gizzard shad and common carp, and some catfish. Low water also prohibited bass from spawning and two year classes went missing from the population.
During the low-water period, terrestrial vegetation grew on the exposed lake bottom, providing an enormous amount of quality habitat once rains eventually filled the lake. That vegetation helped produce more sport fish and hold newly stocked fish.

In the spring of 1990, the city, county and bass club increased their bass-stocking efforts, releasing more than 4,800, 2- to 8-inch bass. That same year, DNR stocked 7,000, 2-inch bass. The high number of fish stocked, combined with quality cover, helped jump start a quality bass fishery.
The enormous prey base of carp, gizzard shad and suckers in Evergreen Lake provided ample support for a muskie fishery,   and in 1990, 161, 8-inch fish were released. An annual stocking program was initiated in 1996 through the state hatchery system. Supplemental stockings occurred with the support of the Illini Muskie Alliance (1998 purchase of 400, 17-inch muskie) and the South Side Muskie Hawks (1999 purchase of 143, 20-inch muskie). These muskie were given a pelvic fin clip.

To produce a trophy fishery, muskie must remain in the population for many years—an estimated 17 years to reach the size of the current state record. To achieve this standard, high length limits prohibit removal of young muskie, and creative techniques are applied to offset a natural tendency of muskie—to escape the lake over the spillway.
In the fall of 2004, a barrier was placed at the effluent of the catch basin designed to keep muskie in the catch basin for rescue and return to the lake. Personnel from the county parks and recreation department spend many hours—often in the heat of the summer—preparing the area below the spillway for the recovery. DNR uses electrofishing to collect trapped fish, then numerous volunteers help transport the fish to a hatchery truck. A successful muskie rescue takes numerous people, and without the cooperative effort, hundreds of muskie, if not thousands, would have died over the years.
Saugeye also are rescued from the catch basin. The first state-record saugeye from Evergreen Lake was actually taken from the basin, and the current record was caught by a bank angler near the boat slips at Comlara Park.

Saugeye were stocked in Evergreen Lake as part of a seven-state cooperative study under the Walleye Technical Committee of the American Fisheries Society. The study focused on determining the effect saugeye had on panfish populations. The initial stocking was in 1992 and contained 34,300, 1.5-inch saugeye. Annual stockings have taken place since 1992.
Numerous state-record saugeye remain in Evergreen Lake. On occasion during the spring, DNR biologists surveying the lake find—and release back into the lake for the next lucky angler—a new potential state record.
DNR relies on the McLean County Department of Parks and Recreation and volunteers to help conduct fish surveys at Evergreen Lake. The McLean County Sportsmen have funded summer interns for both the county and DNR, increasing the amount of work accomplished by both groups and allowing many projects to be completed.
The latest, and potentially biggest, cooperative project is to increase the quality aquatic habitat in Evergreen Lake. The Central Illinois Muskie Hunters, Muskies, Inc., Gander Mountain, City of Bloomington, Wired2Fish, and DNR raised funds to initiate a project in 2004 to provide quality sport fish habitat and reduce bank erosion, with the end result of an improved sport fisheries. Information learned from this project will be utilized to manage other lakes.
Without the efforts of countless volunteers, fishing clubs and agencies, Evergreen Lake would still be known as Evercarp Lake. More than 30 years ago, the Bloomington-Normal Bass Club became involved in an effort to help produce a fishery everyone can enjoy and several groups have joined the effort over the years. It takes active management to sustain quality fishing and it takes cooperation with angling groups and volunteers to put management into action.
The Friends of EverBloom was established to continue the important role of involving volunteers with the management of the natural resources at Evergreen Lake.
Each time you fish a quality fishery on a public lake, remember all the effort and cooperation needed to reach that goal. A quality fishing experience is waiting for you on Evergreen Lake—not Evercarp Lake.