Description
Why You Should Visit
The Harrison County Glades—which include Buena Vista Glade, Rabbit Hash Glade, Mosquito Creek and Klinstiver Glade—are nestled in the wooded bluffs and ridges of Southern Indiana. This natural community is defined by the limestone bedrock that underpins the entire area and occasionally erupts onto the surface at the glades, splintered by freezing and thawing. These openings are often filled with sun, but lack soil and water, making it difficult for trees to take root and survive. However, some of Indiana's oldest trees, well over a century in age but only a foot thick, can be found where the forest meets the glade.
Dedicated
State Nature Preserve in 1988 (Teeple Glade), 1992 (Mosquito Creek)
Partners
Indiana Heritage Trust & Division of Nature Preserves
What The Nature Conservancy is Doing/has Done
Fire suppression is the largest threat to a glade, for without the element the glade will lose its native species to a mix of red cedar and eastern redbud. Not only will fire maintain the open feel of a glade, but it will also allow the native oak species to regenerate. Therefore, the Conservancy and its partners utilize prescribed burns to improve and maintain the glades the way they would want to naturally. Cave communities, streams, forest interior breeding birds and endangered species such as the Indiana bat and Allegheny woodrat are other conservation concerns.