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The Natural Heritage of Indiana

Announcer: The Natural Heritage of Indiana was made possible through the generous support of: The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, through a grant to the Friends of the Indiana State Archives, helping people in need, protecting animals and nature, enriching community life. The Efroymson Fund, a Central Indiana Community Foundation Fund supporting the community for generations. The Nature Conservancy of Indiana, protecting nature, preserving life. The Indiana Natural Resources Foundation, promoting and sustaining the work of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Indiana State University, more from day one, more choices, more opportunities, more real world experiences. The Indiana Academy of Science, a non-profit organization promoting scientific research pertaining to Indiana. And the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, promoting appreciation and conservation of Indiana’s native plants.

Narrator: The winter landscape of Indiana is stark. Most living things are dormant, or exist at this time of year as eggs, seeds, or rootstock insulated underneath leaves and soil. Only the hardiest of animals remain active under these conditions. With little green vegetation present, deer poke their noses through the leaves and snow, hunting for nuts and acorns that remain from last fall. In early march, near freezing temperatures

bring ice, and the forests are coated with the last gasp of winter. Turkey vultures, alert to the signs of death, scan the landscape for carcasses and road kill. In late winter, after months of hard living, their search is rewarded as many of the weaker animals die off. A Cooper’s hawk, a year round resident in some cases, scans the forest for the songbirds that make up most of its diet. A tufted titmouse warily eyes the hawk from a nearby branch. The seed and insect eating titmouse is another year round resident, and this time of year likely uses birdfeeders.

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Crows are another year round resident. In fall and winter months, they may be seen flocking together in great numbers in the treetops. While most species of bird have migrated to regions far to the south for the winter, a few actually travel to Indiana instead. Saw whet owls are the smallest species of owl found in the state. In the summer, they live primarily in the evergreen forests of the upper Great Lakes and Canada. In the fall, some journey south to Indiana, where the winter weather is milder than in Canada. Here, they are able to find more prey than would be likely farther north.

In many parts of the world, trees are evergreen, which are generally able to outgrow their deciduous relatives under local conditions. In the tropics, with year round growing conditions, there is no need to waste energy dropping leaves seasonally.

And in northern forests, nearly all conifers retain their frost resistant needles year round. They also save the energy otherwise needed for regrowth in the spring. But in much of the world’s temperate zone, plants have developed the strategy of shedding leaves at the end of the growing season, and going dormant. And so, because the plants of temperate Indiana must ultimately awaken from their winter dormancy, we may witness one of the world’s most spectacular natural displays, as the spring wildflowers erupt from the forest floor. Narrator: On the ground, spring ephemerals appear in great numbers. These plants flower for a very brief time, as full sunlight reaches them on the forest floor only before the trees above leaf out in a few weeks. In remnant stands of old growth forest, and other rich woodlands, dozens of wildflower species carpet the ground.

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Some of the earliest to appear, such as blood root, flower for only a few days. Others, such as mayapple, flower later in season, and for longer periods of time.

Trout lilies, named for its trout like mottled leaves, are an early favorite, and may carpet the forest floor in dense beds. Hundreds of closed blossoms open as the spring sun warms them in the morning. Most common in the lake and marsh country in the north,

skunk cabbage is one of the earliest plants to flower, sometimes while snow still covers the ground. By April, their flowers have disappeared while those of the marsh marigold have just started. One of the most spectacular spring wildflowers in Indiana, trillium, also appears in April and May. The several species of trillium may be found in rich woodlands throughout the state. Eventually, the trees catch up, and millions of leaves unfurl, turning the landscape green almost overnight. Although often overlooked, deciduous trees are flowering plants. In some cases they feature striking blossoms. Paw paw is a small tree and the only northern representative of a tropical family of trees. It features small, delicate flowers that hang downwards. The rare umbrella magnolia has among the largest leaves and flowers of any native tree. Once the state flower, and today the state tree of Indiana, the tulip tree is also a member of the magnolia family. These trees are of an ancient lineage, and have primitive floral structures that resemble tulips. They are also perhaps the tallest tree found today in the state, with a few protected individuals that tower more than 150 feet tall.

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The yellowwood tree has smaller, more elegant pea-shaped flowers. More common in the Smoky Mountains and the Ozarks, yellowwoods are one of the rarest trees in the state, found in only a handful of narrow, steep-sided valleys in Brown County.

Redbuds are a more familiar flowering tree, their pink blossoms adding to the spectacle of spring. As do the dogwoods, which add a splash of white to the dour mid-spring landscape. With the appearance of the last new leaves, spring soon takes on a level of maturity as other types of life begin their own explosion. Although many species of bird, such as cardinals, are year round residents in Indiana, it is the appearance of the migrants who winter far to the south that signals the arrival of spring. Eastern phoebes are an early arrival, landing in southern Indiana as early as late February. In the past, they nested on rock outcroppings and cliffs. But in recent years they also nest under bridges, on buildings and homes. Carolina wrens are another early nester, although mostly a year round resident. They too have adapted to human structures, and tuck their bulky nests into odd nooks and crannies.

Other species of bird are even more tolerant of human development, and may be found nesting on or around homes and buildings. The house wren is a familiar backyard resident, frequently nesting in birdhouses.

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Described as one of the most domestic of birds, eastern bluebirds are a favorite part of Indiana’s landscape. With their colorful plumage, and erect stance, bluebirds are a frequent birdhouse nester, and familiar to many as they flit in and out feeding their young.

Most bluebirds migrate south in the fall, but substantial numbers linger throughout the winter, especially in southern Indiana. Severe winters frequently reduce this resident population. The black capped chickadee is found more often in forests and woodlots than in

backyards. They nest primarily in tree cavities, but are more than ready to build a nest in an old fence post instead. Confined to remnant forests in southern Indiana 100 years ago, the pileated woodpecker has rebounded from near extinction in the state. Today, it has spread northwards into woodlots, suburban areas, and along stream and river corridors. As spring turns to summer, the first giant silkworm moths of the year begin to appear. Restless inside a cocoon formed last year with silk and leaves, a luna moth tears and rips its way out of the shelter that has been its home for 8-10 months. The adult scurries along, searching for a twig or branch on which to hang. Here, the moth pumps fluids into its folded wings, as they expand over the hour.

The full sized wings feature long tails, and eye-like spots which often discourage predators. These moths most often emerge in the daylight hours, so that their wings and bodies have time to harden and form by nightfall, when they take flight. These moths have no mouths, and do not feed as adults. They live for only a week, with only a few days to locate a mate, and lay eggs.

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Later in the season, after the resulting eggs have hatched, large caterpillars of several different moth species appear. Other than their large size, some are unexceptional looking. Others, though, such as the hickory horned devil, have a striking appearance. They feed on the leaves of deciduous trees for several weeks, growing in size. As late summer and autumn approach, they expel their digestive guts, which will not be needed by the non-feeding adults. The caterpillars stretch and pull leaves together, securing them into a shelter with strands of silk. With the return of warm weather next year, the transformed luna moths will tear their way from the cocoons, as their time to find a mate arrives. At the Indiana dunes, another type of winged insect emerges in late spring as well. Karner blue butterflies are federally endangered, and are generally found only in the Great Lakes region. Their rarity is at least partially a result of their narrow dietary requirements. Like many species of butterfly, they can feed on the nectar from a variety of plants. But as juvenile caterpillars, Karner blues are dependent on a single plant species, wild lupine.

In Indiana, wild lupine is often found in the partially open oak savannahs associated with sandy soils. Over time, this habitat has largely disappeared, and so too has wild lupine. Karner blue butterfly numbers have dropped in recent years as a result. Today there are programs to replant lupine, and to release hand reared butterflies into the Indiana dunes region.

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The appearance of morel mushrooms is an anticipated event for many Hoosiers, who carefully guard the location of their favorite mushroom haunts. But the above ground mushroom is generally just a small part of the larger fungal organism, which occurs underground

Fungi lack the ability to photosynthesize, as most plants do, and must obtain their energy and nutrients elsewhere. In addition to being a prized food source, fungi in general serve a vital role by decomposing much of the dead and dying material that accumulates over time.

Emerging from the soil and leaf litter in a manner similar to mushrooms, patches of squaw root dot the ground adjacent to oak trees. Despite their fungal-like appearance, these are flowering plants. It is a parasite on oak roots. Without the need to capture sunlight, squaw roots have no green leaves, and only the pale yellow floral columns appear above ground. The rest of the plant is intertwined with the roots of its host beneath the soil. Dodder is another type of plant parasite that attaches itself to a variety of host plants, from which it extracts nutrients and water. Great stringy masses of dodder may often be seen, intertwined with its host.

Coralroots are plants similar to squawroot in that only non-green floral structures are seen aboveground. But the coralroots do not parasitize other plants. They form a relationship with underground fungi, from which they receive their energy.

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Spring coralroot appears in rich woodlands, while the larger and showier crested coralroot is found much less frequently, in limestone glades and barrens in southern Indiana. Both have distinctive flowers very different from squaw root, with three petals arranged along a column. This floral structure is characteristic of a larger family of plants not often associated with Indiana, of which the coralroots are also a member; the orchids.

The state has over 40 species of native orchids, more than occur in Hawaii. While Indiana’s orchids are often not as conspicuous as tropical varieties, they may be found in every county. In bogs and prairies, along creeks, and in deep woods, orchids are members of one of the

most numerous plant families in Indiana. The largest Indiana orchids, as well as the best known, are the lady slippers. Yellow lady slippers are the most common, and may be found in a variety of habitats, from dry woodlands to bogs and wetlands. Pink lady slippers are rarer, and generally associated with sphagnum moss bogs, although they are also known to grow under pines and hemlocks in other states. White lady slippers, the smallest of this group, are perhaps one of the rarest orchids, and one of the rarest plants in the state, with only a few locations known today. In the past however, they were a common orchid of the prairie, possibly seen in the millions.

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But the largest orchid native to Indiana is the showy lady slipper. Found in saturated soils and wetland edges, the showy may take 15 years to mature and flower for the first time. Because of wetland loss, as well as the removal of many wild plants by collectors and the floral industry, showy lady slippers are today very rare in Indiana.

Along the valley walls of southern Indiana, yet another type of orchid is found, the rattlesnake plantain. A characteristic floral stalk rises from a cluster of striking veined leaves. Unlike most Indiana plants, the rattlesnake plantain leaf is evergreen throughout the year.

Growing nearby on the same hillside is another evergreen plant, a shrub in the rhododendron family; mountain laurel. The same pinkish blossoms that brighten the Appalachian Mountains in late spring accompany its glossy leaves. In Indiana, it can be found in only a few locations not far from the Ohio River.

Also found in some of these same ravines are several species of uncommon ferns. Walking fern grows on rock and mossy surfaces, and spreads by sending out walking tips that form new root anchors. One of the more unusual plants in Indiana is the resurrection fern. Found in a few locations in the south, it also grows atop large rock formations and boulders.

During dry periods, and drought, the resurrection fern shrivels up to a dried husk, and appears dead. However, this fern is able to lose up to 97% of its water and still survive. At this point the fern is dormant until the rains return, when the resurrection fern lives up to its name.

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Spring and summer thunderstorms often flood low lying areas and fields. Tree frogs call for mates around these vernal pools. Equipped with suction pads on their feet, tree frogs are able to climb far into tree canopies, where they hunt for insects during the warmer months. They return to water only to mate.

In a few areas with sandy soils in southern Indiana, these same temporary pools provide a trigger for a rare amphibian. Spadefoot toads are a type of burrowing frog, and rarely seen aboveground. They dig backwards into loose soils, using hard edged rear feet as spades.

When heavy rains arrive, and large enough pools of water form in their sandy habitat, the spadefoots explode in a frenzy of mating. This activity often lasts for only a few nights, as the breeding for the year must be done quickly. Before the vernal pools dry up, spadefoot eggs need to hatch, and tadpoles develop into adults. Because of this, spadefoot toads have perhaps the shortest juvenile period of any Indiana vertebrate. If water conditions are warm enough, which suggest that the pool is shallow, tadpoles are able to develop into adults within 10-14 days. In cooler water, which is likely to be deeper and take longer to drain or evaporate, the tadpoles might be a month or more in the water before they become adults. Whatever the timeframe, the spadefoots that survive to become adults eventually cluster near the water’s edge. From here, they hop into the surrounding cover of trees and shrubs, and burrow out of sight.

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Another unusual inhabitant found in the sandy soils of this area is the velvet ant. A flightless wasp, the velvet ant is capable of inflicting a painful sting, so much so that it is sometimes called a “cow killer”, in reference to the strength of its venom. Wingless females dart quickly along the sandy ground in search of a wasp or bee’s nest, where they lay eggs. Nearby is an insect predator, but it likely leaves the brightly colored velvet ant alone.

Fence lizards inhabit rock piles, forest edges, and stumps throughout the southern half of Indiana. Males, with their bright blue throats, are perhaps the most striking of Indiana’s six species of lizard. Fence lizards are particularly common in areas with exposed bedrock, and rock ledges.

Also found in this rocky terrain is another of the state’s reptiles, the poisonous copperhead snake. Indiana has 31 species of snake, but only 4 are venomous, and only the copperhead is likely to be encountered. It lives in the southern half of the state, most often on rocky hillsides with partial tree cover. Small animals such as toads are the preferred prey. Timber rattlesnakes, the largest venomous snake in Indiana, once were likely found throughout the southern half of the state. Today, they persist in several small populations, most notably in Brown and Morgan counties. Less well known is the Massassaugau rattlesnake. Half the size of the timber rattler, Massassaugaus are today found only in northern Indiana, associated with prairies and wetlands. In the spring and fall they are most often seen in wet environments, migrating to drier habitat over the summer.

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The long tailed meadow jumping mouse, capable of leaps several feet into the air, is an important prey species of the Massasagau rattlesnake. The rarest venomous snake in the state is the water moccasin, or cottonmouth. Known from only a few locations in southwestern Indiana, it is a creature of southern swamps and sluggish backwaters, and most of its habitat has been removed from the state over the past century. Also common here are perhaps the least explored region of Indiana: caves. While many are narrow and only a few hundred or even dozen feet deep, some caves in Indiana have dozens of miles of passageways. In the largest caves, a few rooms the size of a football field may be found. Near the cave entrance, in what is called the twilight zone, surface animals may sometimes be found. Frogs wander in from the dry forests above, perhaps seeking water, or at least a damp hole to hide in. There is, however, another species of amphibian that is a resident of this terrain. Cave salamanders hunt for insects on the cave floor, as well as along rock walls. Although found outside of caves, they are most often found in the near darkness of the twilight zone. But the true cave denizens are found away from the mouth, in complete darkness. Troglobites, species that are adapted to life only in the darkness of caves, have lost coloration and eyes. Most are insects or other types of invertebrates, such as crayfish.

There are, however, members of a family of mammals that often spend more than half of their lives in the darkness of caves: bats. Nearly all bats found in Indiana are not year round cave dwellers. They move into caves only when their primary food source, insects, begin to decline in numbers as autumn and winter weather approaches.

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Bats are mostly dormant from October until April, rousing from time to time, but generally inactive. Little brown bats hang in small clusters, or alone, from cave ceilings throughout the state. A close relative of little browns, though, congregates in huge numbers in just a handful of large caves in the southern part of the state; these are Indiana bats. Packed in at up to 300 per square foot, tens of thousands of Indiana bats may be found in a single large cave. Most of the larger Indiana bat caves are closed to visitation in the winter, to protect bats from disturbances that may deplete their fat stores before spring arrives. In warmer weather, the bats move from the caves, and migrate throughout the state where they form small colonies. Bats are highly desirable. It has been estimated that just one colony of 150 bats is capable of eating 16 million insects, many of which are potential crop pests. They play an important role in keeping insect numbers down.

One of Indiana’s most recognized natives is the box turtle. Unlike other turtles found in the state, the box turtle lives nearly its entire life on land, found mostly in moist woodlands. Eastern box turtles have a varied diet, and are able to eat nearly anything they come across. A close

relative is the ornate box turtle, an inhabitant of grasslands and prairies. It is rare in Indiana, and a state endangered species.

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One reason is the increasing number of roads and traffic. Many animals are vulnerable to being struck by cars, with slow moving turtles particularly so. In the spring, aquatic turtles may be seen wandering through the woods, far from water. Red eared sliders mate in April and May. Soon afterwards, females leave the water, in search of a place to lay their eggs. Female snapping turtles also leave the water at this time, and may wander miles from the body of water they had previously inhabited. It is not unusual to spot large snappers wandering through residential neighborhoods and streets, looking for a place to nest. Eventually, a nest is dug, and eggs deposited. The female turtle then finds her way back to the safety of water. 60 to 90 days later, the eggs begin to hatch. The tiny turtles dig themselves out of the nest, and begin a trek in search of water. During their wanderings, the newly hatched turtles are very vulnerable to predators. The nest may be hundreds of yards, or even several miles from the nearest pond or wetland. But even so, the turtles have no choice but to wander the landscape in search of water. Eventually, many survive this test to reach the relative safety of water. While they may now be safe from being eaten by a raccoon or possum, aquatic predators will offer new challenges to the tiny turtles. Prairies are perhaps the hardest hit of Indiana’s original

landscape. Only a handful of virgin prairies survive, none larger than a few hundred acres. Most are much smaller. A few are associated with 19th century cemeteries that predate the large scale conversion of prairies to farmland. Royal catchfly is a plant that might possibly have vanished from the state’s landscape had it not survived in these cemetery prairies.

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Displaying an intense red, a color particular attractive to many butterflies, royal catchfly also features a very deep nectar tube. The long proboscis of butterflies is well suited to reaching these nectar stores, more so than other insects. The long tongue of a hummingbird is also well adapted to reaching the nectar.

Surrounded by a fence to protect it from trampling, another prairie cemetery features perhaps the most diverse single acre of plant species in the state. Shooting star is more common elsewhere in the state, most often seen on rocky outcroppings in southern forests. In a few prairie settings, it can be found in scattered clumps.

But in this prairie cemetery, thousands of flowers wave among the grasses and forbs. It is a tiny glimpse of what the 2 million acre Indiana prairie might have looked like, 200 years ago. In contrast to the spring wildflower displays in the forests, flowering in the prairies and grassland peaks instead in the summer. Prairie dock and compass plants push their blossoms above the grass stalks that dominate this landscape. Prairies blaze with color in July, and perhaps the most spectacular displays can be seen in the Kankakee region of northwest Indiana. Here fields of blazing star wave in the prairie breezes. Woodlands were the most common type of landscape in Indiana in the past. Today regions of the state continue to be dominated by extensive forests. In the south central area of the state, the Brown County hill region along with the Hoosier National Forest comprise a forested landscape among the largest in the lower Midwest. Hundreds of thousands of acres are still forested. Here, even around our own homes, forest creatures continue to thrive.

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Chipmunks dwell in burrows throughout the forest, taking refuge when danger threatens. Like squirrels, they scavenge the forest floor for the nuts and acorns that will provide for their survival through the winter. Gone from Indiana by 1900, in recent decades wild turkeys have been reintroduced. Today they are a common sight in the forests of the southern part of state, and may be found in some numbers in every county. There is no shortage of opossums, as they hunt for insects. They are able to eat virtually anything living or dead, and this makes them a very successful animal, able to adapt to nearly any environment in the state.

As night falls, other forest creatures make an appearance. Katydids are a common woodland resident in the summer. Related to grasshoppers and crickets, they are almost exclusively found in the trees, and their mating calls resonate throughout the forest during nights in August and September.

Orb weaving spiders take advantage of porch lights, and spin their webs nearby. As insects are attracted to the lights, they are trapped, and the spider has a meal. These woodlands support a variety of birds. Although a surprise to some, some species here nest not in the trees, but on the ground. Ovenbirds, named for the domed oven-like structure they build on the ground, are more commonly heard than seen. The birds do not fly directly to their nest, instead landing some distance away, and walking the rest of the way. Woodpeckers are birds dependent on forests, as they drill into rotting trees for insects. Many eastern phoebes lay 2 clutches of eggs per year. By June, the parents are hard at work feeding the second group of young. It takes several weeks to near the point of fledging, but by early July the nest has gotten full.

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The birds at this age are precocious, and eager to try out new wings. On occasion, though, a chick falls or is knocked from the nest. The unfortunate chick is stranded on the ground if it is not yet ready to fly. It can only hope to be noticed by its parents, before attracting the attention of a predator.

The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America, and feeds on insects, rodents, as well as small birds. It often tears and shreds prey before feeding chunks to its hungry young. A different suite of birds inhabit the meadows and grasslands of the state.

The call of the yellow breasted chat is memorable. While not a prairie bird, it often can be found at the edge of meadows, in patches of briar and thorn, as well as shrubby saplings. Henslow’s sparrows have become increasingly rare in the state in recent decades, as grassland habitat is developed. In southwest Indiana, however, many reclaimed coal mines feature hundreds and thousands of acres of grassland. These restored areas provide new and critical habitat for bird species that use grasslands. In these types of landscapes, birds are forced to nest close to the ground. Here, they are more vulnerable to predators than woodland birds that nest in trees. A field sparrow usually nests less than 1 foot from the ground. The young become quiet and still in answer to a potential threat. If the threat comes too close, the young birds will jump from the nest, and hide in the surrounding vegetation. The parents flit about, as they try to get their brood to safety. An eastern meadowlark nest sits on the ground itself, but the parents are perhaps the most vigilant in protecting the location of their young.

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They arrive with food from different directions, and land well away from the nest, hidden in the grass as they walk the final distance. In this way, they make it harder for watching predators to identify the nest location. When a predator does wander into the area, adults stand off well away from their nest; they scold the source of the disturbance while the young remain still. If the threat comes close enough, the parents instead call to the young to abandon the nest, and hide in the surrounding vegetation.

Once associated with grasslands is the brown headed cowbird. Cowbirds are unusual in that they do not build nests. Instead, they locate the nests of other birds, and add their eggs. Once known as buffalo birds, in the past cowbirds followed the great herds of bison on the plains, and

foraged for the insects that the bison’s hooves kicked up. Because the cowbirds depended upon the constantly moving bison herds, they may have used the nests of other birds so that they could always remain on the move. Today, the developed landscape of Indiana has far more open meadows and small woodlots that cowbirds prefer, and much less closed, interior forest that they avoid. As a result, even birds that nest only in forests are vulnerable to cowbirds. 42 species of birds in the state are known to have their nests parasitized by cowbirds. Some recognize the alien eggs, and abandon the nest, while others remove these unwanted additions. Many other species raise the cowbirds as if they were their own. Cowbird eggs tend to hatch before others in the nest. And the chicks themselves are often larger. They are then able to dominate the nest, which results in far fewer of the parents’ eggs and chicks reaching adulthood.

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The red eyed vireos is a forest nesting migrant. Because cowbirds do not use deep forests, in the past vireos had little opportunity or advantage to recognize that their nest had been parasitized. Vireos produce far fewer offspring when cowbirds find their nests. For birds that already have become rare in Indiana, the presence of cowbirds might cause their numbers to decrease yet further. As the days shorten in late summer, goldenrod blooms in gardens and meadows and forest edges. A variety of butterflies and insects can be found feeding here. Also found are those that hunt them. The rough green snake eats mostly insects, especially grasshoppers. A disguised crab spider lurks among the flowers, hoping to pounce on a distracted potential meal. Nearby, though, is an insect that is generally avoided by predators. Monarch butterfly caterpillars voraciously strip leaves from milkweed plants. This diet imparts them with toxins, and an unpalatable taste. Bright coloration as both a caterpillar and an adult warns predators of their poisonous nature. Another species of butterfly takes advantage of this by mimicking the appearance of adult monarchs. The viceroy butterfly does not feed on milkweed, and has none of the toxic properties of the monarch. Nevertheless, because most predators mistake it for a monarch, it enjoys the same protection, but through different means. Other caterpillars here are further along in their development, and have formed chrysalis. After 2 weeks of hidden transformation, these transparent cases reveal the fully formed adult

within, as the time for emergence nears. They inflate their wings with fluid; Extend a proboscis to drink water and nectar; And flex their wings. Monarch butterflies that appear in Indiana earlier in the year live for only a month or two. But those that hatch in late summer are on a different schedule.

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Flying south, they feed on nectar, and along with millions of other monarchs from the eastern US, migrate thousands of miles to the mountains of central Mexico. Here, they enter a hibernation-like state called diapause which allows them to over-winter for up to seven months. As the days lengthen with the impending arrival of the following spring, the monarchs begin to stir. They congregate in some of the largest displays of butterflies on earth, as they mate and prepare for the flight northwards.

But these butterflies will not return to Indiana. They are the parents and grandparents of the monarchs that fly northwards in a relay of generational waves over the coming months. In late summer of this New Year, a generation that has never been to Mexico will hatch in Indiana. Somehow they

will find their way to the same Mexican mountains, sometimes to the same tree that their ancestors three to five generations removed, traveled to just one year ago. And here they will await the next spring, covering Mexican trees with the orange cloak of millions of Indiana butterflies. The survival of so much of Indiana’s natural diversity is perhaps one of the most inspiring lessons of the past 200 years. Despite the loss of over 80% of our forests and wetlands, and virtually all our prairies, Indiana’s landscape still teems with life. Vanished animals have returned, and forgotten landscapes recreated, as the dreams of Indiana’s past become the reality of today, and tomorrow.

This is The Natural

Heritage of Indiana.

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Announcer: The Natural Heritage of Indiana was made possible through the generous support of: The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, through a grant to the Friends of the Indiana State Archives, helping people in need, protecting animals and nature, enriching community life. The Efroymson Fund, a Central Indiana Community Foundation Fund supporting the community for generations. The Nature Conservancy of Indiana, protecting nature, preserving life. The Indiana Natural Resources Foundation, promoting and sustaining the work of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Indiana State University, more from day one, more choices, more opportunities, more real world experiences. The Indiana Academy of Science, a non-profit organization promoting scientific research pertaining to Indiana. And the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, promoting appreciation and conservation of Indiana’s native plants.