Description
Why You Should Visit
In Porter County, the Valparaiso Moraine is a phenomenon of sand, soil and gravel deposits which run from southern Wisconsin through northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana into west-central Michigan. The tract contains a combination of rolling hills, steep ridges, deep-wooded gorges, muck pockets, potholes, and a natural kettle pond. Several Hoosier families in the area donated land and money for permanent protection of this peaceful preserve and surrounding areas. The area was dedicated as a State Nature Preserve in 1971 and in 1995.
What The Nature Conservancy is Doing/Has Done
One of the few large, unfragmented blocks of forest left in Northwest Indiana, Moraine Nature Preserve offers a valuable habitat to various plant and animal species as well as benefits the communities that surround it. Grown to more than 800 acres from its initial 160, The Nature Conservancy continues to find ways to protect this area from urban sprawl.
Moraine Nature Preserve is owned and managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Division of Nature Preserves. Work done at the preserve is done in partnership with DNR-Lake Michigan Coastal Program, Indiana Heritage Trust, North America Wetland Conservation Act, Indiana Natural Heritage Protection Campaign, Shirley Heinze Land Trust and, the University of Chicago.