Autumn 2000 Online Edition Newsletter
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President's Message - Clare Oskay
What Do We Do With the Land? Johnson County Introduced to CILTI - Mary Wollitz-Dooley
The Land Trust Alliance Opens Midwest Office
Indiana's Public Lands
Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. The muggy days of summer have given way to cool, crisp mornings and bright blue skies. Trees and shrubs have turned various shades of gold, orange and crimson, punctuated with bright red and orange berries. Squirrels and other wildlife are in constant "scurry" mode, stocking up for the upcoming winter.
For CILTI, autumn also means stewardship days. Stewardship is a vital part of any land trust's mission, and CILTI is no exception. In a recent journal of the Land Trust Alliance, a national coalition of local land trusts to which CILTI belongs, Jean Hocker, LTA President, compares neglecting stewardship to 'working hard to buy a sleek sports car and then abandoning it to rust in the rain."
Stewardship encompasses much more than posting our boundaries and picking up trash--it includes taking the necessary steps to ensure that the land we have worked so diligently to acquire remains in its protected and natural state for future generations to enjoy. Invasive plants, which may threaten the natural features or habitat we are trying to protect, must be kept under control. Certain accommodations must be made to each property based upon its visitation.
Our dedicated Stewardship Chair, Ted Harris, has worked over the years to develop management plans for each of CILTI's properties. These plans are tailored to each property's needs and protection goals. Volunteer stewards visit each property periodically to monitor the property for potential management problems, including trespass or overuse, exotic or invasive plants and safety hazards. Steps are then taken to rectify any problems.
CILTI's stewardship work is an excellent opportunity to become involved in "hands on" land protection. If you have a few extra hours and would like to become involved, please contact a Board member or one of our stewards, who are listed elsewhere in this newsletter.
Our scheduled workdays are on October 21 at Burnett Woods and on November 18 at the Glick Nature Preserve. We plan some trash pickup and minor trail maintenance. Autumn is great time of year to visit either of these properties. Please join us. You might also consider bringing a young person with you. It's never too early to begin teaching the importance of turning our land over to the next generation in a better condition than we found it.
Fifty acres of woods and a streambed, next to fields that the retirement-aged owner can no longer farm. Developers want it. Is there any way to keep it as is? To address such issues, Clare Oskay, President of Central Indiana Land Trust Inc. welcomed members of the Franklin area community to a meeting sponsored by the Johnson County Community Foundation on Tues. evening, Oct. 10. The meeting site, provided by the Johnson County Soil and Water Conservation District, was in the former Franklin High School. Les Zimmer, of the Nature Conservancy and a CILTI Board member who was born and raised in Franklin, returned to his home town to "hold a conversation" with folks about ways to maintain some of the values they grew up with together. Like appreciating the soil and the landscape; and recognizing that land is finite -- no more of this limited commodity is being made. Zimmer noted, as his high school biology teacher pointed out, that planet earth also has all the water it will ever have. What we do with the land and the water is our choice. And we have options.
The program started with an informative and attractive slide presentation by Tom Swinford, Regional Ecologist for Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources and CILTI Board Member. Swinford displayed wonderful photographs, ranging from closeups of flowers and amphibians to aerial views of the land, as he spoke about features of Johnson County -- the land and its creatures -- and why they need protection.
Johnson County, which is subject to intense development pressure, has provided rich farmland for many. It is also part of the Sugar Creek floodplain, where watershed protection is a priority, both to prevent flood damage including degradation of bottomland farming sites, and to preserve rich native woodland species -- trees, wildflowers, birds, and other wildlife.
There are only a handful of sites on the entire globe where some mussels are found, and Johnson County is one of them. The humble shellfish is a monitor of water quality, and in healthy stream conditions some species live 40 years.
Seep springs are found in the area, home to many wetland species. Queen of the Prairie hasn't been spotted there yet but Swinford is sure it must be around. He knows there are Chinqapin Oak, whose acorns are devoured by many birds and small mammals. The Red Headed Woodpecker, a diminishing species, depends on woodlands like some found here for food and shelter. Just as many of the planet's warbler species seek nesting sites in Indiana woods. Special land -- worth saving.
Property rights are also worthy of respect. Which is why our land trust works the way it does. CILTI explores options with landowners for several different ways to sustain income, or gain a tax benefit while keeping some of the land just the way it is.
Our goal is to find good matches between owners and the land itself. There are times that the natural features of the land merit something other than commercial or residential development. Use of easements, partial ownership by, or donation to a land trust can make good sense for both landowners and the land.
The Land Trust Alliance (LTA), of which CILTI is a member, has expanded its regional services by opening a program in Kalamazoo/Portage, MI. It will be directed by Renee Kivikko, former executive director of the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy for six years. Prior to that Ms. Kivikko worked for 10 years with the Kalamazoo Nature Center in grants administration and program management.
Jean Hocker, President of LTA, commented that "land trusts in the Midwest are doing an impressive job of protecting open spaces threatened by development pressures. But the challenges are great. Under Renee's guidance, LTA will help the region's land trusts succeed as quickly and effectively as possible, and while there's still time." A major grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has made this expansion of service possible.
Central Indiana Land Trust has benefited from information/expertise of LTA, and Board Members have attended some annual conferences. CILTI has formally adopted the Standards and Practices LTA has outlined for viable, accountable, professional performance by land trusts. LTA's placement of a regional office to include Indiana in its service area is seen as a welcome opportunity for access to additional assistance.
Looking at public lands in Indiana, the Department of Natural Resources determined that the total public outdoor recreation area available per person averages 0.15 acre. Within the 24 counties serviced by Central Indiana Land Trust Inc., the public outdoor recreation area available ranges from 0.01 - 0.05 acre in 14 counties, 0.06-0.15 acre in 3 counties, 0.16 - 1 acre in 7 counties, and 1.01 - 1.5 acres in one county. When individual counties tally and plan open space or recreation areas, their figures may include privately owned land as well as spaces such as school grounds and interstate highway rest areas! If people are to truly have experiences that re-create their spirit, areas preserved for their natural habitat value need to be acquired before it's too late.