The Hobart Nature District is located in the city of Hobart, Indiana and includes over of scenic parks, wetlands and floodplains, winding rivers, peaceful lakes, open prairies, oak savannas, old-growth forests, and undulating ravines.
The name of the Hobart Nature District was officially established by resolution of the Common Council of the City of Hobart, Indiana on July 19, 2017, but the natural areas within the district have been in various states of accessibility and restoration for decades. The resolution by the City Council affirmed the phrase "Hobart Nature District" was the best way to refer to all of the areas contained within the Hobart Marsh Plan which was established by the city in 2013.
The concept behind the Hobart Marsh Plan, which contains the areas now referred to as the Hobart Nature District, has been to capitalize on the extensive areas of native prairie, wetlands and woodlands creating a unique attraction for passive recreation enabling visitors the opportunity to experience local flora and fauna. The Hobart Marsh Plan has sought to connect numerous conservation lands managed by various local partner organizations. It also builds upon the growing regional bike trail network with the potential to become an eco-tourism destination, providing access to many other natural and cultural attractions in the region.
The Hobart Marsh area has been cited as a critical habitat for nine state threatened or rare plant species, Blanding's turtle (state endangered), over 40 state endangered, threatened and rare insect species, four state endangered bird species, and five high quality natural communities.
While the phrasing "Hobart Nature District" only became official as of 2017, following the amendment of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Hobart to include the Hobart Marsh Plan in 2013, conservation efforts and the early steps toward establishment of natural areas within the district date back to as early as 1989 when official support first began to formulate for the preservation of these special places. That initial support led to the establishment of the "Hobart Prairie Grove" that was added to the National Park System as part of a 1992 expansion of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (renamed the Indiana Dunes National Park in 2019).
History
1980s 1988
In 1988 Tom Post, with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Nature Preserve, visited a property that would later in1996 be officially named McCloskey Burr Oak Savanna. Prior to the visit by Tom Post of the Indiana DNR, Terry McCloskey found out that there was going to be a timber harvest at the property and along with his father, Raymond McCloskey, purchased the properly to keep it from being logged. After visiting the property Mr. Tom Post began the process of recommending the property be purchased by the Indiana DNR and dedicated as a nature preserve to protect the mesic savanna natural community. 1989
Hobart Mayor Margaret Kuchta testified in support of adding the Hobart Prairie Grove as a part of the National Park system during hearings on a bill submitted by Congressman Pete Visclosky in 1989. The Hobart City Council also passed a resolution endorsing the proposal. David Canright of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter presented written testimony dated September 27, 1989 to the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, National Parks, and Forests in support of S.2882, a Bill to Enhance The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, that cites the importance of including Hobart Prairie Grove in the expansion.
1990s 1990
Hobart Mayor Margaret Kuchta sent a letter to Senator Dale Bumpers, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Lands and signed a proclamation on September 5, 1990, from the Office of the Mayor in support of the Hobart Prairie Grove. The proclamation phrasing noted the Hobart Prairie Grove as a "unique area containing rare and threatened or endangered species" and "preservation of this beautiful natural area will add an important cultural resource to enhance the strength and value of the Hobart community." It further noted, "members of the City Council of Hobart, Indiana are in favor of including the Hobart Prairie Grove in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore" and proclaimed the City of Hobart's "support of the Hobart Prairie Grove in the Dunes National Lakeshore expansion bill." Senator Dan Coats spoke and submitted a prepared statement in the United States Senate during the second session of the 101st Congress where he noted the significance of the Hobart Prairie Grove as one of the "few remaining unspoiled prairie forests in the midwest" containing rare plants and wildlife. A letter of support was written by local ecologist Sandy O'Brien to be included as part of the record of testimony on S 2882, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Access and Enhancement Act. The letter was addressed to the Honorable Dale Bumpers, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Lands, National Parks and Forests as part of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The letter provided detailed information relating the geological relationship to the dunes, the ecological quality, and plant diversity found at the Hobart Prairie Grove. A letter of support was written by Kim Klimek, president of the Deep River Nature Society, to be included as part of the record of testimony on S 2882, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Access and Enhancement Act. In the letter she noted the Hobart Prairie Grove was of National Park Service quality, having been surveyed by several botanists including Dr. Gerould Wilhelm who had done major botanical surveys of all the Lakeshore units and John Bacone, Director of Indiana's Department of Natural Resources. The Hobart Prairie Grove was noted as being the largest and best tallgrass savanna remnant in Indiana and the last chance to preserve the natural heritage according to experts. It letter also noted adjacent wetlands were evaluated by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and rated in the 1979 Technical Report No. 303 as #1 priority for acquisition in the Lake Michigan watershed. In November 1990, the property now known as the McCloskey Burr Oak Savanna was purchased by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources from the McCloskey family. The property would later take its official name officially be dedicated as a State of Indiana nature preserve later in December 1996. 1991
Legislation sponsored by Congressman Pete Visclosky was approved by the U.S. House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs that would expand the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The legislation would direct the National Park Service to purchase 11 tracts of land in Lake, Laporte, and Porter counties, including the acres known as Hobart Prairie in Hobart. Indiana Senators Richard Lugar and Dan Coats introduce a bill to expand the Indiana National Lakeshore which include the Hobart Prairie Grove. An Indiana Dunes Coalition newsletter described the Hobart Prairie Grove as tallgrass savanna that was once common to the area but now so rare it was thought to be extinct.
1992
Congress passed Public Law 102-430 adding Hobart Prairie Grove to the National Park System as part of a 1992 expansion of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (renamed the Indiana Dunes National Park in 2019). 1996 On December 19, 1996, the property purchased by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources from the McCloskey family in November 1990 was officially named the McCloskely's Burr Oak Savanna Nature Preserve and dedicated as a State of Indiana nature preserve. The articles of dedication were signed by Michael J. Kiley, chairman of the State of Indiana Natural Resources Commission and Patrick R. Ralson, director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.Nimetz, Derek (personal communication, August 6, 2020). 1997
On January 27, 1997, Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon signed the Articles of Dedication for the McCloskey's Burr Oak Savanna Nature Preserve. On February 27, 1997, a Master Plan for the McCloskey's Burr Oak Savanna Nature Preserve was filed with the Lake County Auditor. The plan provides details about the management of the property and explains how the property should be used, aligned with the purposes in the Natural Preserves Act of the State of Indiana. The General Management Plan published by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore indicates the Hobart Prairie Grove is primarily a black soil savanna with significant acreage of prairie and wetlands. It also notes a section of abandoned Elgin Joliet and Eastern Railroad right-of-way is being developed as a hike/bike trail by the Lake County Parks Department that could provide access to the site with minimal impact. 1999 Restoration work began at Spangler Fen, later renamed Greiner Nature Preserve by the Shirley Heinze Land Trust, in 1999 with removal of glossy buckthorn. Subsequent work focused on control of additional invasive species such as multiflora rose, bush honeysuckle, reed canary grass, and cattails.
2000s 2000
Shirley Heinze Land Trust began managing their Bur Oak Woods nature preserve located on the east side of Liverpool Road, north of Crabapple Lane in Hobart, IN. The initial management largely focused on control of invasive shrubs until 2008, when a large-scale savanna restoration project would begin. 2001 In June 2001 Shirley Heinze Land Trust began managing their Hidden Prairie property located west of I-65 at the corner of 41st Avenue and Missouri Street in Hobart. Management involved the removal of bush honeysuckle, multiflora rose and dogwood shrubs to expand a small prairie opening. 2002 Controlled burns were conducted in the fall of 2002 by Shirley Heinze Land Trust at their Bur Oak Woods nature preserve located on the east side of Liverpool Road, north of Crabapple Lane in Hobart, IN. In 2002 Shirley Heinze received a $2,000 Environmental Challenge Grant from NIPSCO for an upland prairie restoration project at their Spangler Fen property (later renamed Greiner Nature Preserve). Work focused on removal of non-native species and native prairie seed mix planting in a two-acre parcel at the north entrance to the fen. 2003 Controlled burns were conducted in the spring of 2003 by Shirley Heinze Land Trust at their Hidden Prairie property located west of I-65 at the corner of 41st Avenue and Missouri Street in Hobart. 2004
The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit conservation organization, announced that 219 acres of farmland would be restored to its condition prior to the arrival of the first settlers in Northwest Indiana. This includes 46 acres next to the Hobart Prairie Grove and 173 acres of adjoining farmland and burr oak groves that add to the existing public land in and around the Hobart Marsh region. 2005
The Trust for Public Land announced their multi-year project to protect and save nearly 400 acres in and around Hobart was complete. The area known as Hobart Marsh was a result of a long-term cooperative effort that involved Congressman Pete Visclosky, the Trust for Public Land, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Indiana Department of national Resources, the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission, local officials and local conservation leaders. Parts of the Hobart Prairie Grove located within the Hobart Marsh area were described as an overgrown oak savanna and as an early successional mesic forest containing maple hickory and oak by publication detailing the Fire Management Plan for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
2006
Field notes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service note that some tracts within the area known as the Hobart Marsh contain trees that may date back 200 years. 2007 Controlled burns were conducted in the spring of 2007 by Shirley Heinze Land Trust at their Hidden Prairie property located west of I-65 at the corner of 41st Avenue and Missouri Street in Hobart. 2008