Founders Fen
Founders Fen
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HANCOCK COUNTY — The Central Indiana Land Trust Inc., (CILTI) has recently gained ownership of land which is home to a unique fen which is found in southeastern parts of Hancock County.

It was said in a press release by CILTI, that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) accepted CILTI’s ownership proposal earlier this month, allowing them to take over a 9.8-acre site in Hancock County to protect a biodiverse and environmentally significant feature — Founders Fen.

“This is a unique opportunity to preserve a place that offers rich biodiversity and also provides tangible benefits,” said CILTI president and CEO Cliff Chapman in the press release. “In addition to helping to remove carbon from the atmosphere, fens help to control flooding and filter groundwater that ends up in our drinking water.”

According to the press release, Founders Fen is the second most southern fen in Indiana. These are “hotspots of biodiversity and sinks for atmospheric carbon; fens have groundwater flowing at or just under the surface, creating a calcium-rich environment with a thick layer of peat. Water flowing at a constant rate robs the soil of nutrients, producing a mineral-rich, nutrient-poor medium for some of Indiana’s rarest plants.”

In 2021, the Indiana state botanist made two site visits to the Founders Fen, taking inventory of plants and the native species. This site is known to harbor rare and native plant species such as the state-endangered American Burnet, the White Turtlehead, Indian Plantain and the Queen of the Prairie.

“Protecting the fen has several benefits, but first and foremost we can now defend and manage it for its ecological importance and restore it by removing invasive species that threaten the endangered American Burnet, a perennial that is present there,” Chapman said.

Chapman said that the state’s second largest population of this rare species is found at this site and its future was in danger because of an invasive species, but now they can start controlling it in 2024.

Because of the delicate nature of the ecosystem, the site is not open to the public. Management of this site will be very hands-on and precise, according to Chapman.

“We control plants one at a time and must be very careful,” Chapman said. “It’s more important not to kill the wrong plant than it is to kill the correct one. Wetland fens are incredibly delicate, so we will not visit very often because every step causes damages the site.”

Chapman said that while the public cannot access the site, it will still provide benefits to the community since the water emitted from the site is clean groundwater straight from an underground aquifer. Chapman said that keeping this area healthy benefits everyone downstream.

As of now, CILTI is working with the owner of an adjacent property to purchase additional land that will allow it to protect the fen more completely.

Chapman said that they have a verbal agreement with the neighboring landowner and are proceeding with the land acquisition and plan to close in 2024.

CILTI has been helping protect species in Indiana since 1990. Currently, they have protected more than 7,500 acres of Indiana that has met science-based criteria for conservation value.
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