Department of Natural Resources grants totaling more than $586,000 will be used to fight invasive aquatic vegetation in Indiana's lakes.

The grants were awarded by DNR director Cameron F. Clark through the Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) program in the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife.

The 42 projects involve lakes in 15 counties. They were selected from applications submitted by local sponsors who share at least 20 percent of the total cost.

LARE grants are funded through the Lake and River Enhancement fee paid by boat owners annually when they register their boats with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. This "user-funded" program benefits boaters all over the state. The grants allow for the completion of projects that would be difficult for many local organizations to fund on their own.

"These LARE grants further our goals of improving aquatic habitat while enhancing recreational opportunities for fishing and boating," said Mark Reiter, director of DNR Fish & Wildlife. "Addressing invasive plants in many of our most popular public lakes will benefit many Hoosiers during the summer boating season."

The grants will help control or manage aggressive non-native species, including Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed and starry stonewort that can take over and clog lakes. A study on the effectiveness of starry stonewort control on Lake Wawasee will be conducted by the Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College. The grants can provide economic benefits to lake communities by improving public access for those who fish or pleasure-boat.

The list of projects by water body, county, and grant award:

Water body (County)	Grant award
Adams Lake (LaGrange)	$15,140
Atwood Lake (LaGrange)	$7,680
Backwater Lake (Kosciusko)	$2,500
Barbee Lakes Chain area-Kuhn, Barbee, Little Barbee, Irish, Sawmill, Banning and Sechrist lakes (Kosciusko)	$6,750
Bass Lake (Starke)	$34,000
Beaver Dam and Loon lakes (Kosciusko)	$2,030
Big Long Lake (LaGrange)	$18,000
Bruce Lake (Fulton and Pulaski)	$5,000
Center Lake (Kosciusko)	$16,600
Chapman Lakes area-Big Chapman and Little Chapman lakes (Kosciusko)	$24,400
Clear Lake (LaPorte)	$8,400
Crooked Lake (Steuben)	$11,000
Dewart Lake (Kosciusko)	$6,625
Fish Lakes (Upper Fish, Lower Fish, Mud) (LaPorte)	$27,800
Flint Lake (Porter)	$15,200
Four Lakes area-Mill Pond, Kreighbaum, Cook and Holem lakes (Marshall)	$15,200
Fox Lake (Steuben)	$4,320
Geist Lake (Hamilton and Marion)	$5,000
Griffy Lake (Monroe)	$3,120
Hamilton Lake (Steuben)	$39,000
Hudson Lake (LaPorte)	$22,400
Jimmerson Lake (Steuben)	$14,580
Koontz Lake (Marshall)	$20,000
Lake George (Steuben)	$10,375
Lake Lemon (Monroe and Brown)	$5,000
Lake of the Woods (Marshall)	$23,000
Lake Pleasant (Steuben)	$11,780
Little Turkey (LaGrange)	$4,750
Long Lake (Porter)	$2,500
New Lake (Gibson)	$6,000
Oliver, Olin and Martin lakes (LaGrange)	$8,400
Pine Lake (LaPorte)	$37,500
Pretty Lake (LaGrange)	$8,900
Stone Lake (LaPorte)	$2,500
Stone and Brokesha lakes (LaGrange)	$10,060
Sylvan Lake (Noble)	$5,000
Tippecanoe Lake Chain- Tippecanoe, James and Oswego lakes (Kosciusko)	$32,000
Wall Lake (LaGrange)	$11,720
Wawasee and Syracuse lakes (Kosciusko)	$17,500
Lake Wawasee (Starry stonewort) (Kosciusko)	$15,800
Webster Lake (Kosciusko)	$41,500
West Otter Lake (Steuben)	$7,700
Total	$586,730

Media contact: Greg Biberdorf, LARE program manager, DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife, (317) 233-1484, LARE@dnr.IN.gov.