Shirley Heinze Land
Trust is announcing that it has donated 17.34 acres of protected natural
land to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
The transfer, which
took place last fall, consists of four parcels adjacent to park boundaries,
according to a statement released on Wednesday. “The additional acres will
help buffer the park’s current holdings and reconnect fragmented
high-quality natural areas,” the statement said.
“Shirley Heinze
Land Trust has the ability to obtain and leverage funding opportunities to
protect strategically located natural lands as they become available,”
Executive Director Kristopher Krouse said. “We work in partnership with
other land conservation organizations such as the National Lakeshore to
identify and acquire high-quality areas with the eventual goal of
transferring ownership to the best suited conservation entity.”
“The work of
Shirley Heinze Land Trust continues to help protect critical lands
supporting the National Park Service mission for the benefit of all
Americans,” National Lakeshore Superintendent Paul Labovitz said. “We are
fortunate in Northwest Indiana to have a land trust to respond to
conservation opportunities. We look forward to continued partner successes.”
The largest
property involved is 13.73 acres of prairie, originally acquired by Shirley
Heinze in 1999 through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency’s North American
Wetlands Conservation Act. The land is adjacent to the National Lakeshore’s
300-acre Hobart Prairie Grove unit in Lake County, which contains a variety
of habitats including wetlands, prairie remnants, white oak flatlands, and a
rare bur oak savanna. It protects 343 types of native plants and an
abundance of wildlife.
Mnoke Prairie
Addition
Another 1.88-acre
parcel of land adjacent to the southern edge of Mnoke Prairie will now
become part of the Bailly/Chellberg and Little Calumet River Trail section
of the park in Porter County. The property has been managed jointly since
2007 as a tallgrass prairie restoration project.
Miller Woods
An assortment of 16
lots totaling 1.55 acres of wooded dunes becomes part of the Miller Woods
portion of the park in Lake County. Another small group of lots totaling
0.18 of an acre has been added to the Tolleston Dunes unit in Porter County.
“Shirley Heinze
Land Trust has been protecting and preserving natural land since 1981,” the
statement said. “The organization accomplishes its work through a
partnership of volunteers, donors, and professionals. More than 2,400 acres
in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and St. Joseph Counties have been preserved for
the public’s benefit. Shirley Heinze nature preserves feature significant
scenic and ecological value, and most are open to the public for hiking and
enjoying nature.”
“The organization
protects, restores, and maintains examples of the entire spectrum of
Northwestern Indiana’s rich and significant natural communities, including
tallgrass prairie, high dune, oak savanna, boreal flatwoods, dune-and-swale,
woodlands, marshes, swamps, ponds, fens, bogs, and riparian habitat,” the
statement added. “Five of its properties --Cressmoor Prairie, Seidner Dune &
Swale, John Merle Coulter Preserve, Barker Woods, and Ambler Flatwoods--have
been dedicated to the people of Indiana as state nature preserves.