LYDICK — A 10-acre bog hides in western St. Joseph County with insect-eating plants and a moat, just like a watery channel around a castle.
It has escaped documentation for at least a century, as far as anyone can tell.
On Friday, Kristopher Krouse led The Tribune on a hike to see why this bog and the woodland around it are so ecologically special that the Shirley Heinze Land Trust, where he is director, has recently purchased 176 acres. It eventually will become a preserve that the public could explore.
In the Valparaiso-based trust’s 35-year history of protecting wild spaces in northwest Indiana, this marks its largest single acquisition and its first step in St. Joseph County.
But Krouse, who’s been here just a few times, and a reporter and photographer had to find the bog first. It may be the most unique and ecologically sensitive, but it’s just a small part, well hidden among other wetlands, a seasonal pond and forested ridges — all of which Krouse said make this a valuable parcel.
Without a clear trail, it was easy to get lost as the group trampled over poison ivy, thorny branches, fallen trees and a mucky streambed where the bog drains its excess fluid.
Finally, edging down a wooded ridge, Krouse pointed below and said, “The moat is right there.” Beyond a dark-watered channel, where a frog murmured, the bog rose like a thick jungle of shrubs and plants.
He said the trust wants to build trails, access and parking, but that will have to come after it raises money in the coming year. The trust has yet to figure out how the public would get to and view the various parts of the preserve, including the bog, without harming its ecology. It will also have to make plans for a part of the site that is currently being farmed.
For now, the site isn’t marked, and it isn’t open to the public.