SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — The Lake Shelbyville Fish Habitat Improvement Day has been rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and Lake Shelbyville Fish Habitat Alliance were originally going to host the improvement day on Saturday. Officials said the event has been moved to the following day due to both high winds forecasted for Saturday and safety concerns.
The groups plan on placing donated Christmas trees and artificial structures into Lake Shelbyville to enhance the fisheries.
The USACE and IDNR collected discarded Christmas trees after the holidays last year, and officials said at the time that they planned to place them into Lake Shelbyville to enhance the fisheries for years to come. Donated Christmas trees were bundled together in small groups and submerged in the lake at select locations to provide fish with breeding areas.
Anyone who wants to volunteer for the event on Sunday can meet at the Dam West Recreation Area boat ramp parking lot by 8:30 a.m. Volunteers are required to sign in prior to starting work at 9 a.m. A free lunch will also be provided.
Maps with exact GPS locations of the cubes and artificial stumps will be available following the
event at local businesses for 60 days. Officials said they also can be printed from the LSFHA Facebook page and the USACE Lake Shelbyville website after 60 days have expired.
All participants will receive aerial maps with coordinates detailing where the Christmas trees were placed, for reference when fishing in the future. Officials emphasized that maps of the Christmas trees locations will only be available for those who participate in Fish Habitat Improvement Day.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said they appreciate the support of this project from the surrounding communities.
For more information on this fish habitat project, or if you plan to bring a boat, you can contact Natural Resources Specialist Cory Donnel at (217) 774-3951, ext. 7001.