BLPOA Membership

Membership costs are $35/year. Donations are taken for projects to sustain lake quality and usability. The membership fee and donations can be sent to

BLPOA
PO Box 175
North Webster, IN 46555

Although it began as The Cottage Owners Association in May of 1954, The Barbee Lakes Property Owners Association became the entity it is today. The BLPOA consists of and is open to membership by people who own, rent or use these lakes and are interested in keeping the area a great place to live, play and work. All of the Board and other participating members volunteer their time, money and effort to accomplish these aims. We encourage you to join us to preserve this wonderful resource for future generations.

In accordance with the stated goals outlined in the bylaws the following projects currently have priority:

• Continue the work with Indiana DNR on the Lake and River Enhancement Program (LARE), to reduce erosion and control offsite sedimentation.
  
• Continue the annual pest aquatic vegetation management program.
  
• Replace and repair damaged signs.
  
• Install dry fire hydrants to enhance winter months fire protection.
  
• Encourage lake friendly yard fertilization and wastewater management to protect the quality of the ground and surface water.
  
• Promote boating safety.
  
• Preserve the wetlands for wildlife and its natural water filtering ability.
  

The annual meeting and election of the Board of Directors is held the third Saturday in July each year. Everyone is welcome but voting is limited to the dues paid members. The monthly meetings are held the third Saturday of the month at 8:00 AM at the North Webster Community Center April through October.

The Barbee Lakes chain is composed of seven interconnected, natural lakes situated west of North Webster, Indiana. The lakes include Kuhn, Big Barbee, Little Barbee, Irish, Banning, Sawmill and Sechrist. They are interconnected by Grassy Creek which extends upstream from the chain to Ridinger Lake and downstream to Lake Tippecanoe. The lakes’ watershed stretches southeast into Whitley County, encompassing approximately 33,150 acres or 52 square miles.

The Barbee Lakes and their watershed formed during the most recent glacial retreat of the Pleistocene era. In Whitley and Kosciusko counties, the receding glacier left a nearly level topography dotted with a network of lakes, wetlands and drainages. If you want to find out what the chain looked like in 1900, check this out.

The Barbee Lakes Property Owner's Association (BLPOA) is a group of property owners and visitors that work to coordinate efforts to sustain the lakes as we know them

Concerned about our lakes? Check out http://www.in.gov/idem/programs/water/video/index.html

For several months, members of the Barbee Lakes Property Owners Association have been working to create a foundation that would be totally committed to enhancement of the Barbee Chain of Lakes. The primary purpose of creating the foundation is so Barbee Lake area residents can made tax deductible gifts for the enhancement of their chain-of-lakes water system. For more information on this foundation refer to the Treasurer's Corner.

To display water levels in our area the closest USGS guages are at north webster and oswego.