PAOLI – The Central Indiana Land Trust Inc. has purchased 80 acres in Orange County that will be added to the Hoosier National Forest.
The property, known as the Lowe tract, was purchased from private owners at auction last month for $541,000.
The Central Indiana Land Trust (CILTI) preserves the best of Central Indiana’s natural areas, protecting plants and animals so Hoosiers can experience the wonder of the state’s natural heritage. Since its creation in 1990, CILTI has protected more than 8,000 acres of land that meet science-based criteria for conservation value. More information at www.ConservingIndiana.org.
Because the purchased land is an inholding of the Hoosier National Forest, CILTI and its partners plan to sell it to the federal government to be added to the Hoosier National Forest’s 204,000 acres in south-central Indiana. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the Hoosier National Forest spans nine Indiana counties – Brown, Crawford, Dubois, Jackson, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, and Perry.
CILTI’s Evergreen Fund for Nature made the auction purchase possible. Donors contribute to the fund so the land trust has access to ready capital, which allows it to move quickly when desirable land is for sale.
Purchase of the site will close a gap in the larger forested landscape, benefiting wildlife that requires deep forest habitat to thrive. Its distinctive geological features include a sandstone arch and two pit caves. One of the caves, Hopper Pit, was discovered in 1804 along the Base Line of the United States by the General Land Office surveyors, giving the site historical significance.
The Lowe tract contains some unique natural features and habitats. Just south of the sandstone arch sits a unique landscape known as sandstone barrens. Dominated by little bluestem, the barrens also contain the rare silver plumegrass, supporting an extremely rare plant community in Indiana. The tract’s agricultural fields offer reforestation opportunities to close a canopy gap in the Hoosier National Forest.
The Sam Shine Foundation and donors to the Evergreen Fund for Nature helped to make the purchase possible.
Information Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report.
