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http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=55777.57

City has new nature preserve

From Staff Reports

MICHIGAN CITY - Save the Dunes Conservation Fund has acquired a new nature preserve on Michigan City's east side.

The 66 acres of boreal flatwoods is a coastal wetlands property has boreal relic species such as paper birch, pin cherry, partridgeberry, spotted wintergreen, blueberry, sphagnum moss, white pine and several club mosses.

The Save the Dunes Council said there is no evidence of timbering having taken place on the land. Large trees measured included a 44-inch red oak, 27-inch white pine, 32-inch white oak and 37-inch tulip tree.

The intact tree canopy provides a stopping place for neo-tropical migratory songbirds, as well as home for pileated woodpeckers.

There is an acidic wetland with bog like characteristics on the southwest corner of the northern tract.

This high quality natural area, according to Save the Dunes, becomes part of a linear corridor that connects existing green infrastructure.

Municipal properties adjacent to the new preserve include a mature beech forest called Motts Woods and nearby recreational areas include a golf course and a country club.

Nature preserves such as Ambler Flatwoods and Save the Dunes Conservation Fund's Meer Road Woods are located to the east of this property.

It is bordered on the south by Warnke Road, on the north by Tall Timbers and on the west by Royal Road, said Carol Cook of the Save the Dunes Conservation Fund.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Nature Preserves, owns a Conservation Easement on the property. Funding came through the Indiana Heritage Trust and the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Staff time to pursue this acquisition was provided by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.