Save Maumee’s Annual Fundraiser ~Farewell Miss Maumee~ OUTDOORS RAIN OR SHINE Saturday April 24, 2021 3pm-10pm LOCATION: 501 Rose Ave. New Haven, IN 46774 ~ DO NOT GO DOWN WEST STREET ~ Drive down "The Lane” which is between Heartland Communities Farm field and the brick farm house, just east of West Street. The fundraiser this year should be quite a show! BANDS & PERFORMANCE ART *Estimated Times 3pm - Kyle Haller Band 3:45p.m. - Grateful Groove 5:00p.m.- The Debutants 5:45p.m. - Elle/the Remnant 6:30p.m. - Know no oth3r 7:00p.m. - Belly Dancing by: - Lori of Troupe Zephyr - Zosia - Troupe Metanoia A Farewell To Miss Maumee! 7:45p.m. - El Camino Hot Tub 8:15p.m. - Los Lemons 9:00p.m. - Danielle Frederick 9:30p.m. - PyroScope Event Tickets $10 <10 years old FREE Parking is limited Come CELEBRATE with us as we wave au’ revoir as Abigail King takes a break in 2021! Brent Warner & Abby are engaged and leaving the USA on April 28! They plan to live a modest Tico lifestyle in Costa Rica for 1 year and promises to return by mid 2022. Goals include living among plants and animals while nestled on a 60 mile landmass separatingRead more →
The Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department is conducting a Community Needs Assessment Survey The Survey is being conducted to gather crucial feedback about parks, facilities and programs offered to Fort Wayne citizens. A randomly selected group of citizens will receive or have already received a questionnaire in the mail, which can be completed and mailed back in an included postage-paid envelope, or can be completed online following included instructions. To ensure a comprehensive result, those who received Needs Assessment questionnaires are encouraged to complete the survey, even if they do not use most or any Parks and Recreation services. Citizen feedback is vital to the strategic planning efforts of the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department, and citizens can participate even if they did not receive a survey in the mail. Save Maumee is requesting you share feedback on this survey by clicking on this link: https://confidential-survey.com/datafile/fortwayneserved1.htm Here are a few comments submitted, regarding the survey. CLICK TO READ SAVE MAUMEE’S ENTIRE COMMENTS HERE Read more →
Allen County’s current Comprehensive Plan is called Plan-It Allen. FOUND HERE: Allen County’s new Comprehensive Plan is in the works and its called, All-In Allen. This document will shape our development plans for the next 12-15 years of growth. Fort Wayne City Council will fund a consulting team from Chicago, Houseal Lavigne, to oversee the community plan; guiding land-use, housing, transportation, parks and other development for the entire county. 50 percent of the project costs $333,530, funded by City Council. The other 50 percent will need approval from the Allen County Council, but regardless, around $667,060 it will be paid by our tax payer dollars and Save Maumee wants your voice to be heard. We want these representatives to not simply draft a plan to collect dust on a shelf. We want them to implement the plan and hold people who are financially benefiting from these dollars to be held to higher environmental standards. “The consulting team will work with local leaders to develop a plan that will create a broad, shared vision for future growth and development. The community’s last comprehensive plan was adopted in 2007. The city says many of the goals of the plan have been eitherRead more →
12th Annual Canoe Clean-Up, Can YOU Clean-Up? 12th Annual Canoe Clean-Up was a success! BIG shout out to Fort Wayne Outfitter's Bike Depot & Bike Hub canoe/kayak use, Bradley Scott & Jeff Bunger for YEARS of entertaining us with their talented tunes! Old Crown Coffee Roasters at the beginning with their delicious donation and accepting our trash after we pulled it out of the river and into their dumpster! Everyone always wants to know what we pulled out of the river! Styrofoam, plastic, cigarette butts, aluminum cans and glass bottles, rubber ball, tennis ball, 3 car tires, care fuel pump/hose, tent, tarps, wet blankets, hypodermic needles, tampons, to-go boxes, bike rack/bike tire, clothing, lighters, cigarette packs/chew packs, boat anchor, caution tape and so much more! Always thank you to our Board Members, Celia Elder, A.T. Thieme-Hamman, Aaron Goulet, Ellen Bauman, Jain Young & Heartland Communities: Plowshares, with Lauren Conklin special shout out for the great pics! YES! Thank you picture takers and our trash digging volunteers: Lisa Chantaca, Tricia Cliffton Brent Warner Bryan Utesch, & Daniel Hart! We had about 65 people overall who participated today! The St. Marys and Maumee are better now because of YOU! Save Ma_mee ~Read more →
These were the notes I took at the International Joint Commission, Status of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement I thought it was very important others read my notes. Here is what we said about the Western Lake Erie Basin in the last draft: READ HERE June 18, 2019 - Milwaukee Wisconsin Round Table Discussion Meeting International Joint Commission (IJC) - Status of Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement 8 States - 2 Provinces of Canada This IJC meeting is assessing progress of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and take suggestions from stakeholders and experts, the need for a united front is necessary to progress. IJC needs to be the watchdog of the Great Lakes…not just Canada or USA - elevate and help the 2 parties in a partisan way. This group has been taking science and using it to act as an advocate that can protect the public trust since 1972. This meeting took recommendations for additional actions and priorities governments can undertake to improve water quality. A report will be published after data is reviewed about the findings from this meeting. Major Challenges for the next 10 years ~ need resolve environmental education; as a curriculum forRead more →
THIS EVENT WAS 2018 SEE THE 2019 EVENT HERE ANOTHER Bazaar Evening on the Maumee River will be Saturday February 23, 2019 but the event advertised below was in 2018~ THANKS EVERYONE Address: TekVenture Inc. 1550 Griffin Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46803 Located in the old River City Complex on the south side of the Tecumseh Bridge. Save Maumee’s ONLY FUNDRAISER FOR THE YEAR! Save Maumee presents A Bazaar Evening for you along the Maumee River at TekVenture Inc. ~ the 20,000 square foot, heated historic warehouse should hold many surprises the weekend after Valentines Day! So bring your sweetheart, and the family and show support for your local waterways! $8 at the door will enter you to get a door prize or two and access to everything at this large event! WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR YOUR PERSONAL INVITATION TO OUR EVENT AND INTRODUCTION TO OUR WORK! River City Complex, Old Sneaky Pete's Save Maumee plans to WOW you with another fabulous fundraiser to help protect water quality in the Maumee River and the 11 million people downstream! Click for Facebook invitation to the event: Raffle, Door Prizes, 5 bands, Art Show, Bazaar Shopping, Belly Dancing and MORE * 5 Bands ~ FeaturingRead more →
Indiana’s Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Domestic Action Plan for the Western Lake Erie Basin Comments submitted by Save Maumee Grassroots Organization August 21, 2017 SMGO Comment for GLWQA DAP WLEB Indiana Department of Environmental Management Draft currently open for comment until October 13th. Save Maumee’s implementation projects are included. PDF HERE Background and Public Notice HERE Indiana, Michigan and Ohio in the United states are submitting Domestic Action Plans. HERE Summary of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada. CLICK HERE Indiana's Final GLWQA DAP for the WLEB_DAP : FEBRUARY 2018 FINAL Read more →
Press Release: February 17, 2017 You’re Invited ~ Save Maumee Grassroots Organization invites you to a collage of music, art expression and activism at their Wine and Canvass Art-N-Party fundraiser on February 25, 2017 from 5:00 PM to midnight at The Phoenix, located at 1122 Broadway, Fort Wayne, IN 46802. Save Maumee is teaming up with local artist Terry Ratliff to assist participants in painting a beautiful Maumee River landscape. The Wine and Canvass event will take place from 5:00-7:00 PM, with music following directly afterwards. Local musical talent, the Grateful Groove and U.R.B., will take to the stage for a night of music that will make you shake-a-tail feather! This is an all ages venue, so please bring the kids to participate in the Cookies and Canvass from, 7:00 -9:00 PM in the foyer with dancing all night! Raffle tickets for a silent auction will be available for purchase throughout the evening. The group gives many thanks to the local businesses that have donated items to help raise money for upcoming restoration projects. Whether you buy a t-shirt, plant a tree in your name, or join any of the 3-day Earth Day Celebration coming up in April, the work could not be done with out everyone’s support. As part of the fundraising event, Save Maumee will be donating a handcrafted, up-cycled bench to local painter, Terry Ratliff. The bench will replace the Rat Art bench that was destroyed by vandals last summer,
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Riverfront Rapport February 8, 2017 CLICK TO SEE OUR UPCOMING EVENTS 3 Day Earth Day Weekend, because 1 day just isn’t enough… Fundraiser February 25
Read more →Press Release: October 11, 2016 Contact: Abigail Frost-King, Save Maumee Vice President & Founder 260-417-2500 Federal money to restore streams and ditches: Save Maumee needs riverbank volunteers 4 days in October and beyond 2018 This Saturday, October 15, the public is invited to harvest seed from Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve with Save Maumee Grassroots Organization. It is illegal to remove anything from nature preserves, but Little River Wetlands Project opens their land for harvesting seed that will be planted nearby, at a site where 460 trees will be planted over 3 days. Save Maumee invites the public to help plant the trees and seeds on Friday, October 21, Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23 in New Haven. Koster Ditch is a major tributary to the Maumee River that flows through Six Mile Creek subwatershed. Participants will help to improve and protect water quality that flows directly into an EPA-designated priority Area of Concern. To date, Save Maumee has been the only group to implement the Upper Maumee River Watershed Management Plan (UM WMP) that was approved in December 2013. The group plans to plant a total of 1,390 trees by April 2017, to complete its first Riparian Buffer Initiative
Read more →Put-In-Bay A Day on the Lake September 20, 2013 2013 Bus trip Brochure This is a very fun and educational bus trip to Put-in-Bay, where we will be treated to a tour of the newly-remodeled Ohio State University Water Quality Lab. After the tour we will then board the research vessels for an informative, hands-on cruise of Lake Erie. You will also have the opportunity to explore and enjoy lunch on the island. This is an opportunity for Ag Retailers, Producers and concerned Citizens to learn about the ongoing research at OSU’s Stone Lab. These programs & projects are helping to identify the causes of the harmful algal blooms and invasive species in Lake Erie. Phosphorus fertilizer is the limiting factor in the proliferation of the algae $20 / person Please send check to : Allen SWCD 3718 New Vision Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Contact us: 260-484-5848 ext. 3 Or Email us at Krista.Voors@IN.nacdnet.net 6:15 AM Board Bus at Meijer 10301 SR 37, Ft. Wayne,IN 46835 * Juice and rolls served * 6:30 AM Bus departs from Meijer 9:30 AM Depart Catawba Island via Miller Ferry to Put-In-Bay 5174 E. Water St., Port Clinton, OH 43452 10:00 AM Island
Read more →Presentation: June 22, 2013 10:30AM – 11AM Title: What can we do to make our 3 Rivers better; In-depth thought into surface water Director, Abigail King said SMGO will release their new initiatives at RiverFest, that will “draw many eyes to the importance of water quality.” “We plan to demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between stream health and how it is directly related to human health and recreation.” By: Abigail King, Save Maumee Grassroots Organization Director & Founder Secretary of Heartland Communities Inc. (Save Maumee’s nonprofit 501C3 fiscal sponsor) Upper Maumee Watershed Partnership Treasurer Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor; Region I Environmental Consultant ACTIVE PRESENTATION FOR RIVERFEST ATTENDEES: Save Maumee Grassroots Organization will be passing out native riverbank seed & chaff in salvaged reusable cotton-cloth bags at RiverFest. SMGO wants these diverse and desirable contents to be planted on any local streambank. Directions on the bag include, “if you want these seeds to grow, and work to improve water quality; only plant where nothing green grows, dirt is exposed, near an open water source, in an area that will NOT be mowed. Then STOMP the seeds down flat with your shoes, flattening the open soil down, so it does not float away during
Read more →“Critics have long complained that IDEM is understaffed, underfunded and doesn’t do enough to protect the environment.” IDEM, is an “18-year-old state agency with a $161 million budget and more than 900 employees. (Associated Press, ‘Activists wonder where Daniels will lead state’s environment’ Nov. 22, 2004). _______________________________________________________ “The state issued more than $2 million in environmental fines in northeast Indiana from 2004 through 2006, but not all the money was actually collected. Indiana Department of Environmental Management records showed fines in northeast Indiana ranging from $300 to $382,725 during that period, according to The Journal Gazette review of the data published [December 2007] (Indy Star, “IDEM fails to collect fines in full” Dec. 10, 2007). _______________________________________________________ Now the latest report on Violations, Enforcement & Penalties: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120819/LOCAL10/308199948 Clean Water Act violations rising, seldom punished; State regulators dispute findings from EPA data Journal Gazette – Dan Stockman – 20 August 2012 Nearly three out of every four facilities in Indiana operating under the Clean Water Act broke that law in 2009, EPA data show, but of all those violators, only one-third faced any kind of sanctions. –
Read more →Where are all the trees? ~ It’s not JUST the Emerald ash borer destroying natural habitat. The Army Corp of Engineers follows the “Guidelines for landscape planting and vegetation management at levees, floodwalls, embankment dams and appurtenant structures (ETL 1110-2-571)” when deciding what trees and plants to remove [on levees]. Downtown Fort Wayne has 8 miles of “downtown river front development” and 10.5 miles of levees next to our rivers. If you have any questions or are concerned with the removal of our natural resources, trees and plants, please contact the following City of Fort Wayne and other government employees: FORT WAYNE, INDIANA ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEER LEVEES (Detroit District) – CLICK MAP TO ENLARGE 10.5 miles are maintained by a non-federal agency/municipality = City of Fort Wayne Board of Public Works #1 Tina Kowitz, P.E Levee Safety Program Manager Geotech & Structures Branch U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District ph: (313) 226-6719 cell: (313) 244-6283 #2 Board of Public Works Bob Kennedy – Manager (260) 427-2693 Shan Gunawardena – Engineer (260) 427-1172 City of Fort Wayne Citizens Square Bldg. 2nd Floor (260) 427-1112 #3 Federal Senator Dan Coats Legislative Assistants: Paige Hallen Casey Murphy Kate Taylor 493 Russell
Read more →2013 Earth Day Flier EARTH DAY is Sunday April 21st from 11am-4pm Map here for all the FUN on Earth Day! Our social media outreach and updates have been sparse since my loving father AND our webguy, Brad Frost is very ill with cancer. FIND ALL THE INFO ABOUT EARTH DAY HERE! For more updates on a regular basis….check out our FACEBOOK! Call if you need anything or would like to participate! Abby 260.417.2500 EMAIL: Abby@SaveMaumee.Org
Read more →Save Maumee wants to talk openly with city officials, and with the taxpayers, about our waterways and the cause & effect of current practices relating to land use and water quality. The water we speak of is the same water we drink, bathe our children in, water our gardens with, and live alongside. It is our greatest natural resource. Recently, the city hired a tree service to remove vegetation along the Niagara Levee (the same area Save Maumee has been repairing since 2005) for a levee inspection in December 2012. Conversations with Flood Control Supervisor Cathy Burleson revealed that the Army Corps of Engineers required much of this removal in their levee regulations that came as a result of Hurricane Katrina. She stated that she did not want to cut the trees down, ACE regulations required her to do so. Burleson also mentioned that there are 10.5 miles of levees that the City of Fort Wayne, Board of Public Works, are responsible for maintaining. Walk the River Greenway along Edgewater Avenue or Spy Run and you can see that definition of maintenance ~ removal of all trees and vegetation with the installation of rip rap. One small portion of Edgewater was developed
Read more →HR 2018, entitled, “Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011,” as passed by the House and is now being heard by the Senate. This bill is a direct assault on two key components of the Clean Water Act: enforcement of water quality standards and protection of aquatic resources from discharges of dredged and fill material. Title V (H.R. 2018) would reverse decades of progress in cleaning our nations waters. It undermines the cooperative state-federal partnership at the core of the Clean Water Act. Under this title, the U.S. EPA would be stripped of its important authority to ensure that water quality standards are enforced and reflect the latest science. Sadly, this super polluter bill is one in a long line of bills introduced this year whose goals are to give polluters free reign to poison our air and water. The 112th Congress has cast a record-setting 302 anti-environment votes, making it the worst in history on the environment. Congress is starting to hear the bills. Please pay attention. Clean Water Action Letter to Senators with over 300 organizations against this bill
Read more →Hello River Lovers, ~ONLY THIS SATURDAY~ River Rummage Sale ~ THIS Saturday July 14 – First Day of the 3 Rivers Festival Parade – on the Historic Wells Street Bridge – Behind Wells St. and Superior St. in downtown Fort Wayne…just off the parade route. BIG, LARGE, HUGE SALE! 8am-5pm – Proceeds go to Lake Erie Waterkeeper, Save Maumee Program for true river improvements. Come buy our stuff! Come on, you’ll already be downtown for the parade and 3 Rivers Festival 5 semi-trucks full of STUFF you can re-purpose with your purchase! THANK YOU for your kind and generous donations! Bring your dead batteries and we will dispose of them properly ~ DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY ~ FREE DISPOSAL Waterbarrel demonstration = FREE LEARNING Repurposed art = FREE THINKING Chaff plantings = FREE STUFF Food Not Bombs feeding us from NOON-2pm = FREE FOOD Meet our hard-working unpaid river volunteers = FREE HELP Other Upcoming Events: ** 1st Monday of every month – Public meetings for river action and are looking for your inputon ways to truly improve waterways tangibly 7-8:30pm at Halls Gas House on E. Superior St. – Next meeting is August 6th **1st & 3rd Tuesdays – EcoWalk Work Group – corner of Niagara Dr. & N. Anthony Blvd. 4-5pm
Read more →INVITATION Sunday April 22, 2012 11am-4pm Come to our Open-Non-House! Plant trees, seed, plant plugs, install erosion control mats and remove garbage on the banks of the Maumee when you have an hour or five to spare, rally for clean water, support your local waterways…and have fun doing it with live entertainment! Cleansing the riverbanks of garbage 11am – 4pm – You won’t be able to miss it meet us at the big tent! LOCATION: On the corner of N. Anthony Blvd. and Niagara Dr. We will meet here: View Larger MapPEOPLE WITH TRUCKS BE HERE AT NOON! – We will be sending you to remote sites for clean-up of other river areas! WHAT TIME exactly are things happening? Well, the day rolls out like a rushing river so here is a general guide to events…. 11am – I.C. Coldwater will present on water quality locally 11am – 3:30pm – Silent Auction (see items for bid below) 11am-4pm Education & Displays all day (see time sheet at INFO table when you arrive) NOON – Bring your trucks meet at the dumpster for remote site clean-up In 2012 we plan to remove trash from streams and waterways from Eagle Marsh to
Read more →If you would like to see what we said in Washington D.C. last week – CLICK HERE for Save Maumee 2012 Newsletter: Save Maumee Grassroots Organization represented northeast Indiana for Great Lakes Days again this year in Washington D.C. for Clean Water Week, through a grant from Healing Our Waters. Save Maumee volunteers have represented northeast Indiana in D.C. every year since 2008! This year was special though because we had Save Maumee volunteers, Celia Garza, Bruce Allen, Ryan Bailey and Abigail King all in attendance! Today, streams and lakes suffer from a legacy of toxic pollution, the spread of invasive species, and loss of habitat. These factors, among others; threaten jobs, public health and way of life for people who depend on clean water! Clean water, in fact, has ranked as the number one environmental concern for the last 10 years! 125 people were included in the creation of this document if you would like to know more! Great Lakes Regional Collaboration On February 28th & 29th Save Maumee volunteers Bruce Allen, Celia Garza, Ryan Bailey and Abigail King spoke to the following federal legislative offices. U.S. Federal Senators: Dan Coats met with Celia Garza Richard Lugar met
Read more →Combined Sewer Overflows Written by Sean Musi V161 I have spent half of my life in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the number one issue that comes to mind involving the environment is the poor condition of our water ways. This is especially upsetting because the city seems to take some pride in the fact that three rivers meet in it and even have a large week-long festival named after it, Three Rivers. My mind went straight to a presentation given by a local grassroots project while I was studying at my previous college in Fort Wayne. Abigail Frost, founder of Save Maumee Grassroots Movement, spoke about her current efforts as well as how these three bodies of water came to be as unpleasant as they are today. The St. Joe River is where over 200,000 people get their drinking water. This meets the St. Marys and both then flow together to create the Maumee. The St. Marys, which floods frequently and is highly polluted, passes through much of northeast Indiana. These two rivers come together to form the Maumee, which contains high levels of mercury, PCB and E. coli.,fish consumption advisories, as well as the accumulation of sediment and garbage. The Maumee
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