Sycamore Land Trust’s Barnebey Woods approved as state-dedicated nature preserve in Owen County

Written from press release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana Natural Resources Commission has approved Sycamore Land Trust’s Barnebey Woods in Owen County for dedication as a state-dedicated nature preserve, giving the property added legal recognition and permanent protection under Indiana law.

Under the approval, 141.5 acres of the Barnebey Woods property will be dedicated as a nature preserve, Sycamore said in a Friday news release. The land trust acquired the forest in 2024 with funding from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ President Benjamin Harrison Conservation Trust, following what Sycamore described as a “bargain sale” from landowners Karl Barnebey and Laura Fredendall, who sold the property to the organization at half its appraised value.

Sycamore Land Trust said the dedication makes Barnebey Woods its ninth state-dedicated nature preserve, and that the organization now protects 11,809 acres across southern Indiana, including 61 nature preserves.

“State dedication of Barnebey Woods will add meaningful protection to a place that holds tremendous ecological value for southern Indiana,” Sycamore Land Trust Executive Director Alex Sienkiewicz said in the release.

Sycamore said the preserve connects to the Owen-Putnam State Forest and serves as a key link in a protected corridor stretching roughly 7.5 miles north to south, which the organization said can support wildlife movement and migration as climate conditions change. The site is also near Sycamore’s Fish Creek Conservation Easement, a 135-acre forest easement donated by Jim and Myriam Wood, the release said.

The land trust described Barnebey Woods as a high-quality, mature upland forest with large beech trees approaching old-growth size, four ephemeral streams draining to the East Fork of Fish Creek, and ravines with notable geological features, including an intermittent waterfall and rock overhangs. Sycamore said the property includes native plants associated with rocky outcrops, including walking fern.

Sycamore Land Trust Land Preservation Director Tom Swinford said the preserve strengthens a connected forest landscape and supports migratory songbirds, including the cerulean warbler, which Sycamore described as rapidly declining.

Sycamore said Barnebey Woods is not open to the public in order to protect the sensitive natural area.

Sycamore Land Trust is a Bloomington-based nonprofit founded in 1990 that focuses on land conservation, habitat restoration and environmental education in southern Indiana.

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