Nine Acres of Fish
Morgan French grew up in Riverchase loving to fish, so much so that when he settled down, he bought his home on the ninth hole at Riverchase Lake. When the Lake Forest Circle dam broke, and the lake had to be lowered, it caused a series of events that led to the entire lake going dry. He, like his neighbors, had to live with the foul smell of dead fish and decaying plants. Even the egrets flew away, as did the beloved swan.
It took several months after the dam was in place for the lake to reach normal levels, by then the damage was done. The lack of water had created an environment with no fish, no egrets… no swan. The ecology of the once happy lake was sorely unbalanced.
Morgan and his neighbors understood this. Morgan contacted the local fish farms and got estimates, but where were the thousands of dollars to come from?
For a 9-acre lake, the experts suggested that he begin with 18,000 minnows, 10,000 shad and 9,000 bluegills. Follow that with 900 largemouth bass in July, and 700 crappies in the fall.
After discarding one possibility after another, and with the encouragement of the neighborhood, he resorted to the internet. With a little research and some well-defined instructions, he set up a Go Fund Me.
To his surprise, within 36 hours they had raised all the money they needed!
It will take some time for these newcomers to grow to a respectable size, but thanks to Morgan and so many other generous residents, the lake can once again be what it used to be.
As for the swan…
That’s Morgan’s next big challenge!
