Calvert and Porter Woods

Last updated
Calvert and Porter Woods
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) [1]
USA Indiana relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Indiana
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Location within United States
LocationMontgomery County, Indiana
Nearest cityCrawfordsville, Indiana
Coordinates 40°01′23″N86°43′19″W / 40.023°N 86.722°W / 40.023; -86.722
Area40 acres (16 ha)
Designated1974

The Calvert and Porter Woods Nature Preserve is a 40-acre old-growth forest located in Montgomery County, Indiana, near Crawfordsville. Identified as a surviving fragment of virgin Central Hardwood forest, a woodland type that largely vanished in the 1800s, it was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1974. [2]

Description

The old-growth Calvert and Porter Woods Nature Preserve is located on the Tipton Till Plain, a morphological biome that contains mesic soil types and a significant moisture gradient for the preservation of numerous microecosystems. The U.S. National Park Service characterizes the woodlot as a significant tree-mature location for the great blue heron. [2]

Most old-growth forest has vanished from Indiana. Long usage during the Industrial Revolution has ensured that most large trees have been cut down for timber or firewood. On this woodlot, several surviving trees measure over five feet (60 inches) in diameter. The Indiana Division of Forestry classifies the Calvert and Porter land parcel as “40 acres of one of the highest quality old growth woods in the state.” [3]

The Calvert and Porter Woods Nature Preserve is owned by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). As of 2023 IDNR has not, however, taken active steps to encourage visitation to the woods. There is no direct road access to the property parcel, no trails have been built on the woodlot, and prior permission is required for property access. Periodic opportunities create rare, but recurring, opportunities for those who are interested in signing up for a group hike led by a guide with site-oriented experience. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Dunes State Park</span> State park in Indiana, United States

Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, 47 miles (75.6 km) east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Park, a unit of the National Park Service; the NPS owns the water from the ordinary high water mark to 300 feet (91 m) offshore. The 1,530-acre (619.2 ha) Dunes Nature Preserve makes up the bulk of eastern part of the park, and includes most of the park's hiking trails and dune landscape. This was one of the first places Richard Lieber considered when establishing the Indiana State Park system. Like all Indiana state parks, there is a fee for entrance. Indiana Dunes State Park was established in 1925 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park</span> State park in Minnesota, United States

Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park is a state park of Minnesota, US, northeast of Faribault just outside the small town of Nerstrand. The park derives its name from the Big Woods, a large, contiguous forested area covering much of southeast Minnesota prior to the 1840s, when European settlers began to establish farms in the territory, and from Nedstrand in Tysvær, Norway, of which Nerstrand is a namesake. The park and its forest were an outlying 'woods' typical of and similar to the Big Woods proper, which were historically found on the more recent glacier deposits located west of the Cannon River 10 miles (16 km) to the west. Aside from a small waterfall, the outstanding natural feature of the park is the forest itself.

Beall Woods State Park is an Illinois state park on 635 acres (257 ha) bordering the Wabash River and Keensburg in Wabash County, Illinois in the United States. 329 acres (133 ha) of the state park is an old-growth forest designated as a Natural Area by the state of Illinois. The trees within the forest consist overwhelmingly of hardwoods of the former Eastern Woodlands ecosystem. Portions of Beall Woods State Park have been designated a National Natural Landmark as the Forest of the Wabash. The state park was created in 1966. The nearest towns with any sizable commercial infrastructure, including hotels and grocery stores, are Grayville and Mount Carmel. The park does host a small primitive campground and maintains a visitor center which opened in April 2001. The park maintains 6+14 miles (10.1 km) of hiking trails, primarily through the Forest of the Wabash portion of the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve</span> Nature preserve in Evansville, Indiana, US

Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve is a 240-acre (0.97 km2) nature preserve located in Evansville, Indiana. It is a National Natural Landmark and a State Nature Preserve owned by the City of Evansville and operated by the non-profit Wesselman Nature Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks</span> Park district in Central Ohio

The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three citizens appointed to three-year terms without compensation by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave-in-Rock State Park</span> State park in Illinois, United States

Cave-In-Rock State Park is an Illinois state park, on 204 acres (0.83 km2), in the town of Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, Illinois, in the United States. The state park contains the historic Cave-In-Rock, a landmark of the Ohio River. It is maintained by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Pines Forest State Park</span> State park in Illinois, US

White Pines Forest State Park, more commonly referred to as White Pines State Park, is an Illinois state park in Ogle County, Illinois. It is located near the communities of Polo, Mount Morris and Oregon. The 385-acre (156 ha) park contains the southernmost remaining stand of native white pine trees in the state of Illinois, and that area, 43 acres (17 ha), was designated an Illinois Nature Preserve in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlot</span>

A woodlot is a parcel of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation. The term woodlot is chiefly North American; in Britain, a woodlot would be called a wood, woodland, or copse.

Spitler Woods State Natural Area is a 202.5-acre (81.9 ha) state park located adjacent to Mount Zion, Illinois. The state park is located within the Decatur, Illinois metropolitan area. The eastern two-thirds of the state park is a listed Illinois Nature Preserve noted for its old-growth forest grove of white oak and hickory. The park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

Weldon Springs State Park is an Illinois state park; the primary 550-acre (220 ha) area is located near Clinton, Illinois, while a secondary area is located near Monticello, Illinois. The former centers on Salt Creek and the impoundment of a tributary, Weldon Springs, to form Weldon Spring Lake, a reservoir. It is supervised by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Au Sable State Forest</span> State forest on the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, US

The Au Sable State Forest is a state forest in the north-central Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Deer Lick Nature Sanctuary is a protected forest and gorge in Cattaraugus County, New York. The preserve is within Zoar Valley near Gowanda, and is managed by The Nature Conservancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve</span> Protected wetland in Illinois, US

Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve is a parcel of protected wetland property located in Belknap, Illinois, approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Vienna, in Johnson County. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972. As part of the Cache River basin, it is classified as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Davey Woods State Nature Preserve is a 103-acre (42 ha) nature preserve in Champaign County, Ohio. The preserve is classified as an old-growth forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sycamore Land Trust</span> Non-profit land trust

Sycamore Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit member-supported land trust headquartered in Bloomington in the U.S. state of Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest</span> Forest in Indiana, United States

The Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest is an 88-acre oak-hickory forest located in Orange County, Indiana, near Paoli. Identified as a surviving fragment of virgin Central Hardwood forest, a woodland type that largely vanished in the 1800s, it is a National Natural Landmark within the Hoosier National Forest.

The Big Walnut Preserve, also called the Big Walnut Creek Preserve, is a 2,400-acre complex of largely forested lands located in Putnam County, Indiana, near Bainbridge. Identified as a beech–maple forest with a substantial admixture of tulip poplar, the wooded land parcel complex was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1985. The complex is co-managed by the Nature Conservancy and by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

The Fern Cliff Nature Preserve is a 157 acres (64 ha) land parcel of steep and near-vertical rock and stone surfaces located in Putnam County, Indiana, near Greencastle. It is a National Natural Landmark. The Nature Conservancy has custody over this nature preserve, and operates it as a botanical refuge. Parking for the trailhead is at the southwest corner of the Preserve.

References

  1. Protected Area Profile for Calvert and Porter Woods Nature Preserve from the World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved May 23 2023.
  2. 1 2 "National Natural Landmarks: Calvert and Porter Woods Nature Preserve". United States National Park Service . Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  3. "Indiana's Old Growth Forests" (PDF). Indiana Department of Natural Resources . Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  4. "Black Friday Hike At Calvert & Porter Woods, A National Natural Landmark" (Press release). Crawfordsville, Indiana: conservingindiana.org. Central Indiana Land Trust. November 25, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.