SYRACUSE — Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation recently acquired the Johnson Bay East Preserve, which neighbors the Johnson Bay wetlands and the CSX Railroad to the north and Johnson Bay wetlands to the west. The acquisition took place in January.

The 41-acre preserve once provided the outflow of Dillon Creek into the Johnson Bay/Wawasee wetlands and headwaters. Dillon Creek is one of the three main tributaries feeding the lake system. During the past 20 years WACF has been able to acquire the majority of the property along Dillon Creek.

In the mid 1900s Dillon Creek was blocked off just upstream from this preserve. The creek was re-routed to help form a waterway through the Enchanted Hills neighborhood. The remnants of the original Dillon Creek remain and are still prominent on the preserve. The consequence of this re-routing is Dillon Creek does not have a wetland “estuary” at its outlet from Enchanted Hills and lacks the benefits of filtering out unwanted nutrients before reaching the lake.

WACF provided extensive resources and leadership toward major water and erosion control projects upstream to stop pollution from entering the lake. While great progress has been made, there is still more to do.

The health of the wetlands on this preserve and the remainder of Johnson Bay raises the question, “Could Dillon Creek ever be returned to its original flow?” Because of this acquisition, the answer is one step closer.