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Erdelac Land Management

Just a drop in the proverbial bucket of damage occurring all along the Indiana Lake Michigan shoreline this winter. We built this structure to allow first response personal the ability to access the beach on ATV without negatively impacting the dune.

Humbling to see the impacts of an elevated lake level combined with strong winds and no shelf ice to protect the beach from wave attack. At the time of install in 2016, the end of the structure was approximately 150 feet from the lake!

Amazing and really no realistic guess about what's to come. Usually, the lake cycles so it could go back towards "normal" but it's probably no better than 50-50 it will trend lower. It could just as easy continue higher. Remember, Ridge Road was built across the top of an old dune line.

The beach at Ogden Dunes has become the latest victim of the rising Lake Michigan waters.

The Ogden Dunes Police Department announced that the town's beach accessways have been closed due to hazardous conditions resulting from erosion.

"This closure is necessary for the maintenance of public safety," police said. "Please do not move or go beyond barriers or caution tape."

Beach access is also closed immediately to the east at the Portage Lakefront Park and Riverwalk, but the pavilion, fishing area and trails remain open.

Portage Mayor Sue Lynch declared an emergency earlier this month at the Lakefront and Riverwalk, asking for state and federal agencies to act quickly to save the disappearing beach.

She joined Porter County, Ogden Dunes and Beverly Shores officials in declaring emergencies on their respective lakefronts as a result of the worsening erosion problem.

The Porter County Board of Commissioners issued travel restrictions in December in Beverly Shores.

The declaration limits the driving speed to 15 mph along Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores and prohibits all commercial and other heavy loads from the roadway without permission from the lakefront town's police department.

The county's emergency declaration came less than a week after the Indiana Dunes National Park temporarily closed down the western portion of the parking area and all beach access at the Lake View area in Beverly Shores.

Lake Michigan has now set a new all time record for high water in January.

According to WOOD, Lake Michigan is now 3 inches above the last recorded level breaking an all time record that was set back in 1987. Technically the record won't be broken until the end of the month.

Lake Michigan was levels have remained the same since mid December when usually this time of the year there is drop. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Michigan's water level will drop an inch in February.


This weekends storm is expected to drop 4 to 8 inches of snowfall across the Great Lakes Basin and this could bump up the total water level a bit for Lake Michigan.

Currently Lake Michigan is 18 inches higher than it was at this time last year. This should last for the next several months as well. The lake is currently 5.5 feet higher than the low that was set back in 2013.

Lake Michigan is not the only Great Lake that is higher than usual, Superior is tied for its high that was set in 1986. Erie is 2 inches below the January record set in 1987. Ontario is is 5 inches below a record that was set 70 years ago in 1946. Since Lake Michigan and Huron are connected, the Army Corps treat them as the same lake.

WOW, that is some serious erosion taking place in those pics. Are those homes that are being endangered by the water, wind, and waves? Scary stuff going on there.

Evening Don,
I believe pictures are from the mouth of the ditch area looking west. Kinda strange to see what things look like. Shore ice used to slow down the erosion. But, with the water going up and nothing to protect the shore from the winter storms it is going to continue.

And the same people "predicting" what the water levels are going to do posted they expect Lake Erie to be 80% frozen over by early February. Early February starts on Saturday! Last time this happened it was "fixed" by a record drought across the Great Lakes. Even the buckhorn was dead in my yard by July 4th.