US-10282 Conrad Savanna State Nature Preserve

Created Saturday 22 February 2025

Conrad Savanna preserves an example of the land forms and associated plant communities that
were characteristic of the area south of the Kankakee River at the time of settlement. Fine quartz sand is the
common soil in this region (as well as in the nature preserve), and it occurs in both broad flats and rolling hills.
Oak savanna is the predominant plant community on these droughty sands, with black and white oaks being by
far the most common trees. The trees are somewhat widely spaced, and the understory is sparse. Wildfires
were responsible for this open aspect in pre-settlement times, and prescribed fires are used to maintain these
areas today. Due to the more open nature of savannas as compared to closed forests, plants with high light
requirements thrive here. Many are plants typically associated with dry prairies, and include hairy puccoon,
goat’s rue, blunt-leaved milkweed, leadplant, and New Jersey tea, as well as grasses such as little bluestem,
junegrass, and porcupine grass.
https://www.in.gov/dnr/nature-preserves/files/np-ConradSavanna.pdf

My Hunter Log

16:59 2025-02-22 KE9BHN 599 599 IN 21.044 15m CW US-10282