Allen County, Indiana Places

ACRES Land Trust

ACRES Land Trust Allen County Preserves

ACRES Land Trust Allen County Preserves .

  1. Bicentennial Woods - 1993, 340 E. Shoaff Road, Huntertown, Cedar Creek Corridor
  2. Blue Cast Springs - 2012, 21412 Bluecast Road, Woodburn
  3. Fogwell Forest- 1976, 9630 Whippoorwill Drive, near Fort Wayne International Aiport
  4. Fox Fire Woods- 1974, 17868 Hull Road, Leo
  5. McNabb-Walter Nature Preserve - 1982, 16138 Davis Road, Spencerville
  6. Mengerson Nature Reserve- 1989, 5895 Stellhorn Road, northeast, Facebook: Mengerson Nature Reserve - ACRES Land Trust 
  7. Spring Lake Woods and Bog - 2014, 12905 Lake Everett Drive, northwest
  8. Tom and Jane Dustin, Robert C. and Rosella C. Johnson and Whitehurst Nature Preserves - 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 1802 Chapman Road, Huntertown, Cedar Creek Corridor
  9. Vandolah Nature Preserve- 1989, 16151 Tother Road, Leo, Cedar Creek Corridor

How did ACRES begin? posted June 29, 2018 by ACRES Land Trust on YouTube
Have you ever wondered why ACRES is always capitalized?

Website: https://acreslandtrust.org/, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACRES.LT/. Monthly e-newsletter: https://acreslandtrust.org/email-news... Founded March 2, 1960, 1802 Chapman Road, Huntertown, Indiana (260) 637-2273, by local environmentalists Tom and Jane Dustin preserving natural areas around the tri-state area allowing them to remain or return to as close to their original condition as possible in dozens of preserves, totaling over 5,000 acres, from Allen County into southern Michigan, northwest Ohio and further south and west into Indiana. These preserves show how the land may have looked when Native American lived here and pioneers arrived for the first time. The Bicentennial Woods Preserve was acquired in 1994 to honor Fort Wayne's Bicentennial as an old growth preserve in Allen County. See web site ACRES Land Trust their ACRES in the news list of Media Relations headlines. or Facebook page. State nature preserves program proves there's more than cornfields in Indiana by Kevin Kilbane published March 20, 2017 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.

  1. Recreating a 1960 photo of ACRES founders by ACRES Land Trust on December 29, 2022 on YouTube
    ACRES was founded in 1960 by 12 people who each pitched in $5 to protect local land forever. In 2022, the ACRES staff recreated a photo of some of these founding members. Watch to see how we recreated this moment in history!

  2. March 8, 2023 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    Happy International Women's Day!

    Ethyle Bloch, one of ACRES twelve founders, was instrumental in protecting land and waterways in Indiana.

    She and her closest friend, Jane Dustin, brought attention to the pollution of Indiana's waterways. They pursued the development of state waterway regulations and water quality standards. Thanks to their efforts, and the efforts of other ACRES members, Indiana's waters are much healthier!

    Ethyle also served on the Water Resources Committee for the League of Women Voters during the 50's, was the first woman President of the Indiana Izaak Walton League, was a Board Member of the River Greenway organization, and was President of the Hoosier Environmental Council.

    Thank you Ethyle for sharing your passion with Indiana and ACRES, your legacy continues to inspire us today!

    📷 Left to right: Bill Bloch, Ethyle Bloch, John Klotz, Jane Dustin

  3. A detail of the Dustin Barn - built between 1919 & 1920. This Indiana barn sits on the property of the Acres Land Trust,...

    Posted by Indiana Barn Foundation on Thursday, April 4, 2024

    Thursday, April 4, 2024 post by the Indiana Barn Foundation on Facebook:

    A detail of the Dustin Barn - built between 1919 & 1920. This Indiana barn sits on the property of the Acres Land Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting natural & working lands in Indiana, Ohio & Michigan.

    Photo taken at the 2021 Barn Tour, put on by the Indiana Barn Foundation.

    Photo Credit @media37_indy

    Venue: @acreslandtrust

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    #barnrestoration #barnsofinstagram #onebarnatatime #indianabarns #historicpreservation #historictrades #redbarns #midwestbarns #ruralamerica #historiclandmark #lookatthewindow

  4. July 19, 2023 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    Thank you Input Fort Wayne for the feature!

    Learn more about ACRES history, mission and more⤵️

    ACRES Land Trust, the nonprofit preserving land indefinitely throughout the region

  5. October 16, 2023 post by Mitch Harper on Facebook:

    Nice article on the history of Indiana's Nature Preserves and the role of Fort Wayne attorney James Barrett III (Barrett & McNagney) in the creation of Indiana's statute initiating protections.

    Barrett, a founder of Indiana’s ACRES Land Trust, called the areas “living museums,” where people can ponder the “interdependence of all forms of life” and be reminded of human health’s “vital dependence … upon the health of the natural communities.” Copied from DNR celebrates 300 nature preserves, humble beginnings Since John Bacone joined DNR in 1978, the number of nature preserves in Indiana has grown sixfold: from 46 to 300. Leslie Bonilla Muñiz - October 16, 2023.

    ACRES Land Trust instrumental in bold 50-year legacy of Indiana’s Nature Preserves Act at ACRES Land Trust

  6. Have you ever seen purple paint on a tree, post, or fence while hiking? Ever wonder what it means? In Indiana, purple...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Wednesday, April 17, 2024

    Wednesday, April 17, 2024post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    Have you ever seen purple paint on a tree, post, or fence while hiking? Ever wonder what it means?

    In Indiana, purple paint is an indicator of "No Trespassing!" The purple paint law allows property owners to easily indicate a property line and eases the burden of maintaining several "No Trespassing" signs.

    Help us remain good neighbors to those who live next to our preserves by staying on the trail and adhering to the purple paint law when you come across it!

    #themoreyouknow #acreslandtrust #purplepaint #notrespassing

Social Media

  1. Have you heard? This spring, ACRES set a record pace for planting tees! And, since 2016, with donor support, we’ve...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Thursday, May 16, 2019

    Thursday, May 16, 2019 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    Have you heard?

    This spring, ACRES set a record pace for planting tees! And, since 2016, with donor support, we’ve reforested 165 acres, planting 100,000 trees!

    Many thanks to ACRES members who invest in protecting, restoring and managing natural places. Your investment makes a lasting impact on the land you love.

    ACRES Land Trust plants pace-setting 55,000 trees, reforesting 106 acres

  2. This neon pink katydid looks like it jumped out of a Lisa Frank illustration! 🌈 ACRES Stewardship Assistant Jenna Bair...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Friday, August 6, 2021

    Friday, August 6, 2021 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    This neon pink katydid looks like it jumped out of a Lisa Frank illustration! 🌈

    ACRES Stewardship Assistant Jenna Bair came across this colorful katydid while working in the field. Its pink color is the result of a genetic mutation that allows for abnormal amounts of red pigment in the absence of green.

    [ In North American Katydids, Green isn’t the Dominant Colour, Pink is Recent breeding experiments have revealed that bright pink, not green, could be the most genetically dominant colouring of the North American oblong-winged katydid. ]

  3. We protect tree farms! ACRES harvests trees sustainably while utilizing best management practices. These practices focus...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Tuesday, March 19, 2024

    Tuesday, March 19, 2024 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    We protect tree farms!
    ACRES harvests trees sustainably while utilizing best management practices. These practices focus on maintaining a high level of biodiversity within the canopy, mid-story, and forest floor.

    Priorities include:
    - Limiting erosion
    - Maintaining water quality
    - Protecting and creating habitat for many species of birds, bats, and the countless other critters that stay beneath the trees.

    Most folks who plant trees with the intention of them one day being harvested are no longer around when the time for the first harvest arrives. ACRES ensures that these tree plantings are cared for and properly stewarded through their transition into a natural forest.

    📷Claxton Woods by Thomas Sprunger

    #acreslandtrust #nationalagricultureweek #timberharvest

  4. Our Stewardship Director, Evan Hill, wrote a great article about how ACRES determines when it's time to reroute or...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Saturday, April 27, 2024

    Saturday, April 27, 2024 post by ACRES Land Truston Facebook:

    Our Stewardship Director, Evan Hill, wrote a great article about how ACRES determines when it's time to reroute or retire a portion of trail inside of a preserve we protect. To learn more: The Challenge Of An Ever-Changing Landscape

    #acreslandtrust #acresblog #conservation #naturepreserves

  5. Recently, two Anabat recording systems were installed at an ACRES preserve! This device has a special microphone that...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Wednesday, May 8, 2024

    Wednesday, May 8, 2024 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    Recently, two Anabat recording systems were installed at an ACRES preserve!

    This device has a special microphone that can pick up the more sensitive sounds sounds that bats, birds and other critters make and records them. People who study and protect nature often use Anabat systems to learn these animals—how many there are, what they do, and how they fit into the environment.

    Anabat bat detection system: description and maintenance manual at USDA Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

  6. Fauna Foto Fiesta 🐌📸 Check out who's been living in ACRES preserves recently!

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Thursday, May 9, 2024

    Thursday, May 9, 2024 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    Fauna Foto Fiesta 🐌📸

    Check out who's been living in ACRES preserves recently!

  7. For National Endangered Species Day, take a look at how a partnership between the Northeast Chapter of Indiana Native...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Friday, May 17, 2024

    Friday, May 17, 2024 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    For National Endangered Species Day, take a look at how a partnership between the Northeast Chapter of Indiana Native Plant Society - INPS and ACRES led to the rescue and protection of 80 Baxter's Violet (Viola baxteri) in 2023.

    ➡️ Read more: Springing into Action: A Plant Rescue [ Allen County’s suburban areas are expanding with new housing developments. A number of these new structures will be placed on land that has been forested for decades if not centuries. ... Although events like this are not a solution to the ecological crisis brought by habitat loss, they serve an important purpose. Saving those individual violets may one day genetically benefit the species as a whole. ]

    #acreslandtrust #nationalendangeredspeciesday

  8. McNabb-Walter Nature Preserve - ACRES Land Trust protects a picturesque high south bank of the St. Joseph River, the...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Friday, May 31, 2024

    Friday, May 31, 2024 post by the ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    McNabb-Walter Nature Preserve - ACRES Land Trust protects a picturesque high south bank of the St. Joseph River, the ravines of Davis Fisher Creek, and old-growth maple woods with sugar maple, tulip, red and white oak, beech, ash, and sycamore. Spring brings a carpet of wildflowers beneath the trees: spring beauty, large-flowered trillium, cut-leaved toothwort and many more.

    📷 by Thomas Sprunger

    #ACRESLandTrust #PreserveOfTheWeek #McnabbWalterNaturePreserve

    https://acreslandtrust.org/preserve/mcnabb-walter-nature-preserve

    Lets Hike: McNabb-Walter Nature Preserve ACRES Land Trust (Old Sugar Camp Remnants)March 20, 2023 Darus Eifler on YouTube
    Equipment: DJI Pocket 2 From McNabb-Walter Nature Preserve "This preserve protects a picturesque high south bank of the St. Joseph River, the ravines of Davis Fisher Creek and an old-growth maple woods with sugar maple, tulip, red and white oak, beech, ash and sycamore. Spring brings a carpet of wildflowers beneath the trees: spring beauty, large-flowered trillium, cut-leaved toothwort and many more. Alwilda “Wilda” McNabb Walter cherished this land to which she had a lifelong connection. Born on the McNabb homestead in 1903, she and her husband, Martin Walter, purchased her parents’ home and farm in 1944. The property’s sugar maple woods was used for a maple syrup business, and today there are still remnants of the sugar camp. In 1982, the couple donated the old homestead and farm to ACRES to forever protect the special place they called home."

  9. We are thankful for our plant partnership with Izaak Walton League! Each year, we collect seeds and transfer them to...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Wednesday, June 5, 2024

    Wednesday, June 5, 2024 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    We are thankful for our plant partnership with Izaak Walton League!

    Each year, we collect seeds and transfer them to containers with soil. Izaak Walton League then stores these containers in their greenhouse for growth. Once the time is right, we plant the plugs in strategic locations on various ACRES properties!

    We can accomplish so many great things when we work together for the good of the land!

  10. Since our inception in 1960, when 12 individuals each contributed $5 toward the noble goal of land protection, this...

    Posted by ACRES Land Trust on Saturday, August 17, 2024

    Saturday, August 17, 2024 post by ACRES Land Trust on Facebook:

    Since our inception in 1960, when 12 individuals each contributed $5 toward the noble goal of land protection, this mission has grown into a powerful movement. Today, more than 2,100 members continue to support this enduring vision with the same unwavering commitment.

    ACRES has always been a member-powered nonprofit.

    Our members have protected over 7,800 acres of land across our region. Their steadfast support allows ACRES to offer free access to 32 nature preserves with trails. Our members do more than support financially; they actively spread the word, document our history, and steward ACRES properties with the same respect they show their own spaces.

    Our members are ACRES.

    🌱If you're ready to join this growing community that isn't afraid to get its hands dirty, become a member today! https://acreslandtrust.org/give-now/

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