Right in Our Region
(ACRES Land Trust photo)
ACRES Land Trust: For Today & Forever
This aerial photo shows the Cedar Creek Corridor north of Fort Wayne. This is the only natural space in Allen County where people can see how Indiana looked before European settlement. ACRES Land Trust protects more than 1,000 acres within the corridor and its partners protect an additional 500 acres.
By Janine Pumilia
B
efore Indiana was settled by pioneers, about 85 percent of it was forest – some 19.8 million acres. By 1900, just 7 percent was forest – about 2 million acres – and people were growing alarmed. The state began setting aside remnant natural areas, but most land was already cleared and converted into privately owned farms and pastures. By mid-century, Indiana forest had rebounded to 17 percent, but state leaders weren’t buying property for preservation. So, in 1960, a group of citizens founded Allen County Reserves (ACRES) to preserve and restore some natural spaces. They ushered the Nature Preserve Act through the Indiana General Assembly in 1967, making it easier for non-profit private organizations to protect natural spaces in their local communities. ACRES was now able to guarantee private landowners that properties donated or sold to it would never be developed. “We formed at a time when public money wasn’t being spent for land preservation,” explains Jason Kissel, executive director of ACRES Land Trust, a member-supported non-profit that today serves 27 counties in northeast Indiana, northern Ohio 16
Smart Living Fort Wayne
and southern Michigan. “The ACRES founders said, ‘Let’s try to achieve land preservation through the private route,’ and that’s what we’ve been doing ever since,” says Kissel. “No taxpayer money is used to purchase and manage the 100-plus properties we own today.” About 25 percent of those properties were donated to ACRES and another 25 percent were purchased at market value. The remainder were purchased at a discount. Private owners receive tax benefits for donations and discounts offered to ACRES. “Owners love the fact that the land they sell or donate to us will be preserved forever,” says Kissel. “We work with community leaders to identify properties with unique geological formations (like Hanging Rock in Wabash County) or places with rare and endangered species or places with strong social histories that make them iconic in their communities.” Today, ACRES Land Trust employs nine full-time staff who, along with four summer interns and a cadre of volunteers, work to protect and manage 7,269 acres, a number that grows each year. About half of the acres are accessible to the public.
November 2021 • I To Advertise Call 260-212-8968
