Conservation trust to acquire 423 acres of Miami County woodlands

Dan Ernst, an assistant state forester with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said funding has been approved to purchase 423 acres of property, which is located northeast of Peru and near Frances Slocum State Forest.

The money to buy the land will come from The Indiana Heritage Trust and the Bicentennial Nature Trust, which are public-private partnerships established by the Indiana General Assembly to ensure the state’s natural heritage is protected and held in trust for future generations.

Ernst said the appraisals of the property have been finalized, but the purchase agreement has not been signed. He said that likely will happen in three to four months.

According to the Indiana Heritage Trust, the property contains about 255 acres of mature, upland hardwood forests, and 168 acres of new tree plantings, including hardwoods and conifers.

The land acquisition would be unique due to its size, its wooded condition in a largely agricultural landscape and the fact that the property is contiguous.

“The project conserves important working forests and builds upon the long-term conservation efforts of its current owners who have passionately cared for the forest over many years,” Ernst said.

He said over the years, the landowner has restored forests on 168 of the tract’s acres by planting over 100,000 trees, and has professionally managed the native forests for quality timber production and forest sustainability.

The acquisition proposal makes the property a life-estate trust, which means the owner maintains ownership of the land until death, at which time the property would be fully transferred to the state, Ernst said.

Once the land is acquired, it would fall under the jurisdiction of the Indiana Department of Forestry, which would ensure its long-term conservation. The property would remain a large-scale forest that would be actively managed, but it would likely be opened to the public for low-impact recreational uses such as hiking.