A Historical Prairie/Savanna Recreation at a Township Park

Before European settlement and human-made drainage, Harris Township in northeastern St. Joseph County, Indiana, was historically wet ground deemed unsuitable for agriculture. One exception to this was a small area of high-ground grassland and oak savanna that lay just south of the Michigan State line. In 1831, a settler named Jacob Harris emigrated from Ohio and built his homestead on this grassland, which became known as the Harris Prairie.

As additional agrarian settlers arrived, they began displacing the indigenous vegetation. They tilled over the rich, organic prairie soil because it was ideal for raising crops. They felled the mature oaks and hickories for use as wood for homes, furniture, and tools. They replaced this native vegetation with European grasses as grazing plants for livestock. Sadly, within a few decades, the native prairie and most of its neighboring savanna were gone.

The latter decades of the 20th century saw another large-scale land use change in Harris Township. As the county’s housing boom expanded eastward, Harris Township saw much of its land shift from agriculture to residential. Corn and soybeans gave way to lawns with Eurasian trees. Retention ponds, created to hold runoff from roads, roofs, and other impervious surfaces, became standard landscape features.

The removal of nature came with a price. As “progress” destroyed the indigenous vegetation, many animals that relied upon it declined or were extirpated. Although Harris Township now has a population of over 20,000, its residents lack local access to nature's cultural, physical, and mental health benefits.

To counter this, the Township has entrusted us to oversee reestablishment of approximately three acres of native prairie/oak savanna. What began with the installation of a native seed mix in 2019 ramped up in 2023 with concentrated efforts to eradicate invasive species while encouraging the growth of native grassland plants. With the help of students from nearby Penn High School, the fall of 2023 saw the creation of a trail system, and the spring of 2024 will see the addition of native oak savanna trees and shrubs.

A Black Oak Savanna Restoration at a Fire House

Approximately 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, an area west of present-day South Bend was the site of cataclysmic geological activity. As the Laurentide Ice Sheet receded, chunks of ice and debris from the margins of the Lake Michigan and Saginaw glacial lobes formed what some refer to as the “kettle lakes region of western St. Joseph County.”

This region of St. Joseph County contains some of the most ecologically significant sites in north central Indiana. Two properties within this glacial system, Chamberlain Lake and Lydick Bog, are now Indiana State Dedicated Nature Preserves. Three other lakes, Mud/Cedar Lake, Clear Lake, and Deer Lake, contain numerous endangered, threatened, and rare plant and animal species. Other lands, such as those adjacent to the Twin Lakes, Augustine Lake, and North/South Chain Lake, were largely lost to development or agriculture. Lesser known is that the region’s geology also created several areas of now globally imperiled oak savanna habitat. Historically maintained by fire, these savannas have almost all disappeared to development or succession into forests.

When Warren Township purchased five acres of black oak savanna immediately north of Chamberlain Lake and adjacent to the South Bend Motor Speedway, they were unaware of its ecological significance but were looking to create an ecologically healthy landscape. We entered the project only two days before landscape crews planned to scrape the remaining vegetation. With no time to waste, we convinced the township to halt the destruction of the remaining habitat. We then created a custom native seed mix and tree/shrub planting schedule based on vegetation historically present at the site, which would also satisfy the county’s zoning requirements.

Throughout the remainder of 2023, we worked diligently to ensure the project stayed on track. Utilizing chemical and mechanical control, we prevented the disturbance created by the construction process to become a haven for spotted knapweed (Centaura stoebe), common mullein (Verbascum thapsus), pigweeds (Amarantus spp.) and other invasive plants. We spoke to neighbors and county officials about the purpose and direction of the project, and we worked with resident firefighters who helped with watering, transplanting, weeding, and other ongoing stewardship activities. Given the threat of development to adjacent land, this fire station property could inevitably be one of the county’s last remaining stands of black oak savanna.