The Shirley Heinze Land Trust is in the midst of its 2009 annual fundraising appeal.
"Our annual fund drive is vital for the continued preservation and restoration of high quality natural areas in Northwest Indiana," said Kris Krouse, executive director of the Michigan City-based land trust. "During these difficult and challenging economic times, financial support is both needed and appreciated more than ever."
Since 1981, The Shirley Heinze Land Trust has protected, preserved and restored more than 1,100 acres of ecologically significant and sensitive natural lands in Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties. The nonprofit organization also provides outreach programs about the diverse natural resources in the area.
Nature preserves are open to the public and represent a great variety of landscapes and natural communities, including tallgrass prairie and oak savanna, interdunal ponds and woodlands, boreal flatwoods and dune-and-swale, and many kinds of wetlands. Five properties owned and managed by Shirley Heinze Land Trust are dedicated Indiana State Nature Preserves.
Contributions from individual donors and charitable foundations make it possible for the Trust to acquire land and restore and steward it responsibly. Over the past year, the Trust has made significant additions to its natural land holdings.
Recently, it acquired 30 acres of wetlands along the Little Calumet River in Chesterton, adjacent to Brummitt Elementary School, that will be accessible to the public.
Ninety acres will also soon be added to the 208-acre, state-dedicated Ambler Flatwoods Nature Preserve in Michigan City. Other additions were made to Ivanhoe South in Gary, Green Heron Pond in Miller, and the Beverly Shores project area.
"Many acres of land that we have acquired over the last 28 years," said Krouse, "would otherwise have remained vulnerable to the relentless development pressures that are a fact of life in our region. Unprotected natural habitats, even those too wet or steep for development, might have been degraded by trash dumping or invasive plants.
"Instead, the properties managed by The Shirley Heinze Land Trust will always be open, green and accessible to visitors. In partnership with public and private land protection agencies, we help save and restore precious natural areas in our region. Yet we make few demands on local tax-supported services."
To support the work of the Trust, send a tax-deductible gift to: Shirley Heinze Land Trust, 444 Barker Road, Michigan City, IN 46360,or donate online at heinzetrust.org.
Gifts in honor or memory of someone special are encouraged. Contributors who send a first-time gift of $20 or more will receive a reusable tote bag made of 85 percent recycled post-consumer plastic bottles, decorated with a landscape photo of Cressmoor Prairie Nature Preserve in Hobart.
To learn more about the Trust or volunteer opportunities, visit heinzetrust.org, or contact Shandra Niswander, development coordinator at (219) 879-4725 or development@heinzetrust.org.
