Victoria Wittig, the Northwest Indiana Area Ambassador, shared the following:

Location and sponsoring agency/organization: I am wrapping up my second month as the Urban Waters Ambassador for Northwest Indiana (NWI), which includes northern portions of Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties in the Lake Michigan Watershed. My Ambassador position is sponsored by U.S. EPA and U.S. Forest Service and I’m housed at Purdue University.

Favorite part of the watershed: The Urban Waters Partnership has been active in NWI since 2011 and includes more than 70 regional, state and federal partners. These partners are engaged in numerous working groups that focus on river systems and/or sub-watersheds that all flow into Lake Michigan. This aspect of the NWI Urban Waters Partnership presents exciting opportunities for collaborative projects that can be sustained with federal funding support. 

Current priorities: Current Partnership priorities include sustaining collaborative momentum and continuing to unlock federal funding for projects led by working groups in several focus areas including the Deep River, Grand Calumet River Area of Concern, the West Branch of the Little Calumet River, the East Branch of the Little Calumet River, the Ecosystems of the Indiana Dunes, Hobart Marsh and Trail Creek.

Best accomplishment to date: The most inspiring aspect of the NWI Urban Waters Partnership is that so many diverse partners are actively engaged in meaningful work that collectively contributes to enhanced water quality, environmental restoration and community revitalization across the Lake Michigan Watershed.

Project (i.e., trash pickup, tree planting) or activity (i.e., watershed planning, grant writing) you would like to talk to another Ambassador about: I am eager to connect with another Ambassador that has insight and perspective on addressing pollution from industrial point sources with a lens on climate adaptation and environmental justice.