Elkhart nature preserve expanded

INDIANAPOLIS — The Natural Resources Commission has approved an addition to the Elkhart Bog Nature Preserve in Elkhart County. The commission voted to add just over 57 acres of land to the existing 159 acres.

The move expands the protected area of bog and accompanying rare species, along with dry forest and restored sand prairie. The large wetland formed on top of a glacial lake where sedges and sphagnum moss grew across the lake and formed a floating mat of plants. 

The addition will allow for more area for purple pitcher plants, bog rosemary, green adder’s mouth orchids, along with sandhill cranes, spotted turtles and marsh wrens. The Department of Natural Resources owns more than 160 acres of the bog, and ACRES purchased a 25-acre parcel in 2018 to help enclose the bog to help with nesting turtles and other wildlife.