Officials investigating deaths of waterfowl, fish at Wolf Lake

Reports of dead waterfowl and fish near the Wolf Lake channel began coming in 10 to 12 days ago, according to Hammond officials.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Indiana Department of Environmental Management announced Thursday they are investigating the deaths and others reported as recently as this week, according to a joint news release. The two entities “are currently responding to reports of dead fish and waterfowl in Wolf Lake,” the release continues.

The agencies advise the public to avoid the area while the investigation is ongoing.

Milan Kruszynski, director of the Hammond Port Authority, said he first received reports of dead geese at the Wolf Lake channel area about 10 to 12 days ago, around the time of the deep freeze that impacted the region. The residents who discovered the birds and contacted the Port Authority were advised to report the find along with the exact location to DNR in Michigan City.

Kruszynski said he had not heard anything again about dead waterfowl until this week, when staff at the Hammond Marina spotted some dead birds on the ice. The authority is not equipped to take a boat out on the ice, so the birds could not be recovered. The find was reported to the DNR which said an investigation was underway.

“Just yesterday, everybody started seeing more out at Wolf Lake,” Kruszynski said.

DNR has taken bird samples and IDEM was seen out all day Thursday taking water samples, he said.

Seeing dead fish following extreme cold is not necessarily uncommon, he continued. What caused the deaths will be unknown until the testing has concluded.

Right now there are more questions than answers. Testing can take time, he said. He encouraged residents to continue reporting any finds of dead waterfowl or fish to DNR.

James Brindle, director of communications for DNR, said the investigation is ongoing. When more information becomes available, it will be released.