The trail along the north bank of Willow Creek in Bicentennial Woods has been dedicated in honor of Florence Thyrza Pauly, a native of Fort Wayne and long-time resident of Bloomington and Indianapolis. Florence’s estate was donated to ACRES Land Trust in 2018 as a tribute to the comfort and healing she found in nature. …

HUNTERTOWN, Ind., December 2, 2019 –ACRES Land Trust is launching a Capital Campaign to help build a barn and renovate the home it uses as an office. The investments will help the nonprofit care for its expanding acreage, following a period of 50 percent growth in the land it owns and protects. Founded in 1960, …

“What did the fish say when he was swimming upstream and hit concrete?” “Dam!” Dr. Jerry Sweeten, ACRES board member, retired Manchester University biology professor and expert on low-head dam removal, enjoys a good laugh and talking waterways. He loves fish, river ecology, teaching and preservation. He’s led the charge in removing three low-head dams …

ACRES completes 500-acre acquisition phase on Cedar Creek, launches storytelling project HUNTERTOWN, Ind., August 5, 2019 – On completion of a 500-acre acquisition phase on Cedar Creek, ACRES Land Trust is launching a website, booklet and video on its decades-long work protecting the Corridor. To date, the nonprofit permanently protects one thousand acres in the …

“Tom and Jane Dustin built a legacy from this home,” the bold headline at the top of the commemorative panel reads. As you stand among the tall trees, listening to the music of the preserve, you can see that legacy is thriving still today. The Dustins helped launch ACRES Land Trust. Inspired by the budding …

The late Dr. Frederick O. and Elfrieda Mackel expanded a neighborly legacy of preserving the Cedar Creek Corridor through ACRES Land Trust. The Mackels originally purchased land overlooking Cedar Creek in 1956, moving there from Fort Wayne so their four children could grow up exploring fields, creeks and woodlands. The Mackels’ neighbors and friends, Jim …

ACRES Land Trust recently completely acquisition of 193 acres of Cedar Creek land appraised at $3 million, leveraging a matching award from Indiana’s Bicentennial Nature Trust. With the latest acquisitions, ACRES now permanently protects over 1,000 acres of the  largest natural feature extending through Allen and DeKalb Counties. In total, the local nonprofit recently reached …

Editor’s note from Carol Roberts, ACRES Quarterly editor and board vice president: Tom was my friend, neighbor, mentor in the natural world. I cared more about nature after seeing it more closely through his eyes. He fought passionately and persevered to protect the Indiana Dunes, Wyoming’s Red Desert…his beloved Cedar Creek. While Tom’s vision was …

You’ve probably read about the Cedar Creek Corridor, but have you stood 80 feet over the creek and wondered how this dramatic topography happened? Right here? Recently, Tony Fleming, geologist and long-time ACRES friend, shared geologic theory and evidence as we walked along the corridor’s 80-foot elevated Lanham’s Promontory overlooking Cedar Creek in the Tom and Jane …

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. “When I moved here, I thought I’d …

ACRES Land Trust welcomes its 93rd preserve: 115.8 acres filled with memories of the Heinzerling siblings and the promise of new memories for visitors to the southwest DeKalb County property, Heinzerling Family Five Points Nature Preserve. “ACRES will develop preservation plans, including restoration plans for the property,” said Jason Kissel, executive director of the 5,717-acre …