Category Archives: Lakes

Conservation, Environmental Education, Lakes, Parks and Recreation, Recreation, Wildlife

Share the Trails: National Trail Day hosted by ACRES

AcresLogoACRES Land Trust invites the public to launch summer with a fun, engaging hike celebrating the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day. On Saturday, June 4, 10 am – noon, ACRES hosts a guided hike through Wing Haven nature preserve near Angola, Ind., while hundreds of thousands of individuals converge at parks, forests, and trails all across the country.

Wing Haven, a 254.8-acre nature preserve, features glacially carved kettle-hole lakes, bordered by a wetland fen system. In secluded areas, Sandhill cranes have established nests. Rolling meadows and surrounding uplands covered in an oak, hickory and red maple forest offer visitors a scenic hike through land that is protected forever by the local land trust’s members.

Lily Pads on Wing Haven's Little Gentian Lake, photo courtesy ACRES Land Trust

Hundred-year-old log buildings on the preserve serve as the caretaker residence and occasional event space for the nonprofit. The building are also reminders of the preserve’s former owners who donated the land to ACRES for preservation.

HelenSwensonACRESWingHavenWing Haven was once home to Helen Swenson and her husband Ben, who ran Wing Haven Resort, “a sanctuary for birds” from 1948-1972. Prior to running the resort, the Swensons were innkeepers at Pokagon State Park’s Potawatomi Inn. Helen was a graphic design artist, who studied at the Chicago Art Institute, a naturalist and an avid birder. The Swensons had the log buildings moved to the land for use as their home and as an art studio for Helen.

ACRES welcomes visitors to experience the great outdoors with neighbors, friends and family:

Share the Trails – National Trails Day

Saturday, June 4, 10 am – noon

Wing Haven, 180 W. 400 N., Angola, IN 46703
The hike will launch near the studio. Presented by ACRES volunteer Jill Noyes.

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Now in its 24th consecutive year, National Trails Day provides fun opportunities for the public to have a summer adventure of their own on nearby trails.  Founded in 1976, American Hiking Society is the only national, recreation-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s hiking trails, their surrounding natural areas and the hiking experience.

Together with its members, ACRES preserves 5,924 acres of significant natural area in northeast Indiana, northwest Ohio and southern Michigan forever. Explore more than 70 miles of trails for hiking, photography, birding, wellness, family and school visits, and adventure. Connect with ACRES Land Trust at 260-637-2273, acreslandtrust.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ACRES.LT.

Ecology, Habitat Management, Lakes

Eagle Marsh Berm Construction Plans Progressing

Plans to construct a berm at Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve in Fort Wayne are moving forward. The berm will function as a barrier- one to prevent invasive species (primarily Asian carp) from ultimately infiltrating the Great Lakes water system. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources requested companies to bid to undertake the construction project. The DNR is currently reviewing the sole contract offer, from the company Fleming Excavating. If approved, preliminary work could begin as early as this fall.

The berm- essentially a giant dirt mound- will span almost two miles in length, six feet high, and approximately 80 feet wide. During flood events, when the risk of invasive carp crossing waterways is highest, the wall will prevent floodwater from mixing. Engineers must be conscientious of native wildlife during construction, being careful not to disrupt hibernation or reproduction events. This can be accomplished by carefully timing the building process. A small berm currently exists at the marsh. The new project will improve upon past efforts.

(Eagle Marsh- Little River Wetlands Project)