Home > Homepage > Newsroom

Category: Homepage

Rocky Hollow Canyon photo by John Bacone

Nature-Inspired Poetry by Board Member John Bacone

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Nature-Inspired Poetry by Board Member John Bacone

April is National Poetry Month, and when we saw this poem in a recent Indiana Parks Alliance e-newsletter, we knew we had to share it. No one has protected more natural areas in Indiana than John Bacone, director of the DNR Division of Nature Preserves for 40 years. A winter visit to Turkey Run, one of Indiana’s most iconic state parks, brought out his inner poet.

Continue reading →

John Bacone

Secretary

Board member John Bacone retired in 2019 after 40 years as the Director of the Division of Nature Preserves with Indiana DNR. 
Cliff reading Kingbird Highway

Cliff’s Book Rec: Kingbird Highway

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Cliff’s Book Rec: Kingbird Highway

Part 9 of our winter “Staff Picks” series 

I decided to revisit one of my favorite books for this series. I first read Kingbird Highway in 1998, when I was just starting my career and getting interested in birds. The book describes a young man’s passion for birds, but more than that, it is a chronicle of living on the road. Kenn Kaufman hitchhiked across the country in 1973, setting the North American bird record for the most North American bird species seen in one year.

Continue reading →

Cliff Chapman

President and CEO

cchapman@conservingindiana.org
317.525.3329
As President and CEO, Cliff keeps our focus on good science and stewardship. He’s mindful that the natural places you love took thousands of years to evolve and could be destroyed in a single day, and that knowledge drives his dedication to their protection.
Grace reading North Woods

Grace’s Book Rec: North Woods

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Grace’s Book Rec: North Woods

Part 5 of our winter “Staff Picks” series 

North Woods is a novel written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason. It was easily my favorite read of 2024. The story begins on a plot of land in northern Massachusetts, and remains in the exact same spot for hundreds of years. Starting with a pair of runaway lovers in the 1600s, we bear witness to the North Woods’ changes through the context of natural succession and human interaction.

Continue reading →

Grace van Kan

White River Steward

gvankan@conservingindiana.org
312.286.2484
Grace grew up roaming the woods, creeks and wetlands around the Chesapeake Bay watershed. From an early trout-raising project to a “gap year” spent restoring coral reefs in Thailand, her interest in aquatic conservation has only grown. Now she cares for several riverine nature preserves as CILTI’s White River Steward.
Larimer Fen photo by John Brittenham

Habitat protected for one of North America’s rarest butterflies, other endangered species

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Habitat protected for one of North America’s rarest butterflies, other endangered species

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Indiana’s only site for Mitchell’s satyr, a species on the brink of extinction, safe from development

The purchase of a 13-acre property containing a high-quality wetland in northern Indiana will help to protect one of the rarest species in the U.S. Continue reading →

Jen Schmits Thomas

Media Relations

Jen@jtprinc.com
317-441-2487
An award-winning communicator and recognized leader in Central Indiana’s public relations community, Jen helps us tell our story in the media. She is the founder of JTPR, which she and her husband John Thomas own together.
James Todd

Why I Donate to CILTI

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Why I Donate to CILTI

Guest post by James Todd

I support the Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) because it is a local agency that does the important work of protecting and preserving what remains of our natural environment. Because CILTI is local to Central Indiana, I believe that my donations have a large impact on our local areas. Continue reading →

James Todd

Guest Blogger

James Todd is a 67-year-old retiree who enjoys hiking, camping, and kayaking. He is a proud supporter of Central Indiana Land Trust.
Karen Wade in Betley Woods at Glacier's End

“Just imagine the vastness of our state’s natural heritage”

Posted on | Leave a Comment on “Just imagine the vastness of our state’s natural heritage”

Guest post by Karen Wade

As a mostly-native plant gardener, I can often be found in my backyard on hands and knees tending pots of pawpaw seedlings, tucking soil around newly planted native spicebushes, or just hanging out on the back step marveling at how the bumblebees manage to squirm their oversize wiggle bottoms inside the white turtlehead blossoms. My suburban yard in town won’t win any garden club prizes, but I hope it provides my friends and neighbors with a glimpse of what native gardening can look like, and the ecosystem benefits it bestows. Continue reading →

Karen Wade

Board Member

Before retiring, CILTI board member Karen Wade worked for Eli Lilly & Co. In retirement she volunteers for a number of organizations, including the Indiana Master Naturalist program, Johnson County Native Plant Partnership CISMA, Meadowstone Therapeutic Riding Center, and Leadership Johnson County.
Photo from Fern Station by Dana Maddox

Double Down for Nature!

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Double Down for Nature!

Get ready to double your impact! We’re pleased to share that the Efroymson Family Fund is bringing us another generous year-end challenge. Every donation up to $250,000 will be matched dollar for dollar! Your gift can go twice as far for nature in Central Indiana—but only if it’s made by midnight on December 31, 2024. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Director

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Meltzer Woods photo by Kyle Doles

A Heart for Nature

Posted on | Leave a Comment on A Heart for Nature

In honor of Estate Planning Awareness Week, we are giving another shout-out to our Burr Oak Society members. These dedicated individuals have included the land trust in their estate plans. But Central Indiana Land Trust is not the true beneficiary. Indiana’s natural spaces are. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Director

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Sandstone arch in the Lowe Tract, Hoosier National Forest

CILTI buys inholding of Hoosier National Forest to return to forest

Posted on | Leave a Comment on CILTI buys inholding of Hoosier National Forest to return to forest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Purchase prevents housing development from going into middle of national forest

The Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) has closed on the purchase of 80 acres in Orange County that will eventually be added to the Hoosier National Forest. The property, known as the Lowe tract, was purchased at auction last month from private owners for $541,000. Continue reading →

Jen Schmits Thomas

Media Relations

Jen@jtprinc.com
317-441-2487
An award-winning communicator and recognized leader in Central Indiana’s public relations community, Jen helps us tell our story in the media. She is the founder of JTPR, which she and her husband John Thomas own together.
Callery pear flowering in a field bordering a nature preserve

White blossoms mask the new ‘silent spring’ threat

Posted on | Leave a Comment on White blossoms mask the new ‘silent spring’ threat

by Cliff Chapman
President, Central Indiana Land Trust

Those white-flowering trees you see along the highways and in neighborhoods throughout Central Indiana might seem like a welcome harbinger of spring, but they actually represent a threat similar to one recognized more than 60 years ago in the landmark book Silent Spring. Continue reading →

Cliff Chapman

President and CEO

cchapman@conservingindiana.org
317.525.3329
As President and CEO, Cliff keeps our focus on good science and stewardship. He’s mindful that the natural places you love took thousands of years to evolve and could be destroyed in a single day, and that knowledge drives his dedication to their protection.