The “bargain sale” of land by three families has added 60 acres to the Scarlet Oak Woods preserve owned by Sycamore Land Trust.
Bill and Lorraine Hanna of Bloomington and two anonymous couples recently sold adjoining land to the land trust, which protects land in southern Indiana. The families sold the land for less than the appraised value, essentially donating a portion of the land. More funding for the purchase was provided by the Bicentennial Nature Trust, which provides a one-to-one match in funding for such projects across Indiana.
The land not only adds to the land trust’s preserve but also helps connect parts of Yellowwood and Morgan-Monroe state forests, Brown County State Park and the Hoosier National Forest, thus providing a larger tract of uninterrupted forest land. The new acreage is mostly wooded, according to Abby Perfetti, communications director with Sycamore Land Trust.
“It creates more habitat space for songbirds that migrate here in the fall and spring,” Perfetti said. The forested land is home to migratory songbirds and other species including the eastern box turtle, barred owls and wood thrushes.
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