Conservation org secures major land purchase in Pike County

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The Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy has closed on its largest land purchase in more than 25 years. The organization has acquired 1,700 acres of forest in Pike County that is home to more than 60 animal and 20 plant species considered threatened, endangered or of special concern by the state. Director of Conservation Programs Matt Williams says the land will eventually become part of the adjacent Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Williams called the land purchase an unprecedented opportunity.

“There aren’t too many pieces of land this size in Indiana that are available; much of Indiana’s ownership is split up into smaller tracts, and so we were really excited when we heard about this possibility,” said Williams. “It’s just an incredible piece of land. It includes bottomland forest, upland forest, a couple of miles of an oxbow lake, [and] provides incredible habitat for a number of declining bird species.”

TNC said the land is home to federally endangered Indiana bats and nesting bald eagles, as well as smaller birds with declining populations such as Baltimore orioles, scarlet tanagers, wood thrushes and yellow-breasted chats.

“We think we’ll actually do quite well at a property like this because it provides a big, intact forest landscape for them to breed and raise their young, and so we’re excited about that aspect of it. It’ll also have benefits for some of the aquatic life there,” said Williams. “Whenever you have a landscape like Indiana that’s so fragmented, anytime you have a big piece of habitat, that’s going to be like a magnet to wildlife of all kinds, and so we’re really excited about this one.”

The organization is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the purchase because of the land’s proximity to the National Wildlife Refuge, or NWR.

Williams said TNC is oftentimes able to move more quickly on land acquisitions and over time, ownership of the Pike County property will be transferred to the NWR.

“They’re not able to move as quickly because of the federal process for funding as an organization like The Nature Conservancy can, so we can play that interim role to help get lands protected and then make that transfer for long-term ownership to the refuge,” he said.

Pike County is about 130 miles southwest of Indianapolis and about 40 miles northeast of Evansville.

The land purchase comes as TNC’s Indiana chapter seeks to raise $48 million through its Human:Nature campaign. Director of Development Stephanie Collins said the funding will support the organization’s five-year strategic plan, implemented in 2020.

“We have four main strategic pillars: protecting important places, driving climate solutions, inspiring people for nature, and improving the quality of fresh water and food and water sustainability,” said Collins, who noted the campaign has already hit 71% of its fundraising goal. “We’re thrilled to be having such success from people in the community, foundations, corporations, who are really showing their support.”

The organization said more than 65% of donations to date have come from private individuals and foundations.

The organization’s largest land acquisition took place in the 1990s, when it acquired approximately 6,000 acres of land known as the Kankakee Sands in northwest Indiana, which has since been expanded to 8,000 acres.

TNC says the acquisition creates more than 20,000 acres of contiguous habitat for wildlife in southwest Indiana. The ultimate goal is for the Patoka River NWR to stretch for 30 miles along the river.

“We feel like it’s not just enough to buy land and set it aside and say, ‘It’s protected, secure.’ That’s just part of the process for us.,” said Williams. “We also feel like it’s incredibly important to be good managers of the lands that we keep ourselves and for any lands that transfer out to make sure that those are going to an organization that’s going to manage those lands well because it’s the things like controlling invasive species, prescribed fire, and that type of appropriate management that will make sure that the habitat stays intact and in good quality for for the future.”

You can learn more about the Human:Nature campaign, including how to donate, by clicking here.