Shirley Heinze Land Trust INSIGHTS Fall 2020

Sand coreopsis planting at Coulter/photo: Susan Kirt

• Paddling into the Future • New Opportunities for "Growing" • Restoration Initiatives Completed

• Volunteer of the Year www.heinzetrust.org

Volume 23 Issue 2 On the professional front, this marks my fifteenth year at Shirley Heinze. How different things are from when I started in 2005! We occupied a tiny Paddling into little office space in Michigan City back then, and my days were filled with endless hands-on tasks the Future that are now accom- plished much more his year has been interesting, to competently by other, say the least! We’ve had to find better qualified staff Tnew ways to stay in touch, and members. We’ve assem- Zoom calls from home have become bled a knowledgeable the new norm. Despite the challenges, and professional team Shirley Heinze Land Trust has continued over the years, freeing to advance its work at the highest level. me up to focus on man- The strong foundation we’ve built over agement, partnership the years and the loyalty of our steadfast engagement, strategic Abby Krouse paddling on the Little Calumet River supporters have made it possible. In a planning, and fund- world turned upside down, we’ve hardly raising. It’s astonishing what an innovative and dynamic organization we’ve missed a step. Amazing! become, never fearing to take on new initiatives and projects we might have For me personally, it’s been a mile- found intimidating not so long ago. This is a testament to the caliber of our Kristopher Krouse and his daughter Abby stone year on both the home front and board, staff, and volunteers. in the office. Heidi and I are now offi- As a going-away activity before they left for school, I took both Jak and cially empty nesters. In August, we dropped off both our kids, Jak and Abby, Abby on separate kayaking trips down the Little Calumet River; we paddled at their respective schools for the fall semester. The house has never seemed from our Wykes-Plampin Nature Preserve to Bailly Homestead in emptier, and Morty the dog is getting lots more attention. We took advan- Dunes National Park. The excursions offered a great opportunity to see, tage of this special summer by embarking on a two-week camping adventure first-hand, the phenomenal work that has been achieved in the Little Cal to many of our national parks out west. It was a Krouse-style trip, with an Corridor and the wonderful recreational opportunities emphasis on exploration and only a vague notion of an itinerary. The kids now available. It brought a tear to my eyes to see how have always loved these vacations, and this time they took charge, picking the comfortably my kids now fit into the natural world that hiking trails, starting we’ve worked so hard to protect. My personal and pro- the campfire, cooking fessional lives have merged in a wonderful way. I will the food. I cherished always be indebted to Shirley Heinze Land Trust and the time we spent to- everyone who has made it what it is today. gether on this trip. I know there will be With Gratitude, many more good fam- ily times in the future, but this was the last trip Kristopher Krouse, where the kids were Executive Director Jak Krouse still kids.

INSIGHTS is published twice a year by Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc. Website: www.heinzetrust.org 109 West 700 North Valparaiso, IN 46385 ‘Like’ us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/heinzetrust Tel: 219-242-8558 E-Mail: [email protected] Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @heinzetrust

2 3 Acquisition Provides New Opportunities for "Growing"

ast spring we acquired an tural community, the Porter County Soil additional 50 acres of land and Water Conservation District, the Lwithin the Little Calumet River Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Area. The newly acquired (NRCS), Indiana Dunes National Park, property is located in Pine Township, and the Indiana Department of Natu- adjacent to our Dale B. Engquist ral Resources are among our partners. Nature Preserve and the Indiana DNR’s These groups offer new opportunities Reynolds Creek Gamebird Habitat Area. to help us enhance our Conservation Together with Indiana Dunes National Areas, realize our vision for the East Park’s Heron Rookery Unit, nearly Branch of the Little Calumet River Cor- 2,000 acres of contiguous land are ridor, and improve Climate Resiliency. now protected at this site! It provides Local farmers like Mike Rhoda are a significant wildlife habitat, including for great source of knowledge and exper- endangered species like the Indiana bat, tise for us as we begin to implement best migratory birds, reptiles and amphibians. management practices to help improve The new parcel is mostly agricul- water quality and enhance watershed tural land, with some forested , management, such as using cover crops emergent , and surrounding up- to prevent runoff and improve soil land woods. The land is quite wet, and health. The right mix of cover crops has most likely will be converted to the potential to improve soil aeration, habitat in the future. With this acquisi- improve water infiltration, increase soil tion, Shirley Heinze Land Trust has so organic matter, reduce fertilizer needs Photo by Terri Smolinski far protected 518 acres within the Little and nutrient runoff, and even reduce Calumet River Conservation Area. pests and pathogens. We are working As much of this parcel and other with NRCS to secure funds through the Cover crop seed was recently sown by plane over a field within the Little Calumet Corridor lands surrounding this area of the corri- Environmental Quality Incentives Pro- dor are in agriculture, we are also in the gram that will cover the costs of imple- Farmers have been stewards of the land for generations. They have a unique process of learning more about agricul- menting the cover crop practice. connection with nature and understand land conservation. We look forward to tural land preservation working with farmers on conservation practices and land preservation, and we are and best management grateful to all of the partners assisting us with this effort. If you are a farmer or practices used by farm- landowner in the corridor and feel Shirley Heinze may be able to assist you with ers to help conserve your conservation or preservation goals, please feel free to contact us. We would soil and water. Land love to have a conversation. trusts across the na- tion work with farmers ~ to help achieve these common goals. As part A generous grant from The Laura Hare Charitable Trust provided most of of our strategic plan, the funding for the purchase. We are also grateful to the grandchildren of Bert and we are exploring an Agriculture Protection Martha Olson, who sold the property at a bargain sale discount, and two individual Program of our own. donors who made significant contributions. The local agricul- Aerial map of acquisition 4 5 monitoring the project. Also, to our friends at the Flora Rich- Major Restoration ardson Foundation for their steadfast annual support of the GLISTEN program. Many students who started in the GLIS- Initiatives Completed TEN program on this project still work with us in some capaci- ty of regional conservation today. We are sincerely grateful to our Stewardship Program field staff who did most of the heavy lifting. Our field staff trudged through wetlands, hiked up and down hills, carried heavy back- Joe pye weed and cardinal flower on the left, and vervain, boneset, bidens on the right, establishing pack sprayers, repaired equipment, overcame challenges, got in wetlands at Beverly Shores previously dominated by cattails and reed canary grass so many things unstuck from the mud, and experienced every weather condi- ur Stewardship Program recently submitted final reports for two large tion, bug bite, Eric Bird, restoration initiatives funded by the Sustain Our Great Lakes (SOGL) plant rash, and Stewardship Director Oprogram administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation thorn scratch (NFWF). The two projects took place simultaneously between September 2016 and imaginable. February 2020. The projects focused on removing invasive species and enhancing Of course none of this work native vegetation at John Merle Coulter, Beverly Shores Great Marsh, Green Heron would be possible without funding , Cressmoor Prairie, and Gordon and Faith Greiner nature preserves. support from the public/private We are very grateful for all of the contributions from our dedicated volunteer partnership of the SOGL program base, donors, partners, committee members, board members, and staff. and the staff of NFWF who were The two projects combined included 243 acres of restoration, over 716 hours of Rich Dorton planting at Beverly Shores there with us every step of the way. volunteer and intern contributions, over 13,500 hours of staff time, individual donor We are so very grateful for their contributions, and partner support. Volunteer contributions alone provided nearly support of these projects, and numerous projects throughout the region for many $10,000 in match for the project helping to leverage grant funds. years. These two projects were a tremendous undertaking. We are so very proud to We want to give a special thank you to the students of the Great Lakes Inno- see them completed, and so sincerely thankful for all of the support along the way. vative Stewardship Through Education Network (GLISTEN) program who helped So let’s all celebrate another great project (or two) completed! conduct a great deal of restoration and conducted special projects to collect data for

tershed. Students return from projects with Shirley Heinze Land Trust with a unique The Flora Richardson Foundation set of skills, knowledge and confidence that they share with their classmates and their instructors. The GLISTEN program has undoubtedly changed the way that I and the GLISTEN Program approach both teaching and research, driving me to build stewardship-based proj- ects into the undergraduate curriculum." he GLISTEN program (Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship Through Student interns who participate in the program are called Stewardship Liaisons. Education Network) is one of the educational programs supported by the Each year between 4-10 students are hired on with a number of community part- TFlora Richardson Foundation, an organization whose mission includes ners in the area, including Shirley Heinze Land Trust, the Indiana Dunes Nation- promoting education in the various fields of natural history within the southern al Lakeshore, The Restoration Monitoring Inventory, the Great Lake Michigan region. Flora and her husband William Richardson were early 20th Lakes Science Center of USGS, Save the Dunes, Coffee Creek Watershed Conser- century naturalists who lived in the Indiana dunes. As part of the organization’s vancy, and the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association. educational programming, it supports internships for college-level students through Student Liaisons come from a wide range of higher education institutions in the the GLISTEN program. area including students who attend schools in Illinois and Michigan. Since 2013, the Foundation has provided an annual grant to GLISTEN's local “The program has had a wide reach on assisting to train a new generation of Calumet Cluster, which is overseen by Dr. Erin Argyilan, Professor of Geosciences conservation-focused individuals,” says Gayle Tonkovich, Director of the Founda- at Indiana University Northwest. Over the years, the foundation has provided annu- tion’s College Education Programs. “Several Stewardship Liaisons have gone on to al funds to GLISTEN ranging from $20,000 to $24,000. hold permanent employment with regional conservation organizations.” (including "The GLISTEN program provides an opportunity for students and faculty to our own Rich Dorton, pictured above.). build collaborations that are beyond what we can achieve in a classroom or by work- ing within our own institutions, says Dr. Argyilan. "The value added is the opportu- Learn more about the Flora Richardson Foundation at florarichardson.com. nity to engage in direct action to benefit the environment of the Lake Michigan wa- 6 7 There are so We continue to develop video programming that 2020 GLISTEN Interns will connect us during this socially distant time. nitially worried that we may not have to the ability many ways Keep an eye out for upcoming monthly guided to work with GLISTEN Liaisons this year, we were hikes of our nature preserves, staff updates, Ifortunate to find two students with the ambition and to enjoy education and citizen science offerings. perseverance to work through this year’s Covid challenges. Ashlynn Morin and Alexander Hlebasko, both students at nature with Visit heinzetrust.org to sign up for email Indiana University Northwest, were able to help us with a updates and follow us on Facebook and study that our Stewardship Program is interested in. Shirley Heinze Instagram @heinzetrust to keep up to date on In spite of having to start a little later than usual and all the latest activities. do things a little differently, Ashlynn and Alexander were Land Trust! able to collect data regarding the current composition and We look forward to connecting with you! conditions of a forest stand at Meadowbrook Nature Pre- serve. Guidebook to the Nature We have worked very hard on reforestation efforts Ashlynn Morin at Meadowbrook, which is part of our greater Valpara- Preserves of iso Moraine Conservation Area. The particular stand is about 2.5 acres in size and has experienced a lot of ash Shirley Heinze Land Trust tree death as a result of the emerald ash borer. Our Stew- ur nature preserves are a treasured ardship Program is interested in learning more about this source of respite as people look stand in order to guide management efforts in response to to nature for exploration and the ash tree death. O Ashlynn and Alex have been working independently recreation during this time. Whether you to determine how many dead ash trees are still standing, are looking for information about visiting what species of trees are still living, the size and age class a preserve or just want to learn more about of the living trees, and the current canopy cover in the our preserves, who we are and what we do, stand. They identified and measured over 840 individual you'll find our 78-page guidebook to be a trees and took over 90 canopy cover data points. We are useful and interesting source of information. still working together to analyze the data and describe the Alexander Hlebasko It is available to download as a PDF file current conditions of the forest stand. from the Preserves page on our website at This project will help us determine what new trees we should be planting, and www.heinzetrust.org/preserve. If you'd pre- select locations for planting new trees. It will also serve as a model for collecting fer a hard copy to keep in the car or on the nightstand for bedtime reading, data in similar forest stands throughout Meadowbrook and other forest sites we just call us at 219-242-8558 or send an email request to Bonnie Hawksworth manage. at [email protected]. We are grateful to Ashlynn and Alex for helping us collect scientific data to bet- ter guide our management strategies.

Forest study area at Meadowbrook 8 9 Bringing Nature Home Program he tenth season of our Bringing Nature Home Program was not to be deterred by a pandemic. The ability to spend time outdoors, tending to gardens and Tlandscapes became a great source of respite for many, and applications came in. Plantings ranged from small city gardens to multi-acre rural landscapes. While we were unable to conduct the in-person visits to each applicant as we have traditionally done, application information and photo submissions supplied enough information for recognition decisions. Garden sign awards were delivered by mail, and we asked awardees to share a photo with us. The joy and pride on everyone's faces is wonderful to see. We appreciate the efforts to provide healthy natural habitats here in Roger & Lori Sudlow/LaPorte northwestern Indiana, and we look forward to a day when we can gather and meet. Congratulations to all!

Judith Hurdle/Valparaiso

Maggie Cleveland/Mill Creek

Keller Park Riverside Trail Garden/New Carlisle

Dave & Bobbi Dosmann/Lakeville

Rick Goltowski/Granger Community Church/Granger

Christine Maloney/Valparaiso Eric Bird & Sam Kinsman/Porter

he goal of the Bringing Nature Home program is to increase awareness of the important role that native plants, shrubs and trees play in supporting Tbirds, butterflies and other pollinators. City and suburban gardens and landscapes have a critical role to play in a healthy natural ecosystem by providing extended areas in which migrating species can find food, water, and shelter. oT JohnPloof/Gary Terri Kosik/South Bend learn more about the program visit heinzetrust.org/bringingnaturehome. 10 11 environment gurus and never think a question is dumb,” Maureen says. “These three women are so knowledgeable, and love what they do.” Her favorite preserve is Ambler Flat- woods Preserve in Michigan City. “I like walking through the preserve in the fall and early summer. There are ferns and fungi, though not many wildflowers, but the way the sun shines through all the trees is so peaceful,” she says. She en- Retirement joys Ambler so much that she became a Preserve Steward there, and has trained other Adopt-A-Trail volunteers. Maureen Career: has also volunteered her time at Barker Woods, getting the greenhouse in shape Volunteer! and pulling invasive plants. One of Maureen’s favorite experienc- es at Meadowbrook was bringing her hus- Maureen identifying moss at Ambler Volunteers Maureen Kolbusz and Kaye Martin working in the greenhouse at Barker Woods band Mel to see the front native plant garden in bloom. “The compass plants were in hirley Heinze Land Trust is fortunate to have a dedicated pool of volunteers bloom and standing tall, as were all the plants and flowers. The prickly pear cactus by with a variety of talents and passions. Maureen Kolbusz has to be one of the door had just bloomed. I was like a proud mother sharing this with him.” the most resolute! When one of your first experiences as a volunteer with an Maureen decided to put her energy into volunteering after hearing a neighbor S give a talk about volunteering at University of Illinois Hospital. “Margaret always organization is pulling bent and rusty nails from reclaimed staircase boards, and you still want to come back, you are on a mission! loved to bake, and said, ‘I found somewhere to do what I love, and really feel appre- Maureen recently retired from a 43-year nursing career. She and her husband Mel ciated.’ Her words were so true, not only did Meadowbrook open the door to new raised their family of four daughters (now grown, with families of their own) in Oak friends and knowledge, it is like a family.” Park, Illinois. They became interested in Northwest Indiana after family vacations “People are there because they want to be there,” she adds. “They want to help, in the area, and eventually bought a home here. “That is when my interest in nature they want to see the fruits of their labor from collecting, scattering, and planting sparked,” Maureen says. “The birds here were unfamiliar to me, and I saw my “Spark seeds. They feel the beauty there, and there is a friendly warmth that embraces every- Bird,” the Pileated Woodpecker, in the .” one. Shirley Heinze is growing, and growing, and continues to include and recognize Once retired, Maureen finally had the time to pursue her interests. “I met two volunteers, even during this time of Covid. They make sure everyone is safe. That’s wonderful women, Mary Nell Murphy, and Kaye Martin, and the three of us took the what a family does, isn’t it?” Master Naturalist Class." That class led her to Shirley Heinze Land Trust. Looking ~ for opportunities to perform volunteer service, she saw a post about Saw Whet Owl Maureen Kolbusz has recently been selected as the Volunteer of the Year. Banding at Meadowbrook. After speaking with Programs Director Sarah Barnes, she Congratulations, and thank you, Maureen! decided to check us out, and has been volunteering regularly since then. Thinking back on that first experience of pulling nails, she says, “Those re- claimed boards resulted in the Leopold benches that are out on the preserves.” She finds joy and positivity in other chores, including sprucing up the lodge and seeing it used for special events and the Volunteer Recognition celebration. Maureen has enjoyed Owl Banding the most, and hopes to continue. A favor- ite experience was walking into the woods to check the owl nets, and watching Sarah Barnes gently and expertly remove a snared owl from the net. She also really enjoys the seed cleaning workdays in the winter, “where everyone works at the same time and you get to know everyone.” Volunteers Maureen Kolbusz, Sue Olsen, and Peggy Foster socially distance as they work in the “I feel so lucky to have been inspired about birds, especially owls, by Sarah garden at Meadowbrook Barnes, and to have met Peg Foster and Christine Maloney, who are the plant and New Initiatives in a New World dvancing a new strategic plan in the midst of a pandemic has presented new and interesting challenges. However, these past few months have helped to reaffirm the importance of our vision for A community-centered conservation. For many years, generous supporters like you have helped us forge ahead during uncertain times, and 2020 has proved to be no different. Thanks to your support, we've had the organizational strength to pivot, retool, and adapt to these ever-changing times. In a few short weeks, we will launch our annual appeal. We hope we can Refreshed Website Launched count on you. With your gift, we will make the most of this new world – his spring we relaunched our website with an energized new layout that building new partnerships, launching new programs, and implementing new features bold photography, an interactive map of our nature preserves, and re-designed pages for our nature preserves. strategies to advance our new community-centered conservation initiatives T We're grateful to graphic to: designer Renea Gallagher and board member/web developer • Improve water quality through green infrastructure and best Sean Hay who volunteered management practices; countless hours of work to design, • Build climate resiliency on our nature preserves and throughout our build and lauch the site in time for communities; our virtual Spring Benefit in May. • Provide diverse, equitable, and inclusive nature programming; and • Create safe and welcoming public access to our nature preserves for Check it out at heinzetrust.org! all to explore and enjoy. Our natural world has brought us great hope and joy during these times Board of Directors, Advisory Council and Staff of solitude. Your end-of-year contributions help us make sure these lands and waters (and the plants and animals these unique habitats support) will al- Board of Directors Advisory Council Ralph Lerner Lance Werner Kelly Carmichael, John Bacone Kathy Luther Robert Wolfe ways be protected. President Krista Bailey Sergio Mendoza Kathleen Zelkowitz Larry Stanton, Marty Balogh Leigh Morris Vice President Mitch Barloga Scott Namestnik Staff Nancy Johnson, Bob Boklund Chuck Nelson Kristopher Krouse, Secretary Terry Bonace Rachel Novick Executive Director Matt Vessely, Mark Bouman Charles Oberlie Sarah Barnes, Treasurer Walt Breitinger John Pinter Programs Manager Tom Cera Jennifer Burkhart Dan Plath Eric Bird, Sean Hay Kelley Davies Greg Quartucci Stewardship Director Erin Labovitz Kathy Dennis Marge Riemenschnei- Doug Botka Christine Livingston Ryan Dvorak der Stewardship Assistant Robert Long Kareemah Fowler Rodney Robichaud Rich Dorton, Pat McKinlay Jonathon Geels Laurel Ross Stewardship Assistant Dale Nichols Tim Griffin Jean Rudd Bonnie Hawksworth, Wendy Vachet Garry Harrington Steve Sass Operations & Special Spero Valavanis Jonathan Hildebrand Rachel Saxon Events Mgr. Therese Vande Hey Lance Hodge Ken Schoon Andrea Huntington, Anne Walsh Jennifer Kanine Tim Stoner Director of Development Margaret Williford Mike Keen John Swanson Barbara Labus, Paul Zucker Evie Kirkwood Ray Szarmach Communications Coor- Ricky Klee Nicholas Timm dinator Life Board Members Shawn Klein Garry Traynham Christine Maloney, Judith Gaskell Chris Kline Ron Trigg Volunteer Coordinator Myrna Newgent Paul Kohlhoff James Turnwald Photo of Meadowbrook by Susan Kirt Barbara Plampin Howard Learner Suzy Vance 14 15

all in an effort to convince the adversary that it is just a smelly bit of dead meat, Copycat not something worth eating. The hognose is harmless to hu- mans, but its cobra impersonation is not all show. Special fangs in the back of its Cobra mouth release a toxin which apparent- ly helps subdue captured prey animals. By Ron Trigg Toads make up the bulk of the snake’s diet, but frogs and salamanders are also The hognose snake sometimes taken. While many snakes routinely use exhibits some startling tunnels made by other animals, few have behavior when threatened. Photo by Alan Resetar

ocally abundant in sandy savannas, the eastern hognose Lsnake (Heterodon platirhinos) has a stocky body, twenty to thirty inches long. It varies widely in color and scale pattern. Many individuals are uniformly gray or black, while others present rows of large rectangular blotches in shades of yellow, brown, and orange. An upturned nose is the serpent’s most distinguishing feature. When viewed straight on, it resembles the snout of a hog . . . hence the common name. Eastern hognose snake A pretty ordinary little snake, you’re probably thinking just now. But you hav- the ability to dig themselves. The turned- en’t yet heard about the theatrical defen- up snout of the hognose can be used sive displays! When threatened by a po- like a shovel to move loose sand and hu- tential predator, the hognose transforms mus, thus enabling the snake to excavate itself into a much more formidable op- its own nesting burrow and winter den. ponent, flattening its head and neck to This is one talented little reptile! “hood” like a venomous cobra. Simulta- Hognose snakes prefer dry open neously, the snake puffs itself up, opens habitat. They can often be spotted while its mouth threateningly, and produces a basking in the morning sun after a cool loud hissing noise. It may even launch a evening. Cowles , Coulter Preserve, faux strike. and Glenwood Dunes are among many If this performance fails to drive good places to look for them. off the predator, the hognose has anoth- er ploy in its bag of tricks: it will feign Ron Trigg is a past Executive Director and death. The snake writhes violently on former board member of Shirley Heinze Land the ground, flips its body over, and lies Trust. An author, photographer, and naturalist, belly up with its limp tongue hanging he volunteers his photography and wordsmithing out. It defecates and releases a foul odor, talents.