More Stories of Recovery

Bald Eagle Nest at Beanblossom Bottoms

Bald eagle populations had declined dramatically by the 1960s. Bans on hunting and the insecticide DDT followed by reintroduction programs helped reestablish healthy and self-sustaining populations in Indiana and across the U.S. Bald eagles are now a common sight at many of our preserves, including Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve in Monroe County. Barbara Restle donated the first parcel of this preserve complex in 1993 after being inspired by seeing a bald eagle there. A bald eagle pair has nested at Beanblossom Bottoms for 20 years, resiliently rebuilding their nest three times so far. The current nest is visible north of the first boardwalk section; a break in the bushes about 400 feet past the entrance gives a good view. Sycamore staff have spotted a second large nest near the Swamp Deck, and wonder if it may be another eagle nest. See if you can spot it, and stay tuned for updates!

Wild Turkeys Using Our Restored Habitat

A conservation success story, wild turkeys were almost hunted to extinction in Indiana by around 1900. But from the 1950s through 2004, more than 2,700 birds were released around the state by the Indiana DNR and their populations began to recover. They are now a common sight on many of our nature preserves, including in our newly-restored wetland habitat in the Sam Shine Foundation Preserve in Monroe County.

Bobcats on our Wildlife Cameras

Our state’s only remaining native wildcat, the bobcat, was nearly extirpated in Indiana due to hunting, trapping, and loss of habitat. Bobcats were listed as state endangered until 2005 and these protections allowed the bobcats to slowly begin to recover. These days we spot them on nearly every wildlife camera on our nature preserves along Beanblossom Creek, including crossing this beaver dam at Shine. Bobcat hunting and trapping was made legal again in Indiana in March 2024. The protected habitat at our nature preserves is vital to aid their ongoing recovery.

River Otters in our new Wetlands

Otters had completely disappeared from Indiana waterways by 1942 due to habitat loss and hunting, until the Indiana DNR began a reintroduction program in 1995. Their populations are now rebounding across Indiana, and we even spotted two in August in our newly-created wetlands at the Sam Shine Foundation Preserve. We are excited whenever we see them in the habitat we protect. One of our wildlife cameras at Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve recently captured footage of a river otter.

Monitoring Marsh Birds to Aid their Recovery

Blue-Winged Teal at Shine

This spring, the newly-constructed wetlands at the Sam Shine Foundation Preserve was established as a marsh bird monitoring site by the Indiana DNR’s Division of Fish & Wildlife. This project monitors secretive marsh birds that inhabit remote and often inaccessible wetlands, with the goal of creating recommendations on land management practices to benefit them. The inaugural year of surveys at Shine resulted in 37 marsh bird detections, including blue-winged teal, sora, swamp sparrow, and the state-endangered least bittern. The state-endangered Virginia rail was spotted in our protected wetlands at the future home of our Carl Ziegler Wetlands & Education Center.

Sycamore’s First Research Grant Advances Kirtland’s Snake and Cypress Firefly Conservation

Photo by Chris Fox

A grant from the Indianapolis Zoological Society, Inc. has enabled Sycamore to contribute valuable scientific data about new populations of the state-endangered Kirtland’s snake (Clonophis kirtlandii) found on our preserves along Beanblossom Creek, including their presence in remnant areas adjacent to agriculture fields. What we are learning is helping the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service determine whether to grant Kirtland’s snakes protected status as a federally-endangered species.

More Restored Wetland Habitat Coming Soon

Sycamore is constructing two more restored wetlands in the Beanblossom Creek Conservation Area, at the Walls parcel of the Shine nature preserve complex this fall, and at our new Oliver Preserve near Beanblossom Bottoms next year. These projects are funded by the National Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program and Wetland Reserve Easements. We are also in the process of obtaining a Wetland Reserve Easement for a protected parcel connected to Beanblossom Bottoms, where we plan to restore even more wetlands, bottomland forests, and native vegetation grown from local seed we sustainably harvested on our preserves.

The Shine Grasslands in Bloom

Photo by John Lawrence

Grasslands are one of the rarest and most threatened habitat types in Indiana, and many endangered species like barn owls depend on it for survival. So far we’ve restored over 100 acres of native grassland and meadow habitat at the Sam Shine Foundation Preserve. Black-eyed Susans are already blooming only one year after this field was seeded with native species

Photos by Wyatt Downey

This article is from the Fall 2024 issue of The Twig, “The Indiana Bat Issue.” Read the issue at sycamorelandtrust.org/twig.