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    Gaining Ground

    Indiana

    158,999

    Acres Protected

    That’s about 120,454 football fields!

    Land trusts have already conserved 61 million acres of private land across the nation — more than all of the national parks combined. Help us conserve another 60 million acres by the end of the decade.

    Together, let’s keep Gaining Ground.

    Visitors to Land Trust Properties

    84,881

    Visitors in 2020, more than triple that of 2015.

    Percent of Land Trusts That Provide Public Access to Their Lands

    100%

    Land trusts provide opportunities to recreate and recharge.

    Number of People Served

    29,710

    Land trusts provide programs and activities to get people outside and learn about the land.

    Miles of Trails

    127

    Walking, hiking and other outdoor recreation improve people's health and well-being.

    Miles With Universal Access

    29

    Universal access trails are designed to be used by all people, regardless of ability.

    Percent of Land Trusts Who Increased Community Engagement in the Last Five Years

    83%

    Land Trusts Are Deepening Relationships With:

    • People from various racial and ethnic backgrounds

    • Older adults or those living in retirement communities

    • People who identify as LGBTQ+

    • People living with disabilities

    • Veterans

    Land Trusts Are Helping Address Community Needs, Including:

    • Youth education and development

    • Community and economic development

    • Food security and agriculture

    • Health and wellness

    • Social and environmental justice

    Demographics

    Every land trust is as unique as the community it serves.

    Indiana land trusts are community-led and supported and protect lands and waters that help the entire state.

    Active Land Trusts

    22

    A land trust is a nonprofit that conserves land by acquiring and stewarding land or conservation easements.

    Learn more about land trusts
    Alliance Member Land Trusts

    16

    Land Trust Alliance members commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.

    Learn about the land trust alliance
    Accredited Land Trusts

    4

    Accredited land trusts undergo a thorough review of their practices in governance, finance, transactions and stewardship.

    Learn about land trust accreditation

    People

    • 6,933

    • 1,634

    • 38

    • 14

    • 229

    Land Trust Longevity

    • 64 years old (1960)

    • 14 years old (2010)

    • 30 years old

    State Association
    Indiana Land Protection Alliance
    View website
    Percent of Land Trusts Who Increased Focus on Climate Change in the Last Five Years

    58%

    Percent of Land Trusts Receiving Funding to Address Climate Change

    8%

    Land Protected

    There has been a 41% increase in Indiana land protected by land trusts since 2010.

    Acre by acre, land trusts are helping to conserve Indiana lands, waters and ways of life.

    2010
    2015
    2020
    Total acres protected
    112,595
    145,265
    158,999
    +41%
    Under easement
    19,928
    21,613
    26,732
    +34%
    Owned
    38,992
    46,699
    58,231
    +49%
    Acquired and reconveyed
    31,891
    37,241
    37,499
    +18%
    Protected by other means
    21,784
    35,018
    36,537
    +68%

    Disclaimer: Land trusts conserve land in many different ways and every project is unique. Category totals may change depending on how acres are reported by survey respondents to reflect the most current data and minimize double-counting. In some instances, the total may be greater than the sum of the separate categories due to organizations that provided total acres not broken down by category.

    Percent of Land Owned and Under Easement Held by an Accredited Land Trust

    61%

    Source: 2020 National Land Trust Census

    Total Public Funding for Conservation From 1998-2017

    $174 million

    Source: Trust for Public Land's Conservation Almanac

    Acres of Land Lost to Development From 2012-2017

    48,300

    Source: NRCS - Natural Resources Inventory

    This information reflects data collected in the National Land Trust Census, the longest-running comprehensive survey of private land conservation in America. Learn more about the Census and see which land trusts participated in the 2020 National Land Trust Census.

    Making a Difference

    Indiana land trusts are gaining ground.

    Land trusts across the state are helping find solutions to some of Indiana's most pressing issues.

    • Conserving wildlife habitat: Bats are invaluable to North American ecosystems for their role in eating insects and saving plants and trees from damage and disease. But white-nose syndrome, the fast-moving fungal disease, has decimated North American bats in recent years. Thanks to the accredited Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc., struggling bat species have a new protected haven in Vermillion County along a mile-long stretch of the Wabash River known as Wabash Reach

      Read more

    • Equitable land access: To share its Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve, Sycamore Land Trust recently renovated a 2.5-mile loop trail, which has a compacted gravel surface with boardwalk sections made from plastic resin decking in the wettest areas and treated lumber where flooding is less frequent. The boardwalk has a grade of less than 10% per 15 feet, with three observation decks and six turnarounds for wheelchairs.

      Read more

    Land Trusts Working in Indiana

    Land Trust Alliance member land trusts, listed below, commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.

    Access Fund
    Access Fund
    Boulder, CO
    American Farmland Trust
    American Farmland Trust
    Northampton, MA
    173 acres protected in IN
    Broad Water Innovations
    Broad Water Innovations
    Richmond, VA
    Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc.
    Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc.
    Indianapolis, IN
    6,087 acres protected in IN
    Clear Lake Township Land Conservancy, Inc.
    Clear Lake Township Land Conservancy, Inc.
    Fremont, IN
    123 acres protected in IN
    Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
    Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
    Memphis, TN
    Friends of the Panhandle Pathway, Inc.
    Friends of the Panhandle Pathway, Inc.
    Winamac, IN
    2,660 acres protected in IN
    George Rogers Clark Land Trust
    George Rogers Clark Land Trust
    Charlestown, IN
    525 acres protected in IN
    La Porte County Conservation Trust
    La Porte County Conservation Trust
    La Porte, IN
    85 acres protected in IN
    Little River Wetlands Project
    Little River Wetlands Project
    Fort Wayne, IN
    1,324 acres protected in IN
    Mud Creek Conservancy, Inc.
    Mud Creek Conservancy, Inc.
    Indianapolis, IN
    61 acres protected in IN
    National Park Trust
    National Park Trust
    Rockville, MD
    32 acres protected in IN
    Oak Heritage Conservancy
    Oak Heritage Conservancy
    Hanover, IN
    1,155 acres protected in IN
    Ouabache Land Conservancy
    Ouabache Land Conservancy
    Terre Haute, IN
    802 acres protected in IN
    Oxbow, Inc.
    Oxbow, Inc.
    Lawrenceburg, IN
    1,600 acres protected in IN
    Red-tail Land Conservancy
    Red-tail Land Conservancy
    Muncie, IN
    2,736 acres protected in IN
    Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc.
    Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc.
    Valparaiso, IN
    2,719 acres protected in IN
    Sycamore Land Trust
    Sycamore Land Trust
    Bloomington, IN
    10,363 acres protected in IN
    The Conservation Fund
    The Conservation Fund
    Arlington, VA
    3,322 acres protected in IN
    The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust
    The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust
    Washington, DC
    63 acres protected in IN
    The Nature Conservancy
    The Nature Conservancy
    Arlington, VA
    95,443 acres protected in IN
    The Trust for Public Land, National Office
    The Trust for Public Land, National Office
    San Francisco, CA
    1,741 acres protected in IN
    Three Valley Conservation Trust
    Three Valley Conservation Trust
    Oxford, OH
    100 acres protected in IN
    Wood Land Lakes RC&D Land Trust
    Wood Land Lakes RC&D Land Trust
    Middlebury, IN
    11,288 acres protected in IN
    Woodland Savanna Land Conservancy
    Woodland Savanna Land Conservancy
    Valparaiso, IN
    118 acres protected in IN