By Topf Wells

Please read the recent assessment on the Allen and Liberty Creeks watershed by Dan Oele and Mitch Trow. Ouch, this one hurts. Liberty Creek really no longer functions as a trout stream and will be declassified. Too many row crops where the water temps are cool and water is too warm where the creek flows through public lands. Water temps are the limiting factor for Allen Creek, caused by the dam that forms Evansville’s Lake Leota. That lake is the center of a lovely and beloved Evansville park. It features lots of neat stuff and the pond itself offers good warmwater fishing. But it costs the creek. Mitch has provided some additional observations on Allen and therein lies the hope. The stream has excellent habitat and pleasant fishing where it flows through the Public Hunting Area. The DNR will continue to monitor the creek and explore ways of mitigating the temps that sometimes get too high in the summer.