Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve is a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

located in

Newton County, Indiana Newton County is a county located near the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 14,244. This county is part of Northwest Indiana as well as the Chicago metropolitan area. The county seat is Kentla ...

, south of Lake Village, just west of U.S. 41 on County Road 700 North. The savanna contains alternating rolling sand dunes and level areas. Typical of a savanna, it is covered by trees, grasses, and sedges. The dominant plants include Junegrass, Pennsylvania sedge,

porcupine grass Porcupine grass is a common name for several grasses and may refer to: *''Miscanthus sinensis ''Miscanthus sinensis'', the eulalia or Chinese silver grass, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, native to eastern Asia thro ...

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

Indian grass ''Sorghastrum nutans'', commonly known as either Indiangrass or yellow Indiangrass, is a North American prairie grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies. Description ...

and

big bluestem ''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot. Taxon ...

.The Nature Conservancy
/ref> The preserve is managed as by the

Indiana Department of Natural Resources The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana. There are many divisions within the DNR and each has a specific role. The DNR is not only responsible for maintaining resource areas but also manages In ...

(IDNR).

Habitat

The savanna has changed little from the period when eastern settlers first arrived south of the

Kankakee River The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in N ...

. The soil is a fine sand quartz, which covers the preserve and the areas surrounding it. It primarily occurs in the sand hills, much of the surrounding flatlands contains sand. Savannas in this region are dominated by oak trees. Oaks survive in the sands which shed water rapidly, creating drought-like conditions. Throughout northwest Indiana, the oak savannas are primarily

black oak Black Oak may refer to: Places in the United States * Black Oak, Arkansas * Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana * Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana * Black Oak, Missouri Other * Black Oak Arkansas, American band ** ...

and

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...

s.Department of National Resources
/ref> Typical dry prairie plants include hairy puccoon, goat's rue, blunt-leaved milkweed, leadplant, and New Jersey tea. These are in addition to the grasses listed above.

Conrad Station Savanna

Conrad Station Savanna is east of Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve on County Road 725 North. A parking lot and trail area available at CR 725 N and CR 250 W. Like the Nature Preserve, Conrad Station is dominated by savanna plants, including the hairy puccoon, cleft phlox ('' Phlox bifida''), New Jersey tea and sand milkweed (''

Asclepias amplexicaulis ''Asclepias amplexicaulis'', the blunt-leaved milkweed, clasping milkweed, or sand milkweed, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae). It is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a s ...

''). Along the trail,

prickly pear cactus ''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...

can be found in the small open rises. Savanna wildlife that is most readily seen includes a variety of birds, i.e., red-head woodpeckers,

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...

. The glass lizard is common. Because it lives most of its life underground, it is rarely seen. Conrad Station has an interpretive trail with information signs. It follows old fire roads through the preserve.

Controlled burns

Both Conrad Savanna and Conrad Station use

controlled burns A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A control ...

to maintain the savannas. IDNR burned the savanna north of CR 700 N during the winter of 2010–11. Controlled burns are also common at Conrad Station. Depending on the burn schedule, each facility may be closed during the spring or fall burning seasons.

References

{{reflist Nature reserves in Indiana Protected areas of Newton County, Indiana