Shingle Oak Ridge

A Family Legacy of Conservation

Some might say that the importance of land conservation came to them during a class, or they learned about it from a friend or realized that they desired to better understand their own property.

However, for the Kern siblings, Shirley Needham, Pat Holmgren and Bill Kern, land conservation was in their blood. The family’s passion for conservation began at the dinner table, as their father, Bob Kern, was instrumental in protecting vital tracts of wetlands within the Manitou Wetlands complex on Lake Manitou’s southern end. Their family dinners were frequently joined by fellow conservationists like Durward Allen, who was instrumental in studying wolves in Isle Royale National Park.

If that family name sounds familiar, look back no further than 2007, when ACRES acquired Ruth Kern Woodland Preserve from the Kern family, which was named after the siblings’ mother. Many have enjoyed the preserve’s lovely trails, a wonderful place for wildlife viewing.

Fast forward 17 years and the Kern family is looking to conserve more of their beloved Fulton County land, forever. A generous donation from the Kern family and help with funding from the Next Level Conservation Trust lands ACRES its newest property in Fulton County, the 117-acre Shingle Oak Ridge — a property the family has owned since 1963 and is just upstream from Ruth Kern Woodland Preserve on the Tippecanoe River.

Introducing Shingle Oak Ridge

Shingle Oak Ridge is named for one of the oddest members of the Oak family, the Shingle Oak, which occurs naturally in the sandy soils on the property. Shingle Oaks lack the classic lobed leaves of other oak trees; instead, they have leaves akin to those of the black gum tree. This can make them hard to identify until the acorns start forming.

The property falls within one of ACRES newly identified priority areas along the Tippecanoe River, one of the most biodiverse rivers in the Midwest. The property protects oak woodlands, floodplain forest, an emergent wetland and a row crop agricultural field. ACRES intends to plant trees to restore the field to its native habitat. In the future the property will be open to the public after habitat restoration has begun and a trail has been placed.