February 2024

More Lupine Coming to Badger Barrens By Nate Simons Our Badger Barrens Sanctuary located northeast of Clear Lake in Steuben County has become a local hit since its restoration from a derelict soybean field to black oak barrens. The breath-taking display of wild blue lupine in mid-May attracts visitors from far and wide. The natural floral arrangement has even been featured in recent issues of “Outdoor Indiana.” And the blue backdrop has been the site of an outdoor wedding.

Wild blue lupine blooms at Badger Barrens photo credit:Beth Williams

The original 13 acres was added onto by the generous donation of 3.5 acres of adjacent land by Marie Durand in 2019. After restoration efforts by the Blue Heron Ministries crew and friends, the lupines are beginning to appear on that piece of sandland, too.In late 2020 Blue Heron Ministries acquired 23 acres west of the original tract. The intent, of course, is to restore more sandland to black oak barrens replete with… you guessed it, more wild blue lupine. This time the restoration will not be as easy. The 23 acres is not an old, worn out soybean field. The land has taken its own course without the restorative efforts of humans. Yes, black oaks are present. They will form the backbone of the barrens. However, other weedy trees and shrubs have taken hold in the sandy soils. A black locust swarm, autumn olive, Siberian elm, a forest of young red maple, and an occasional black walnut currently form a shady canopy over the ground floor. Some drastic measures are needed to make room for more wild blue lupine. The plan is to retain a scattering of black oak trees and remove the shade-producing canopy of non-oak tree species in order to allow sunlight to the sandy floor.The US Fish and Wildlife Service has taken interest in this lupine expansion project and has granted Blue Heron Ministries monies to assist with the transformation. The deadline for completion of the project is tight. We must clear the land and sow lupine (and other prairie species) seed by the end of this year.Tree removal is scheduled to take place prior to April 25. Trees will be felled and will be turned into marketable wood products by G & D Wood Products. The old abandoned construction trailer and dumpster full of tires and scattered junk will be removed by Merritt Excavating in late February. And hopefully by the end of this spring the site will look like a field (and a barn) with scattered black oak trees ready for some herbicide applications and seed.

John Merritt at work

Gathering enough lupine seed to sow 23 acres of sandy land will be the challenge. And friends of Blue Heron Ministries can help with that challenge. If we sow one lupine seed per square foot (not every seed will germinate and not every seed that germinates will grow into a mature lupine plant), that equals approximately 43,560 seeds per acre. There are approximately 1,100 lupine seeds per ounce. Doing the math (23 acres X 43,560 seeds per acre X 1,100 seeds per ounce X 16 ounces per pound)…we need approximately 56.925 pounds of lupine seed! Here is our plea. After you enjoy the blue cloud of lupine at Badger Barrens, please return in June to help us collect LOTS of wild blue lupine seed. We will post several reminders of seed collecting opportunities as the days approach. Some of the opportunities will be at Badger Barrens, and some of the opportunities will be at Pigeon River Fish and Wildlife Area.

Wild blue lupine seed pods, nearly ready for harvesting photo credit: Beth Williams

And there will be opportunities to clean the lupine seed after the black pods have dried.Together we can complete this plan in 2024, and together, in a few years, we can enjoy dozens of acres of wild blue lupine blooms…and so will the bees and bumblebees.Note: Lupinus perennis (wild blue lupine) is the sole host plant for the larva of the extremely rare Karner Blue Butterfly. With the current craze of creating pollinator gardens, there is a movement to introduce the western species of blue lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) into Midwestern landscapes. This plant is toxic to the Karner Blue Butterfly larva. Unaware and ill-informed, we could be helping to cause extinction of the Karner Blue Butterfly by planting lupine that does not belong in our Midwest black oak barrens. The two species of Lupinus hybridize when grown near each other. Though there are no longer Karner Blue Butterflies in Indiana (last one in northeast Indiana was recorded near Pigeon River Fish and Wildlife Area in 1984), we desire to plant lupine seed whose stock is from local sources of local genetics. Badger Barrens’ wild blue lupine seed was harvested from black oak barrens remnants in Elkhart and LaGrange Counties.https://www.prairiemoon.com/lupinus-perennis-wild-lupine-prairie-moon-nursery.html

Blue Heron Ministries 2023 Annual Report Summary With the close of calendar year 2023, Blue Heron Ministries completed its 22nd year as a blessed ministry of the Presbyterian Chapel of the Lakes. Blue Heron Ministries is no longer a subsidiary ministry of the Presbyterian Church USA. We have officially gained independent non-profit (501c3) status with the IRS, and our Employer Identification Number is no longer associated with the PCUSA. Tom Smith retired from his pastorate of the Chapel and sadly, withdrew from our Board of Advisors at the end of the year. This year, we experienced significant staff turnover, but it seems that the current Blue Crew is skilled, enthusiastic, and stable. And, I am thankful to our Father that we still have a core crew with lots of experience and time with Blue Heron Ministries and because of their faithfulness to him and our mission in Lakes Country that we have gained a reputation within the conservation community for doing really good work.

Education Together we explored, worked in, and taught the wonders of God’s creation within the community. Rustling Grass e-newsletter and Facebook presence continue to inform friends of our theology, our work, and upcoming volunteer events. Scheduled public events included:John Brittenham led this year’s volunteer prairie plug creation and planting project beginning in January.The crew attended “Burning Issues” Michigan Prescribed Fire Council’s annual (virtual) meeting in February.John led a winter hike at Pine Knob Park/Duff Lake Fen.Nate presented “Connecting With the Story All Around Us” to the new Blue Crew in March.John presented a Butterfly program for the Little River Wetlands Project in April.John presented “Pollinators of Indiana” to the Angola Garden Club in May.Nate led ecology field labs at Grace College.John and Nate teamed with the Steuben County SWCD to present our work on invasive species at the “Lake Life” workshop in September.One (1) September and five (4) October volunteer Seed Collection Tours. One (1) of the events was a Northeast Chapter of Indiana Native Plant Society-sponsored event.19th annual Thanksgiving get-together. Forty-three (43) folks gave thanks and ate together.Fred Wooley and Nate led a hike featuring properties we manage in Lakes Country for the Environmental Educators Association of Indiana conference.Nate presented “Restoration By Fire” at the Ohio Prescribed Fire Council’s annual meeting in December.22nd annual Prairie Planting Party at the home/backyard garden of Jake Wahlig. Fifty (50) folks showed up to plant and honor the memory of Steve Wahlig.Land Trust Blue Heron Ministries owns 168 acres of sanctuaries and holds conservation easements on 1,153 acres of private property. In 2023 we:Contracted with Peg Zeis to purchase her 0.86-acre Mirror Lake lot to add to our Badger Barrens Sanctuary complex.Continued work to restore our 23-acre Badger Barrens Addition to black oak and lupine barrens.Natural Lands RestorationThe hands-on craft of ecological restoration is the visible and active expression of our faith that relationships between God, humanity, and the rest of creation can be restored and experience substantial healing even in an imperfect world. “Stewardship of creation” is our banner. Contractual work is our primary funding source. Blue Heron Ministries actively stewards over 1,900 acres covering 125 separate projects for private, non-profit, and local governmental landowners. 2023 highlights included:Controlled woody and herbaceous invasive species and conducted prescribed fires in rare and declining habitats: fens, sedge meadows, prairies, sand barrens, and oak savannas and woodlands within a geographical triangle from Allen County, IN to LaPorte County, IN and Muskegon County, MI.Completed our national Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes grant for the follow-up maintenance of the Restoration of Duff lake Fen. The project has been spoken of as “the best wetland restoration project in the State.”Record number of prescribed fires: 65 total.Record number of projects: 125 total.Conservation DesignWe kept up on community and local conservation needs.Nate completed a wetlands delineation for a local developer and decided to end his career as a wetlands delineator, again.FinancialFor fiscal year January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023 (see attached “Blue Heron Ministries Profit and Loss”), we had a net income of $-42,050.13. Thanks, Dad, for plenty of reserves! Year-end account balances:First Federal Checking Account balance (12/31/23): $200,791.16Escrowed 2+-month’s-worth of payroll for entire staff ($68,600) and 3-month’s-worth of operating expenses ($9,728) in case of future downtime.Increased field staff wages in 2023 and gave year-end bonuses to staff.

Guided by Board of Advisors (Tom Smith, Fred Wooley, Nate Simons, Peg Zeis, and Beth Williams), organizational staff Nate Simons (exec. director) and Beth Williams (admin. assistant) along with a cohesive Blue Crew (Phil Bieberich, John Brittenham, Josh Hall, Freya Berntson, Matt Neff, Lee Bergey, and summer intern-turned-full-time field steward Madeline McQuiston) worked with a dedicated “family” of volunteers and part-time field crew members to conduct fires, apply herbicide, gather seed, and plant prairie. Blue Heron Ministries exists as a unique opportunity for folks to apply the hand’s-on craft of ecological restoration to steward our Father’s creation within the context of community.

View from the Crew by Nate Simons

Maple syrup season started early this year. The neighbors in the southwest quad gathered to tap Angola’s sugar maple street trees on January 28.

We finished our first batch of maple syrup. The season’s first syrup is light amber in color. This was formerly called “Grade A”syrup. February 6.

While blowing leaves from a fire control line in preparation for a future prescribed fire, I uncovered a wood frog buried just below the soil surface. I knew that wood frogs hibernate on land, unlike other species of frogs that hibernate under water, but this was the first I had witnessed the phenomenon. After taking his picture, I covered him back with leaves. February 9.

The first week of February was unusually warm. The warmth awakened the herpetofauna. This ribbon snake emerged and slithered through the oak leaves on February 9.

Prescribed fire season got off to a fast start, too. Smoke rises from a prairie grass fire at Orland Duck Club, to block the sun on February 12.

Matt Neff remembered how to string fire on the first fire of the season.

A light skiff of snow covers flats of prairie seeds. Sown on January 1, the seeds are naturally experiencing the cold, moist stratification needed by some species in order to germinate. February 17.

Trying something different. Michigan lily (Lilium michiganense) must experience a double dormancy in order to germinate. I expect to see these seeds germinate spring of 2025. February 17.

Aimee and I bought an evaporator this year so that we could boil maple sap outside in hopes of reducing boil over messes on the kitchen stove and filling our house with steam. Getting an early start on a Saturday morning. February 17.

Another rapid warm up and its back to burning. Blue Heron Ministries teamed with the Division of Nature Preserves to burn a fen and adjacent oak woodlands at Trine State Recreation Area. I am a sucker for the aesthetics of billows of smoke rising amongst stately, open grown white oak trees against a bluebird sky. February 20.

Madi Parker and Rich Dunbar light the head fire at Trine State Recreation Area. February 20.

Josh Hall lit fire at Pigeon River Fish and Wildlife Area’s Nasby Fen and Overlook Prairie on February 21. The season is off to a fast start with about a dozen fires under our belt…and it’s still the third week of February!

Crazy weather we are having here! It is still winter, but don’t tell this wasp. Temperatures were in the low-fifties. February 23.

And then the bottom dropped out of the temperature overnight. We awoke to 19 degrees and 1.5 inches of snow. February 24.

The sap run has been sporadic and slow in town. The end of the season might be near. Syrup is darker at the end of the season. Grade C, but I like the flavor the best! February 25.

Then back up the roller coaster ride. This pair of sandhill cranes  arrived about the same time as in years past. The wetlands and lake edges of Trine State Recreation Area have been locations for breeding pairs of cranes for years.  February 27.

What a strange February! Way too warm. The crew saw painted turtles sunning themselves on pond-side logs and heard spring peepers on the way home from fires. It is too early for spring. I wonder if the maple sap flow will end early. And following prescribed fire, the stately white oaks at Trine State Recreation Area await true spring, despite the 68 degree warmth! February 27. …Back to 22 degrees 36 hours later.

Upcoming Events

Prescribed Burn Demonstration  Saturday, March 16th (time TBD)

We will be hosting a demonstration burn for anyone interested in observing a prescribed fire or learning more about the process.Meet at the Presbyterian Chapel of the Lakes (2955 W Orland Rd, Angola, IN 46703), and we will carpool to the site together.

What Does it Take to Restore a Fen? Tuesday, March 19, 6:00 – 7:30pmHave you hiked the Fen Trail at Pine Knob Park, in LaGrange County? Did you know that only a decade ago, this area looked completely different? Drainage ditches and other land use changes threatened sensitive fen habitat. Through the work of Blue Heron Ministries, in partnership with LaGrange County Parks and Recreation, an incredible diversity of plant and associated wildlife is now thriving at the site.Join John Brittenham, Restoration Ecologist at Blue Heron Ministries, to discuss this multi-year restoration project of the Mike Metz Fen/Duff Lake Fen.The presentation will be held at Blue Heron Ministries office at the Presbyterian Chapel of the Lakes 2955 W Orland Rd, Angola, IN 46703.

Duff Lake/Mike Metz Fen in 2015, prior to restoration. photo credit: Fred Wooley