Indiana’s last habitat for rare butterfly protected

Indiana’s only remaining habitat for the endangered Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, one of the world’s rarest butterflies, is now permanently protected thanks to quick action by Central Indiana Land Trust.

The accredited land trust worked with partners to purchase the 13-acre high-quality wetland in northern Indiana from private owners for $380,000, protecting the butterfly’s habitat until the Indiana Department of Natural Resources can acquire the land when funding comes available.

Central Indiana Land Trust’s Evergreen Fund for Nature made the rapid transaction possible. Donors contribute to the fund to provide ready capital for the land trust when critical land is for sale. The land trust will sell the land to the state at a discount once DNR is ready to purchase it.

The property is a rare peat-bearing wetland known as a fen, a habitat that takes thousands of years to develop. This fen is also home to rare dragonflies and turtles, as well as plants and wildflowers. Central Indiana Land Trust will bring in a butterfly expert from Michigan to set up protocols for future surveys of Mitchell's satyr butterflies in the fen.

“Even though the site will never be open to the public, I believe saving part of our natural heritage increases overall quality of life in Indiana,” said Cliff Chapman, president of Central Indiana Land Trust. “It’s wonderful to know that places like this still exist.”

This article originally appeared in Saving Land, Spring 2025 (Vol. 44 No. 2).