All NICHES Properties

Bachner Nature Reserve

Bachner Nature Preserve comprises 28 acres of young and mature woodland and includes ¼ mile of creek frontage at the confluence of Rattlesnake and Sugar Creeks.  Bachner Nature Preserve is adjacent to the Department of Natural Reources Sugar Creek Access, a public access site for paddlers, fihserman and others who want to explore NICHES' Bachner Nature Preserve.

Activities

County: Montgomery

Berkshire-Tarnowski Forest Preserve

Berkshire Tarnowski Forest Preserve is located in the Tipton Till Plain of Indiana along Deer Creek. Sugar maple, cherry, ash, tulip, elm, hackberry, and red oak trees populate the mesic woods. The sedge-fern-forb layer of the forest strata boasts a skunk cabbage seep and displays of spring ephemeral wildflowers.

Much of the northern border along Deer Creek is flanked by mature woods located on a low bluff. The north-central…

Activities

County: Carroll

Black Rock

Black Rock is a 45 acre state dedicated nature preserve, protecting a portion of the very rare sandstone/ siltstone barrens. The southern exposure combined with the thin acid soils slows the growth of trees on the site.

Activities

County: Warren

Carr Island

Carr Island is an island in the Wabash River adjacent to NICHES’ Weiler Leopold Nature Preserve. The island is home to a mature bottomland hardwood forest, with a mixture of silver maple, cottonwood, hackberry, and sycamore along with an understory of sedges and green headed coneflowers. 

Activities

County: Warren

Clegg Memorial Garden

Clegg Garden resides on the hillside overlooking state scenic waterway Wildcat Creek. The slopes feature a rare gravel hill prairie ecosystem. From creekside to hilltop elevation changes 100 feet, making for excellent hiking opportunities along the mile plus of trail. The looping trails meander through oak woodland, gravel hill prairie, riparian corridor, and savanna.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Crow’s Grove

Crow’s Grove features a rare and striking grove of old growth pine. In addition to the pine, the mature trees include:  white, black and shingle oaks, eastern red cedar, and bitternut hickory. The southern flat-top upland comprises a woodland of younger trees: black and shingle oak, black cherry, eastern red cedar, white oak sassafras and ironwood.

Activities

County: Warren

Fisher Oak Savanna Nature Preserve

Black oak savanna dune ridges interspersed with pin oak flatwoods comprise the natural core of Fisher Oak Savanna. In addition to the savanna dune ridges and pin oak flatwoods, NICHES has restored a high quality prairie on the south end of the property.

Pin oak flatwoods, rare in the modern landscape, result in portions of Fisher Oak Savanna being dedicated as an Indiana State Nature Preserve.  Pin…

Activities

County: Jasper

Frank and Ada Beineke Memorial Forest

Frank and Ada Beineke Memorial Forest protects a portion of Indian Creek, which flows through the property north to south. Indian Creek is a great place to look for ebony jewelwing damselflies, cricket frogs and other aquatic denizens.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Frogs’ Glory

The mature oak hickory woodlands feature grey squirrels, turkey, and deer. Spring wildflowers dappling the forest floor include crimson fire pinks, wake robin trilliums, and spring beauties. The prairie bursts with little bluestem, purple and yellow coneflowers; a habitat that invites diverse insect and birdlife. 

Activities

County: Carroll

Gish Property

Low black oak savanna dune ridges interspersed with pin oak flatwoods comprise the natural core of the 36 acre Gish Wildlife Area. In addition to the savanna dune ridges and pin oak flatwoods, NICHES has restored a former hay meadow on the south side of the preserve to a prairie/ wetland mosaic.

Activities

County: Jasper

Gladys & Al Wright Rock Creek Nature Reserve

80-acres situated a mile southeast of West Lebanon in Warren County.  Rock Creek bisects the mostly wooded acreage. The creek runs over bedrock and forms tiny waterfalls in some places; while in others it has cut through sandstone leaving small sculpted cliffs. Eventually, the creek makes its way into the Wabash River.

Activities

County: Warren

Granville Sand Barrens / Roy Whistler Wildlife Area

The wind-blown sand from the bed of the glacial aged Maume Flood on the Wabash River over-topping the rich glacial out-wash of the Wea Plains creates a  very rare and varied interface of substrate that supports a diverse group of native plant and animal species.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Herb and Dortha Parker’s Hickory Grove Farm

The land is a mixture of woods, farm pond and former pasture with trails that welcome exploration of the land and our relationship to the natural world. The property has a private residence that is home to the caretaker of the property, please respect their privacy.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Heron Bottoms

A rich botanic site with skunk cabbage seeps, buttonbush/ blue flag iris openings and rich wet floodplain woods. The nights in the spring offer a cacophony of amphibian calls as the forested wetlands are breeding grounds for spring peepers, chorus frogs, and grey tree frogs.

The downstream end of the property is the USGS Owasco Creek gage.  For information on the best flows for paddling at various points on the…

Activities

County: Carroll

Hewitt Estate

The Hewitt Estate includes 1.7 miles of frontage on both sides of Mud Pine Creek, the largest tributary of Big Pine and a healthy smallmouth bass stream. Along the clear rocky creek, high in the canopy is an active bald eagle nest. A small great blue heron rookery lingers above colorful spring blooms of phlox, columbine and saxifrage that grace the banks.

Activities

County: Warren

Holley Savanna

Rocks, ephemeral ponds, white oaks and hazelnuts all come together at Holley Savanna. The property is 79 acres in total, roughly 69 acres wet to dry woods and 10 acres of high diversity low stature prairie.

Activities

County: Newton

Honey Branch Bluff

Honey Branch Bluff includes a 35 foot sandstone bluff crowned with native white pine and ornamented with red cedar jutting over Big Pine Creek.

Activities

County: Warren

James P. Vacendak Wildlife Reserve

20 acres of woods and wetland, dappled in spring with ephemeral ponds, the James P. Vacendak Wildlife Reserve is a wonderful spot for amphibians. On a cold  early spring night in Newton County, tiger salamanders will crawl from hibernation and head to the recently unfrozen water. The salamanders move is driven by determination to breed in the pin oak wetlands.

Activities

County: Newton

Kohnkes’ Little Pine Valley

A beautiful 33 forested acres in Little Pine Creek valley, Kohnkes’ Little Pine valley sits just a short distance west of NICHES’ Weiler-Leopold Nature Reserve.

Activities

County: Warren

Laura Hare Bend of the Wabash (East & West)

Laura Hare Bend of the Wabash (East & West) protects riparian ecosystems in the floodplain of the Wabash River. Both preserves feature recovering former ag land and forested areas dominated by cottonwoods, sycamores, and honey locusts. Laura Hare Bend of the Wabash (East) contains nearly 30 acres of rare sand barrens habitat that NICHES stewardship is working to reclaim and restore. Both preserves also present an opportunity to expand the…

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

McAllister Woods

McAllister Woods protects woods along the Wildcat, dominated by sycamore and silver maple, as well as a typical mixed hardwood forest on higher ground. 4.4 acres of the land was farmed when the Wildcat Creek Foundation acquired the land in May of 2005 and were reforested with hardwood species. 

Activities

County: Carroll

Mis-So-Lah

Approximately an acre of land, Mis-So-Lah serves as an access point to the State Scenic & Recreation portion of the Northfork of Wildcat Creek; enabling paddlers to put-in for or take-out after a float.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Moyer-Gould Woods

Moyer-Gould Woods is predominantly comprised of open oak woodlands on rolling hills bordering the Tippecanoe River. The property features springs, seeps filled with skunk cabbage, and conglomerate bedrock outcrops with walking ferns and a variety of mosses within the forested matrix.

The bottom land woods along the river features an abundant population of Paw-Paw trees. Listen to the Paw-Paw Audio Story by Living on Earth, Public Radio International’s Environmental…

Activities

County: Carroll

Mulvey Pond

Mulvey Pond  is well known by the local birding community as a hot spot to see waterfowl in spring, snow geese in winter and shorebirds coming through during migration. In fact, Mulvey Pond served was the first place that greater sandhill cranes returned to nest and summer in after being gone from the county for decades as a breeding bird.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Mussel Shoals

Mussel Shoals is an excellent example of riparian zones – stream edge to woodland. The myriad of wildlife and flora reliant on the stream make it an exciting habitat. The water levels change throughout the year, providing evidence of the variable nature of stream ecology.

After grabbing a sandwich and skipping some stones, the gravel bar is a good place to look for spent mussel shells while paddling down the…

Activities

County: Carroll

Parker's Indian Creek Basin

Parker's Indian Creek Basin is a lowland floodplain along the Wabash River, frequently flooded and subject to periods of extreme wet or utter dry, depending on annual rainfall upstream .  The restoration is in progress. During the transition to a forested system, a visit to Parker's Indian Creek provides an educational insight into the scale and scope of restoration and land management.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Pecan Basin: Cates-Clawson Reserve

A 155-acre property edging the Wabash River in southwestern Fountain County that includes 3/8 of a mile of river frontage with mature floodplain forest. The Wabash River floodplain fields, previously in corn/ bean production when NICHES purchased the land, were reforested in 2001.

The restored forest offers a natural buffer along the edge of the river, while providing habitat for native flora and fauna.

North of the parking lot…

Activities

County: Fountain

Peter’s Mill Landing

Peter’s Mill is an access point to the Wildcat Creek; the final access point before the Wabash River, in fact. The site sits just downstream of Peter's Mill Bridge off of Eisenhower Court and across from Clegg Memorial Garden.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Phil and Joan Ferguson Nature Preserve

Ferguson offers rich habitat situated along Kilmore Creek, the most biologically diverse of the Wildcat Creek watershed. The creek hosts mussels, bullfrogs, minnows and various macro-invertebrate species in its waters.

Land along both sides of the creek features an abundant population of Gray’s sedge, which has seed heads that look like medieval maces. Other notable plant species present include American beak grass, several large Pawpaw tree patches (fruit picking…

Activities

County: Clinton

Potawatomi Trail

Potawatomi Trail sits between Ross Hills and Black Rock in Tippecanoe and Warren Counties. The tract of 59 acres brings NICHES closer to our goal of connecting Black Rock and Ross Hills into a permanently secured corridor for wildlife, plants and people to roam unhindered by development.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Rhus Radicans

A 20 acre tract of land along Big Pine. The property features a small mature oak/ hickory woodland on the bluff south of the creek, mature floodplain trees in the riparian corridor, and mature trees along the east and west property lines. A graminoid and forb ground layer is well developed throughout the property.

Activities

County: Warren

Shawnee Bottoms

A wonderfully diverse piece of west-central Indiana landscapes  located in Fountain County along the middle Wabash River, a quarter mile north of Portland Arch, a National Natural Landmark, Shawnee Bottoms is NICHES largest property covering 459 acres evenly balanced between floodplain aka ‘bottoms’ and upland oak woodland.

Shawnee Bottoms features over a mile of frontage on the Wabash River. A section of the old Wabash and Erie Canal, later converted…

Activities

County: Fountain

Shepherd Swamp

Shepherd Swamp is 10 acres of restored wetland habitat to abundant wildlife.  Calling leopard frogs, chorus frogs welcome spring at the Swamp in March/ April, when they can be heard after dusk as they attempt to attract a mate. Garter snakes slither through the grass searching for insects to eat, while red winged balckbirds call from above the swamp.

Activities

County: Jasper

Sixbey

A wooded spot along Indiana State Scenic Waterway, Wildcat Creek. A ‘Wildcat Creek Reflections’ journaling station is present (thanks to volunteer Tabb Adams for designing, constructing and installing it!) for folks who want to contribute to the 100 year long project and voice a connection, insight, observation or idea about the Wildcat Creek. 

Activities

County: Carroll

Snyder Marshall Woods

Snyder Marshall Woods protects mature upland woods, seeps and a stream that is working its way to the Wabash River. The woods are home to white oaks, tulip poplar, beech and wonderful display of wildflowers.

Activities

County: Fountain

Swanson’s Bluff

Swanson’s Bluff is prime example of Big Pine Creek habitat, with examples of oak/ pine woodlands, sandstone bluffs and calcareous seeps.

Activities

County: Warren

The Ranch

The Ranch is a diverse 10 acre sand savanna with upland ridges, sedge marshlands and emergent buttonbush swamp. The Ranch's mixture of habitats was donated with the intent of land being available to the public for their education and appreciation of the beauty of nature.

Activities

County: Jasper

Wabash Bottoms: Janssen Tract

Wabash Bottoms is an example of collaborative conservation: forty-five acres of the seventy-acre property belong to NICHES (marked with property boundary signs). The remaining acreage, the 200 foot strip along the river, and the field south of the NICHES sign, belong to the Tippecanoe County Department of Parks and Recreation, who partnered with us for the acquisition.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Wabash Breaks & Carter's Point

Carter’s Point & Wabash Breaks protect rare gravel hill prairies along Wea Creak near the Wabash River. These properties were protected by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to preserve one of the rarest and ecologically distinct grassland community types in Indiana. Both properties are state dedicated nature preserves. In October 2021, TNC transferred the properties to NICHES Land Trust for their permanent protection and stewardship. Due to limited road access and…

County: Tippecanoe

Walnut Fork Wildlife Refuge

A 33-acre refuge in Montgomery County, located in the northeast corner of Crawfordsville, Walnut Fork Wildlife Refuge features quite diverse native plant and wildlife populations, including upland woods with a vista overlooking the confluence of Sugar Creek and Walnut Fork, a few acres of prairie and a wet area where Walnut Fork used to flow.

Flora present includes abundant blueberry bushes, which support bird life.

Activities

County: Montgomery

Waterworks Portage

Waterworks Portage secures 1.05 acres of land adjacent to the low head dam on Wildcat Creek. NICHES in partnership with Wildcat Guardians built and maintain a portage path allowing paddlers to safely bypass the low head dam and continue to paddling.

Activities

County: Howard

Weaver Family Nature Reserve

Weaver Family Nature Reserve is an island on the Wabash River north of Delphi in Carroll County. The island includes a Great Blue Heron rookery with over 100 nests. Public access is via the river. Please do not disturb the herons during nesting season – late March through June. 

Activities

County: Carroll

Weiler-Leopold Nature Reserve

Situated along the Wabash River in eastern Warren County, the reserve features open oak savannas, wooded slopes, old fields dotted with boulders deposited by glaciers and a wonderful space to connect with nature. Among the natural area are 100+ acres of bottom-lands planted with trees in May of 2000 returned to native forest habitat, and a 12-acre grassland area restored to native tall grass prairie.

Activities

County: Warren

Whistler Hare Woods

Whistler Hare Woods lies on the south bank of Big Shawnee Creek’s tumble and flow on its way to the Wabash River. The banks of the creek are wooded and rise steeply with exposures of sandstone bedrock faces to over 90’ above the creek. The dry acid soils on the bluffs are home to eastern white pine, white oaks, partridge berries and witch hazel.

Activities

County: Fountain

Whistler Woods

Situated along the Deer Creek, Whistler Woods offers majestic views. Looking from atop the slate hillside down into the Deer Creek valley affords views of the meandering creek and forested creek valley. The trail leads down to the valley and up to the edge of the creek. Across the creek, a slate wall with water dripping from seeps gives a zen garden like feel to the property.

Evidence of…

Activities

County: Carroll

Williams Woods

Williams Woods protects forested and restored prairie lands along Possum Run in western Warren County, near the historic interface of the grand prairie and oak woodlands. Possum Run is a gravel bottom stream winding between lowlands and till banks on its way to the Wabash River.

The land includes upland oak-dominated woods and restored prairie on the western bank of Possum Run and lower mixed hardwood forest to the…

Activities

County: Warren

Wise Island

Wise Island is a two acre island in the middle of the Wabash River in northeast corner of Tippecanoe county, near Americus. The island is comprised of silver maples, cottonwoods and NETTLES. Abundant bird life visit or nest on the island, including Belted Kingfishers and Bald Eagles.

Activities

County: Tippecanoe

Yeoman Bridge

An access point to the State Scenic & Recreation Waterway Wildcat Creek allows paddlers to put-in for or take-out after a float. 

Activities

County: Howard