As a preserve visitor, you are responsible for keeping these habitats undisturbed. Follow these rules to allow the preserve’s plants, wildlife and natural formations to thrive here, in place, for generations:
We work with private landowners to permanently protect their land by guaranteeing to never develop or sell it. Once ACRES protects a property, our name will always remain on the deed.
Some land comes to ACRES as a donation. Most properties are sold to ACRES at a discounted rate or in rare cases ACRES purchases property for the full market value.
ACRES does everything possible to ensure permanent protection within the current legal framework of private land ownership law. Our founders wrote and helped introduce Indiana’s Nature Preserve Act established in 1967 to extend protection to preserves throughout the state.
Today, thanks to your generous support, dividends from the ACRES endowment now provide the financial sustainability to ensure that we can protect these properties forever. A conservative draw on dividends earned on our endowment will pay necessary assessments, drainage taxes and fees on the properties we currently own.
As stewards, our focus is twofold: We are committed to preserving healthy natural systems by limiting human disturbance in these areas. You may notice when a tree falls in an ACRES nature preserve, we don’t haul it away – it’s left to break down, providing food and shelter for other plants and wildlife.
In other areas, ACRES takes a much more hands-on approach to restoring biodiversity by actively managing non-native invasive species and installing native habitat. Our team focuses on major threats and on specific places over a period of time. This approach is necessary in plant communities where human impact has greatly altered the area, no longer allowing it to function as a healthy part of the ecosystem.
As a nonprofit organization, ACRES is funded primarily through your private donations. Your gifts and contributions of all sizes join together with those of others, protecting these special places in perpetuity.
People protect land for a variety of reasons; community conservation serves many and meets many goals. Check out our Deep Map for more.
ACRES also receives generous support from our region’s community foundations, local private foundations and major donors.
We’re so glad you asked! ACRES invites you to take action for what you value.
ACRES Land Trust and each of these organizations are separate nonprofits with shared values, strong ties, and distinct missions. Our organizations work together to benefit our community’s appreciation and understanding of natural areas, to share knowledge, and to complement each other’s skill sets, priorities and missions.
A nature preserve is a protected place where plants, animals and natural features can thrive, undisturbed. ACRES preserves deepen visitors’ understanding, appreciation and connection to nature. Trails in a nature preserves offer experiences in the natural world where flora and fauna will continue to live and die, in place, for generations. The primary purpose of a nature preserve is preservation: supporting the health of the place itself and the life it holds; the primary purpose of a park is usually recreation.
Other than our simple rules, you don’t need to know much! In fact, much of the time, you’ll be able to follow the trail back to your car without any outside information or guidance.
This blog post offers guidance on:
ACRES trails are natural; they aren’t paved or altered in any way other than the disturbance it takes to clear the path and keep it trimmed. We mow grassy trails about once a month in the growing season. Depending on when you visit between our work days, you may encounter tall grass. Your best guide is local conditions; if it has been rainy, trails will be muddy. If lawn grasses are growing quickly, the same will be true in our preserves.
Nope. ACRES trails are free for everyone and open from dawn dusk, thanks to member support! If you want to be a part of this community protecting land, you can become a member and enjoy the many benefits of preservation: pride, joy, invitations to members-only events and outings and more.
Can you step over it? Keep on trekking. ACRES staff or volunteers will remove it during their next monthly visit if necessary.
Is it a large tree, making the trail impassable or dangerous? Please let us know by emailing acres@acreslandtrust.org or calling the ACRES office at 260-637-2273.
If you can take a photo and share your location this helps ACRES prioritize trail system maintenance. Thank You!
Yes! The trails provide excellent natural running paths. You might appreciate the cooler temperatures provided by a forest canopy during hotter seasons. The preserves also provide you the opportunity to engage all your senses in scenery that is always changing – on land that is thriving with life. Please be considerate of other preserve visitors.
Your dogs need to always be on leash not only to protect the plant and animal communities in the preserves, but also to ensure other preserve visitors feel safe.
ACRES closes trails for a variety of reasons; the fences are meant to keep visitors out of an area. Some closures are temporary, others are longer-term or permanent.
Often, we close lengths of trails to protect sensitive habitat, reduce or prevent erosion and for safety while we’re working (note: we may not always be present to be “working” in an area; some projects take return visits). Other times ACRES closes trails to reduce pressure on the preserve from foot traffic.
ACRES intends to show visitors the most spectacular places within a preserve by taking you there on the trail system.
Our job is to protect these sensitive areas. Trails are offered in support of preservation and trail systems must balance your experience with our mission to protect natural areas.
At Spring Lake Woods and Bog, in particular, the bog is inaccessible and sensitive. The bog ground is not solid, making trail construction expensive, difficult and, most importantly, disruptive to the natural community that ACRES protects there.
Though ACRES offers trail systems at many preserves, open dawn to dusk at no charge to visitors, this service is a small part of our work.
ACRES Land Trust members, donors and supporters invest in our promise to protect these natural places – forever. Trails support our mission, helping folks enjoy the benefits of nature and inviting preserve visitors like you to invest in helping to protect them.
Our general philosophy is that opening new trails is an exception that would require careful consideration. That said, there are sometimes specific reasons that some properties remain closed.
ACRES does hunt some closed properties; we do not sell hunting leases. We have no openings for new hunters at this time.
Before heading out, please call our office at 260-637-2273 for further instructions.
Yes! You are encouraged to use the preserves as venues for your non-commercial group activity. Simply follow the comprehensive list of ACRES preserve rules and allow preserve visitors not associated with your group access to the trails and parking during your outing.
Please contact ACRES for commercial use inquiries: 260-637-2273 or [email protected]. Generally speaking, commercial use is prohibited. Commercial uses that promote conservation may be reviewed; Indiana state law prohibits commercial use in our state-dedicated nature preserves.