A recent land transfer makes the leader of Shirley Heinze Land Trust excited for the future, he said, especially as it expands the preservation organization’s footprint. “It fits nicely into some of the areas that the land conservation community and the Shirley Heinze Land Trust are focused on p reserving,” Executive Director Kris Krouse said. “These preserves will be a welcome addition to some of the other places that we’re protecting, particularly in LaPorte County.” Save the Dunes transferred several conservation properties to Shirley Heinze Land Trust, the organizations announced on Monday. The properties include Sebert Forks and Trail Creek Fen preserves in Michigan City, Stockwell Woods and adjacent land in Long Beach, and “other smaller properties” in Gary and Lake Station. Shirley Heinze Land Trust has permanently preserved 4,000 acres across Northwest Indiana in the past 45 years, Krouse said. The properties in the recent land transfer allow the organization to preserve some of the region’s unique habitats, including sand dunes, wetlands and forested areas. The transfer took about one year to complete, and Betsy Maher, executive director of Save the Dunes, said the process was “quite time-consuming.” Representatives from the two groups recently completed paperwork for the transfer, but before that, they went through site visits and received approval from board members. “It’s a great feeling to be done,” Maher said. “And even though they’re not the official owners, we still care deeply about these properties and plan to come alongside Shirley Heinze in the ongoing stewardship for them, should they need that.” Shirley Heinze Land Trust is one of Save the Dunes’ closest conservation partners, Maher said, and a few of the LaPorte County properties have been co-managed between the two organizations for years. The Shirley Heinze Land Trust helped Save the Dunes with invasive species management and to identify conservation priorities. “In recent years, Save the Dunes has really been focusing our energy on supporting the national park,” Maher said. “So, we decided to make this strategic decision to transfer these lands to Shirley Heinze for their permanent protection so that we could focus on energies elsewhere.” The two executive directors believe that collaboration is crucial for preservation nonprofits in Northwest Indiana. “We live in a pretty complex and fragmented geography that has abundant and just spectacular natural resources,” Krouse said. “Our partnership with Save the Dunes and other organizations is why and how we’ve been able to effectively fulfill our mission.” Krouse believes the partnership will continue to benefit the Shirley Heinze Land Trust as the organization expands into new communities. “I think our mission will continue to be more and more relevant for the border community and residents in the region,” he said. “As they get to know more about places we’ve protected, explore these natural lands and have really good public access available, I would say that we’ll just continue to expand.” [email protected] ...read more read less