SAVE INDIANA
WILDLIFE
SAVE INDIANA WILDLIFE was a semester long research project focused on Indiana wildlife conservation. The campaign consisted of five posters, each focused on a different ecosystem present in Indiana. Each poster features plants and animals considered to be endangered or threatened in the state. Accompanying each poster is a collection of research on these four diverse ecosystems and the wildlife that calls these areas home.
INDIANA DUNES
Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, Indiana Dunes National Park (IDNP) spans 15 miles of shoreline from Gary to Michigan City. The park in its entirety is comprised of 15,000 acres of dunes, oak savannas, marshes, bogs, prairies, rivers and forests. It is ranked 4th in biodiversity amongst the National Parks and houses more than 1,130 different species of native vascular plants, some endemic only to the park. More than 350 different bird species have been found there as well, making it an important home to a variety of migrating land and water birds.
The park was established as a National Lakeshore in 1966, but was only designated as a National Park in 2019, making it one of the country’s newest National Parks. IDNP is also one of the most unique in the NPS, being so close to industry and big cities.
Though IDNP has its own unique combination of ecosystems, the park has been working to restore parts of the extensive Great Kankakee Marsh that once thrived in the Great Lakes Watershed Region. Among other benefits, wetland restoration in the park area would significantly improve water quality. Due to its location on Lake Michigan and its proximity to Chicago, IDNP faces a great deal of pollution. The nearby industry of Chicago and Gary, IN creates excessive air and water pollution, killing fish and damaging existing ecosystems.
The Indiana Dunes is one of the most biodiverse areas in the country and a crucial natural area in the state that must be protected.
INDIANA CAVES
Indiana is home to a massive cave system, running primarily through Southern Indiana. These caves were formed when water dissolved famous Indiana limestone, causing hollow caves to form. There are over 4,000 caves in Southern Indiana, spanning hundreds of miles beneath the surface.
Indiana boasts a unique karst landscape, leading to the formation of caves. The term “karst” refers to an area with the presence of limestone or other soluble rocks, where sinkholes, springs, and caves are very common. The Mitchell Plateau is the largest karst landscape in Indiana and stretches from Owen County south to Harrison County and into Kentucky.
Marengo Cave, located in Marengo, IN, began forming over 1,000,000 years ago. The cave was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1983 and today is the most highly decorated cave in the US Interior Lowlands. The cave itself is 5 miles long, but the surface park covers 122 acres of forest.
Indiana Caverns in Corydon, IN began development in 2012 and opened to the public in 2013. Also known as Binkley Cave, it is the largest cave in the state and 7th largest in the nation. It also houses one of the largest deposits of Ice Age fossils in the state.
Indiana Caves are a large tourist attraction in Southern Indiana, but they come at a cost. Ecotourism and cave tours disrupt the very delicate ecosystems of caves and disturb the wildlife that lives there. In addition to pollution from pesticides and fertilizer that enters through water runoff, human interference has contributed to the spread of White-Nosed Syndrome, an epidemic among bats.
INDIANA FORESTS
When European settlements began in Indiana, roughly 90% (nearly 20,000,000 acres) of the land was forest. By 1900, Indiana was the nation’s leading hardwood producer and forests covered only 7% (less than 2,000,000 acres) of the state. At the time, it was estimated that there would be no forest left in the state by 1930. Legislation for the protection and regeneration of Indiana forests began in 1901, and by the turn of the century forests covered over 20% of the state.
On the doorstep of Bloomington lies Hoosier National Forest (HNF). It first purchased by the Forest Service in 1935 and is one of the few Protected Forests in the state. It comprises about half of the public forest land in Indiana and boasts the only designated wilderness area in the state: Charles C. Deam Wilderness. The northern section of the HNF is in the Brown County Hills, part of the Highland Rim Natural Region. The central and southern section is split between Crawford Upland, Mitchell Karst Plain, and Escarpment areas of the Shawnee Hills Natural Region. The Mitchell Plain is a broad carbonate karst plateau dissected by a few major stream systems that boasts a variety of unique cave habitats, whose wildlife depends upon the surrounding forests.
Climate change affects all ecosystems and environments globally, and forests are especially damaged. In order for Indiana’s forests to regenerate in the coming years, seedlings must survive and grow. Changing climates, water availability, and soil nutrient levels all hurt the viability of new growth. Indiana must prioritize the protection of old growth forests, and limit contributions for deforestation and climate change
INDIANA WETLANDS
Wetlands are one of the most crucial habitats on earth. Wetlands are shallow water deposits and are often accompanied by grasslands surrounding the water. They contain high levels of nutrients that make it a successful and integral habitat, providing food, water, and shelter to several thousand species of wildlife. Wetlands are made up of rivers, marshes, bogs, mangroves, mudflats, ponds, swamps, lakes, and floodplains. Most wetland areas are built of a combination of different systems.
Wetlands have been destroyed across the United States at shocking rates, and wetlands in the state of Indiana are no exception. Indiana used to house one of the largest wetland ecosystems in the country, the Great Kankakee Marsh. The marsh followed the bank of the Kankakee River, which sprawls from South Bend, IN to Momence, IL. It once covered nearly 1,500 sq. mi (nearly 1,000,000 acres). After it was discovered by colonizers in the 1800’s, what was seen as a “dismal wasteland” of marshes was drained into the river to make way for agriculture and industry. The river was drained and straightened as well, and what was one once a 250 mi winding river with over 2,000 bends is now a 90 mi canal.
Without wetlands, thousands of wildlife species would be displaced or become extinct. Food supplies would be disrupted, and human lives would be put at stake due to flood damage and storm surges. It is crucial that U.S. wetlands are protected for the sake of wildlife, the environment, and human wellbeing.