Acquisition

Velma Caprarotta has a long history with and a deep-seated love of the Elkhart County land she recently donated to ACRES Land Trust. Born in 1924, she grew up in the farmhouse just across the road from her recently protected property. Her late husband, Francis, and his family emigrated from Italy to Chicago in 1925 …

Fast-growing parts of Fort Wayne have special natural places, too, and ACRES Land Trust celebrates an addition to its Emanuel M. Popp Nature Preserve that adds a fifth chapter to a story being built by families who care for land and are working with ACRES to protect it forever. Preserving this cluster of properties provides …

Kristie Fuller’s recently donated 56-acre Wells County farm and forest, named for her father, Francis Fuller, and her grandfather, Hurb Fuller, tells her family’s story on the land. Fuller’s tale is a firsthand account of a larger narrative of Hoosier land use history in the 200 years since European settlement. Photo by Thomas Sprunger By …

“Over the years this land has been a place of recreation and enjoyment, as well as solace and prayer, not only for the sisters but for many other who have come to visit.” ACRES Land Trust and the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters announced they have closed on the sale of 107 acres of …

  Federal Judge William Lee protected his land with ACRES. Photo provided by Judge Lee. Preserving his conservation legacy, ACRES member and local civic leader U.S. Federal Judge William Lee has permanently protected 84 acres of breathtaking Steuben County landscape with ACRES. The Lee Family Perfect Lake Nature Preserve forever extends Judge Lee’s 50-year history …

Joan Garman honors husband, donates 84 acres of forest, wetlands and farm ground Terry Garman always knew the 84 acres of vibrant woods, wetland and farmland his parents, Ray and Dorothy Garman, purchased in the Cedar Creek Corridor in the ’40s and ’50s was special and worth preserving. Through the years, he made careful farming …

*Update 3/7/19: This property is now named Eastlake.  An extremely rare and ecologically significant remnant of native prairie struggling to survive amid Warsaw’s commercial and residential areas is part of ACRES Land Trust’s latest acquisition. The 7-acre prairie found in the newly-acquired Wayne Township Property* along U.S. 30 may be the easternmost example of original …

ACRES Land Trust has acquired a 126-acre property surrounding Quog Lake in LaGrange County, ensuring permanent protection of a rare quaking bog and its notable ecology. “It’s a significant natural area that needs to be preserved,” said Mike Metz, LaGrange County’s parks and recreation director.  “It’s great that ACRES has taken on doing that.” Metz …

ACRES Land Trust’s newest preserve, the Mills-Black Nature Preserve protects 11 acres and extends an emerging preservation corridor. Four generations of Michael Black’s family worked the land at the corner of Ernst and Aboite roads, five miles east of Roanoke. Michael didn’t want to see more of his family’s land sold off and divided, so …

ACRES Land Trust has embarked on a promise to protect from development 93 acres of Claxton family legacy timber. In 40 or 50 years, this land a mile north of Spencerville will give ACRES a gift: income from the selective harvest of more than 43,000 carefully nurtured trees. “Trees are a natural resource we can …

ACRES Land Trust has expanded Tel-Hy nature preserve with a 6.9 acre donation by Phillip Smith, a friend and neighbor of Hy and Lorraine Goldenberg, donors of the existing Huntington County preserve. Smith, a 1968 wildlife management graduate of Purdue University, sees donating his land as a natural extension of his life. “I love this place. …

The land is protected. Species are inventoried; footbridges installed. Eager explorers are standing by. Spring Lake Woods and Bog, a 107-acre northwest Allen County nature preserve protected by ACRES Land Trust, is about to open – nearly fifty years after being identified as a significant natural area by preservation experts. To celebrate its preservation and the …