Boating restrictions previously established on several northern Indiana lakes because of high water levels have been lifted, allowing normal use of motorized watercraft to resume.

The affected bodies of water are:

-Barbee Chain in Kosciusko County, including Banning, Big Barbee, Little Barbee, Irish, Kuhn, Sawmill, and Sechrist lakes.

-Tippecanoe Chain in Kosciusko County, including Tippecanoe, James (Little Tippy) and Oswego lakes.

-Indian Lake Chain in LaGrange County, including Dallas, Hackenberg, Messick, Westler and Witmer lakes.

-West Lakes Chain in Noble County, including Jones, Steinbarger, Tamarack and Waldron lakes.

The DNR issued an emergency order on May 31 that prohibited the operation of motorized watercraft greater than idle speed on the Barbee and Tippecanoe chains, and banned all motorized boating traffic on the Indian Lake chain. A ban on all motorized boating traffic had been in place for the West Lakes Chain since May 27.

The emergency orders were issued in compliance with Indiana law (IC 4-21.5-4) and Indiana administrative code (312 IAC 5-12).

Contact:

Phil Bloom, DNR Communications, (317) 232-4003