With its recent acquisition of 193 acres along the Allen and DeKalb county line, ACRES Land Trust now permanently protects a large chunk of the area’s most prominent natural feature.
Earlier this week, ACRES announced they secured four separate properties along the Cedar Creek corridor. The area is under heavy development, and with this latest acquisition, the non-profit organization brings 1,000 acres of it under its protection.
Cedar Creek is one of only three rivers in Indiana designated under the Indiana Natural, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers Act, a designation ACRES Land Trust helped the waterway earn in 1976, according to the organization.
Heather Barth, ACRES director of fund development, says that the organization has been preserving property in that area since the 1980s.
“This area of the state actually has been kind of on the radar for its natural significance since the early 1990s. It was once considered a location for a state park,” she said.
Some of this new land is still being farmed, and ACRES will continue to do so in order to collect the income while they plan a restoration for the corridor.
“ACRES is really proud and excited to continue this work along this unique natural feature, this tunnel valley of Cedar Creek that actually feels into Huntertown aquifer,” Barth said.
A unique $1 million matching award from Indiana’s Bicentennial Nature Trust helped ACRES with this recent project. About $97,000 is still needed to complete the match for the Cedar Creek land.
