July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

New project needs support

Back in the Saddle

By JACK RONALD
Publisher emeritus

Barry Banks was on the phone.

And, as is usual for Barry, he was a little wound up.

Banks is director of the Red-tail Conservancy, a land trust that has been active in east central Indiana for years but one that hasn't yet taken on a project in Jay County.

Most of the land trust work - which involves setting aside land as nature preserves in perpetuity - done locally has involved Acres Inc., an outfit out of Allen County. It was Acres that the late Louis "Sam" Bibler worked with to establish two nature preserves in Madison Township in the late 1980s.

Other nature preserves in the county, with the exception of the Kantner Reserve near Boundary City, have tended to involve the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The largest of those is the Loblolly Marsh Wetland Preserve along county road 250 West north of Ind. 18.

There are other land trusts active in the state, including the nationally-known Nature Conservancy.

Connie and I have had a bit of involvement with Red-tail over the years and have kidded Barry that he needed to find a project in Jay County.

The reason for his excitement was that he has come close.

The property isn't in Jay County, but it's darned close. And it's closer to Redkey and Dunkirk than the Loblolly Marsh.

Red-tail has an opportunity to buy a 24-acre property along the Mississnewa River east of Albany in northwestern Randolph County. It's about a mile downstream from a 400-acre wildlife area established by the DNR.

It's also, according to one DNR ecologist, a "biological hotspot, a last refuge for native life, both aquatic and terrestrial, plants and animals."

On top of that, it's being made available at pretty much a bargain price: $22,000.

If I understood Barry correctly, the conservancy has already raised about $19,000. But it has to raise the rest by Aug. 31 or the opportunity will be lost.

Support has already come in from the Ball Brothers Foundation, but it's going to take an extra push to meet the goal in the limited amount of time available. I kidded Barry that he needs a project a few miles farther north to win real Jay County support, but he's hoping this one's close enough for now.

If you're interested in helping, phone (765) 288-2587 or go to Red-tail's Web site at www.fortheland.org.[[In-content Ad]]
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