Side Roads: Indiana rivers from A to Z

If I could travel back in time, one of the places I would visit is southern Indiana, including right here where I live.

I'd go back to a time when nothing was here except plants and wildlife and the occasional hunting party passing through. I've read stories of what it was like back then, and I don't know if someone from the present could even take in what they were seeing.

Most of all, I would want to see the streams and rivers, before they became murky and polluted. Of all the  environmental concerns today, I worry most about the water supply.

I had previously been concerned most about water quality. But with some states eyeing each other's water supplies, and since the drought here last summer, I also worry now about  availability. It isn't just water for human beings that is important. Water, plentiful and unpolluted, is necessary to sustain wildlife and plant life, not to mention crops and livestock, including horses.

I recently ran across a Web site, www.in.gov/dnr/ riverwatch. I had read about Hoosier Riverwatch in the past, and I took the opportunity to browse through the site.

According to the site, Hoosier Riverwatch, a state-sponsored water quality monitoring initiative, was begun in 1994 to increase public awareness of water quality issues by training volunteers to monitor stream water quality. Hoosier Riverwatch collaborates with agencies and volunteers to provide education about watersheds, increase public involvement in water quality issues, promote responsible stewardship of water resources and provide water quality information to citizens and government officials. It's sponsored by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources-Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Some of the information provided is how to get involved and take training sessions. It explains what a watershed is and furnishes a map showing watershed areas in Indiana, gives an overview of water monitoring and related assessments and furnishes Adopt-A-River guidelines and an online data search, along with other information and related links.

Something that caught my eye was an Indiana rivers quiz, which you can reach by clicking on Educational Resources.
Twenty-six rivers are listed, with an A-Z list of information about them. I found out I was woefully unknowledgeable about Indiana's rivers.

Here's a description of one of them: "It drains only 500 square miles and its Miami name means 'sap of the bloodroot.'" The river? The Salamonie.

If you want to have a little fun and maybe learn more about Indiana's environment, there are still 25 rivers to be matched with descriptions. Take the quiz yourself, and you'll probably be amazed at how much I didn't know.

And if you're so inclined, say a little prayer for good crops this year - and pray for hay for the horses.

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Persinger is community editor for The Tribune. She may be reached at (812) 523-7063 or jpersinger @tribtown.com. This column first appeared as a blog on www.trib town.com.