Lake Monroe: The Cutright State Recreation Area - Essay Example

Lake Monroe: The Cutright Recreation Area Template Lake Monroe is located in Central Indiana, approximately 10 miles south and east of Bloomington, Indiana. It is the largest water reservoir in the State covering 10, 750 acres of water covering Monroe and Brown counties. The lake lies between woodlands and hilly terrain of Indiana State. The lake can be accessed through State Roads 37, 46, 446, and 50 using local roads. The special features of the lake area include Allen’s Creek, Cutright, Moore's Creek, Paynetown, Salt Creek, and Fairfax State Recreation Areas. The area that I visited was the Cutright State Reaction Area, which is an exemplary recreational area with wide range of wild animals. The biodiversity of the Cutright State Reaction Area remains one of the most exiting sceneries in the state of Indiana making it rank among top tour and recreational areas in the region. Agency The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers are the bodies in charge of Indiana state parks including, the Cutright State Reaction Area. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) ensures that visitors preserve the primitive status of the reaction area through a set of rules. On the other hand, the Army Corps of Engineers ensure safe navigation in Lake Monroe. Terrain Most of the areas surrounding lake Monroe, Indiana, covering 10, 750 acres, are forested with minimal chances of park visitors seeing any human disturbance (Indiana Department of Natural Resources 3). The only notable disturbance in the area is developed recreational areas along the shore of the lake. The terrain is rugged with steep slopes with dense forested surrounding, which is predominantly filled with hardwood. This includes oak hickory type of forests on the drier parts while yellow black cherry species are found around the coves. The CSRA can be accessed through 5505 S State Road 446, Bloomington, IN 47401. Footpaths, roadways, and boating areas offer excellent means to navigate the reaction park and also offer different viewpoints of the forest and the entire biodiversity of the surrounding area. Facilities and Services The Cutright State Recreation Area is open to the public all year round to enjoy the vast facilities offered that you can hardly find anywhere. At the Cutright State Recreation Area, there exists Boat ramp where visitors can launch public boats publicly. There is also parking area for visitors. The Cutright State Recreation Area also offers excellent picnicking areas and bird watching. There are excellent viewpoints from where one can find and watch numerous migrating species of birds including vireos, thrushes as well as warblers. Lake Monroe Marina, located at the Cutright State Recreation Area, offers the most competitive boat rental in the entire state of Indiana. In order to locate Lake Monroe Marina, one can drive from Bloomington turning South off of E Hwy 46 onto E St Rd 446 and proceed 8.1 miles until he or she crosses the Lake (water on both sides) then turn left into Cutright SRA.  After getting safely to the CSRA, follow the road past boat ramp until end keeping to right and you are finally there. Precisely, the facility is on the east side of the causeway, just a few minutes from Paynetown. Lake Monroe Marina at Cutright State Recreation Area closed boat rentals for the winter up to February 17, 2014 and visitors can book for the boats after the expiry of the closure date in 2014. Irrespective of whether one plans to stay all season long or just to enjoy the weekend, the CSRA offers exceptional sites, distinct restrooms and one of the most beautiful campsites with amazing view of nature packed with different kinds of migrating bird species. Goals and Mission The Division of State Parks and Reservoirs of Indiana safeguard and sustain the integrity of natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations (Indiana Department of Natural Resources). Lake Monroe is a source of drinking water and also provides recreational ground. The lake also controls flood (Indiana Department of Natural Resources 9). The mission of the Army Corps of Engineers is to ensure water safety. The Cutright State Reaction Area has a boat ramp and is known for its public boat launch a recreational activity offered for visitors. Both agencies ensure that the primitive scenery of the areas is preserved and managed sustainably in the best interest of present and future generations. Observations The area was flooded with people and most of them were watching the wild animals, including migrating birds such as thrushes, warblers and vireos. The birds, in particular, offered beautiful scenery that seemed to fascinate most visitors. Other animals observed included turkey and turtles on the water edges as they roamed searching for food. There were many visitors I observed in biking trails since the weather was conducive and the environment was calm. Future Management Plan The IDNR may consider building a new trail for visitors to use in addition to the ones available in order to give visitors better sightseeing of wildlife in the natural habitats. This move is bound to increase the number of visitors in the region while giving them better access to animals. It is an efficient way of ensuring that visitors value the animals and see them closely without any danger (Indiana Department of Natural Resources). Impacts There were signs of habitat destruction as a result of recreational as well as commercial activities, but human interference apart from recreational sites was evidently absent. Habitat destruction leads to decline of wildlife and may lead to extinction of natural resources. Though the area has a highly erosive soil, everything seemed to be in control with thick forests protecting the soil form erosion. This could be attributed to excellent management. “Today much of the region is again forested, but is second- and third-growth forest. Massive tree planting and erosion control work helped to reclaim the land” (Indiana Department of Natural Resources 3). Rules and Regulation The INDR has a rule that prohibits individuals from collecting dead trees for firewood because they revamp natural humus. Further, visitors are not allowed damage or injure any rock, structure, birds or nay other component of biodiversity to ensure no interference with the natural condition of the park. Bicycles are not supposed to be in hiking places owing to the erosive nature of the soil and thus should only be used in roadways. If I Were a Ranger If I were a ranger I would recommend and support training sessions to visitors on how to protect the wildlife habitats. This is because the training would involve showing visitors and staff the dangers of destroying the natural habitants through video, audio, and informative seminars. This way, the community around the Cutright State Recreation Area can learn how to handle migrating bird species and other animals as well as the overall biodiversity. It is imperative to ensure that the entire community realizes that destroying the natural habitats and resources has serious consequences and can wipe out the entire wildlife. Videos that show the consequences of how certain human actions can be detrimental to wildlife would motivate people to fight for preservation of many animals and biodiversity in general (Kiamos 457). Works Cited Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Monroe Lake, n.d. Accessed on November 22, 2013 Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Monroe Reservoir Interpretive Master Plan, 2011. Accessed on November 22, 2013 Kiamos, Paul C. "National Security and Wildlife Protection: Maintaining an Effective Balance." Envtl. Law. 8 (2001): 457. The Army Corps of Engineers. Recreation, n.d. Accessed on November 22, 2013 Read More