Indiana DNR debating future of Williams Dam on East Fork White River
For several months, Amy Amstutz-White has been on a desperate quest to save her 53-year-old bait and tackle shop and community's way of life. Her shop sits midway up the hill overlooking the East Fork White River. Farther downstream, Williams Dam looms over the water.
Williams Dam is the subject of an Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) study for possible removal. Amstutz-White is trying to save it.
'I grew up playing and swimming in the river,' she said.
In 1962, her grandfather bought a little shop across the parking lot which started the family business. Her father, Chris Amstutz, bought the business from his father and, in 1985, built a one-story brown cabin that houses the current shop. Inside White River Bait and Tackle, patrons can find deer and bison heads mounted on the wall, fishing lures of all shapes and sizes suspended from the ceiling, fireworks on the shelves, Buck Knives, and other knick-knacks. If the dam is demolished, the shop will disappear along with it.
The Amstutz family was surprised when they first heard of the DNR's plan in October. 'I just didn't know what they wanted to do,' Chris Amstutz said.
He has walked along the dam many times when the water was low, he said, and found nothing wrong with its foundation. The face of the dam, where water flows over, is thin and has been breached a few times by drift logs. Each time, the DNR has repaired it. But the back of the dam is strong. Chris Amstutz said he has never seen a crack in that part of the dam, which holds back the water.
But the DNR says otherwise.
'Williams Dam is failing,' DNR Assistant Director Marty Benson said via email. 'DNR is conducting this feasibility study to present options to help prevent a total dam failure.' Those options include full, partial or no dam removal, according to a recent DNR press release.
Originally constructed in 1913, according to information on Lawrence County's tourism website, the dam once provided hydroelectric power. Now it's a popular fishing spot.
The DNR has scheduled a meeting at 5:30 p.m. on March 4 in Brinegar Hall at Stone Gate Arts & Education Center, 931 15th St. in Bedford. The DNR and its consultant SWCA will present the preliminary findings from their study.
The meeting is promised to be a spirited affair. Amstutz-White has been reminding people to attend on her personal and business Facebook pages. She has also gathered more than 10,000 signatures on a paper petition titled 'Petition To Save Williams Dam.' The same petition on change.org has garnered over 1,100 signatures.
'I'm posting not just as the owner of our local bait shop but as someone who, like so many of you, has countless memories tied to the waters of Williams Dam,' Amstutz-White wrote in the petition. 'This place is more than stone and steel; it's a haven where generations have come together to experience the peace and joy of nature, a sanctuary in a fast-changing world. Taking it away would tear apart a part of our community's soul.'
'I've grown up on this riverbank for 30 years,' an online petitioner commented. 'There's no place on earth I'd rather be. This river is way more than just a waterway. It's a way of life. Also, a lot of people's lives and businesses depend on this dam staying put. I see nothing but devastating impacts for both people and wildlife if we lose this dam. Please keep.'
If the dam is demolished, 'we'll have a big mud hole up here for the rest of our lives, instead of a nice travel river,' said Chris Amstutz. 'Down below the dam right now, there's places where it's not 2 foot deep, all the way across,' he added.
Both the DNR and SWCA said via email no decision has been made about the future of Williams Dam.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: White River bait and tackle shop owner fights to save Williams Dam
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