Buffalo Trace Land Trust

10/28/2025

Southern Indiana is glowing with fall color! Our woodlands hold a stunning mix of oaks, hickories, maples, and sassafras that paint the season in reds, oranges, and golds.

Leaf color changes happen when trees prepare for winter—chlorophyll fades, revealing pigments that have been there all along. For wildlife, these seasonal shifts matter too: fallen leaves enrich the soil, provide shelter for salamanders and insects, and protect the forest floor. Plus, the leaves are pretty fun to play in!

Next time you walk outside, look down as much as you look up - life is thriving in the leaves underfoot!

10/24/2025

A Not-So-Spooky Surprise in the Woods! 🦇 🍂

Earlier this month, we had a rare Halloween-season treat while walking through one of our forest properties — we accidentally woke up an Eastern red bat! These beautiful little bats (Lasiurus borealis) are usually tucked away, roosting quietly among tree leaves or even under leaf litter on the ground. This one fluttered up, landed on a branch long enough to give a big yawn, and then flew off to find a quieter nap spot.

Even though Eastern red bats are fairly common, we know surprisingly little about them. Most sightings happen during mist-net surveys, and researchers are still uncovering where they go in winter and how they migrate — possibly following the same routes as some birds!

So this season let’s remember that bats aren’t scary — they’re fascinating, beneficial neighbors who help keep our forests healthy. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might spot one resting just under the fall leaves. 🌙🍁🦇

09/17/2025

So, what IS a buffalo trace? Our name comes from a historic path that buffalo followed, creating well-worn trails that led native Americans, then settlers, across the Ohio River and through the region. As buffalo migrated back and forth from the Great Plains to the grasslands in Kentucky, they crossed an ancient fossil bed at a wide, shallow area in the Ohio River. The buffalo stopped at mineral licks along the way and created a trail as wide and easy to follow as a highway. Indigenous Americans, then later fur trappers, traders, and settlers all followed that same trail back and forth from Kentucky and into the prairies. The historic path runs right through our six county focus area, and reminds us about the importance of connection between people, plants, animals, and the landscape.

This story map was created to highlight historic locations along the Buffalo Trace

09/10/2025

What’s got four legs, a fuzzy tail, and is helping to keep our land healthy? Goats! But WHY goats? Because our land stewards need help—and these animals are up for the job. Historically, fire and bison shaped our local landscapes, keeping trees balanced with grasses, wildflowers, and sedges to make a wide range of habitat types for birds like quail and sparrows. Today, those natural forces are gone, but the need for diverse habitat remains.

At BTLT, we’re using goats to help manage overgrown areas where machines and people struggle. These amazing animals help mimic the natural disturbances our land evolved with—managing woody plants (even poison ivy and thorny rose and blackberries) and promoting other native species.

Goats = less blood, sweat, and thorns for staff + more open, healthy habitat for native species.

09/05/2025

Bison once shaped Indiana’s landscapes, grazing in herds and helping create vibrant habitats. Today, we’re taking a creative approach to echo that impact—with sheep!

Sheep graze like mini bison, managing grasses naturally (even around solar panels!) and freeing up people for other stewardship work.

Old tools, new purpose. Follow along to see how this works in action!

09/04/2025

🌿 We’re Hiring: Live-In Facility Manager! 🌿

The E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center is looking for a dedicated Facility Manager to live on-site and help care for our unique campus. This role is perfect for someone who enjoys hands-on work, takes pride in maintaining buildings and grounds, and wants to be part of a mission-driven organization that connects people with nature.

✅ On-site housing provided
✅ Meaningful work in a one-of-a-kind environment
✅ Be part of a team that inspires the next generation to love and care for the natural world

If you’re dependable, handy, and ready to make a lasting impact at the Biophilia Center, we’d love to hear from you!

📌 View the full job description & apply here:
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=8315d661adb83b01&from=shareddesktop_copy

09/02/2025

Did you know that more than 185,000 acres of land are protected across Indiana thanks to the work of the Indiana Land Protection Alliance and its 24 member organizations? Buffalo Trace Land Trust is honored to be the newest member of the alliance!

From installing Motus towers to track and protect migratory birds, to restoring vital floodplains, to helping private landowners ensure beloved properties are protected forever—this alliance is making a lasting difference. These partnerships stretch across the state, ensuring that Hoosiers can connect with nature today—and for generations to come. Buffalo Trace Land Trust will do our part to protect and steward lands in Southern Indiana and hope you’ll follow both organizations to stay connected!

Indiana Land Protection Alliance is a network of nonprofit land trusts working together to conserve land throughout the state.

08/29/2025

This summer, our goat-grazed woods offered us an exciting surprise: a Spiranthes orchid in bloom and the song of Prairie Warblers ringing through the trees! Spiranthes orchids are known as “ladies’ tresses” orchids since the blooms resemble hair that has been braided or spiraled around the stems. Prairie warblers are small birds whose numbers are declining across the Americas. These discoveries tell us something important—our restoration is working.
After tagging a few warblers on two land trust properties in early July, we’ve been seeing one bird in particular that doesn’t mind sharing space with the goats and is active in that area nearly every day. And once the goats finished with grazing, we walked through the site collecting data on the plant community and were pleased to see a native orchid in bloom.
The goats did a fantastic job helping us clear invasive plants like multiflora rose, but were light enough on the land to allow more sensitive species to thrive. Finding orchids and warblers in these early succession woods shows that we’re striking a balance: creating habitat that supports both the recovery of native plants and the needs of wildlife.
It’s proof that stewardship, when done carefully, makes space for resilience and diversity to return.

08/18/2025

Join us and Floyd County Soil and Water Conservation District for a rain garden workshop! Learn about the impact raingardens have, how to select the ideal spot, which plants work best, and its benefits! The workshop will also give you a chance to get hands-on experience with installing one with all native plants! We invite you to bring garden gloves and your questions! 🧤🌱🌧

🗓 When: August 23rd from 9AM-2PM
📍Where: Sam Shine Foundation
💲Cost: $10 cash or check
⭐️RSVP: By August 19th to Gina Anderson

A light lunch will be provided. For more questions or information, contact Gina Anderson at [email protected] or call the Floyd County Extension Office at (812)-948-5470.

07/25/2025

How do we follow a bird smaller than your hand across hundreds—sometimes thousands—of miles?

We use Motus.

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a network of automated radio towers that pick up signals from tiny transmitters placed on birds like the prairie warbler—a bright yellow songbird that breeds in young forests and shrubby habitats here in Indiana. These birds are in steep decline across much of their range, and we need better data to help them recover.

When specially trained researchers tag individual birds and track their movements through Motus, scientists can learn exactly where prairie warblers go during migration, what stopover habitats they rely on, and how successful they are at returning to the same breeding grounds year after year.

Each bird is captured and tagged by professional scientists who make the safety of the birds their top priority.

This data helps land managers and conservationists protect and restore the right kinds of habitat, in the right places, at the right time.
Each ping from a Motus tower is a clue—and when we follow those clues, we can give vulnerable birds like the prairie warbler a better chance to thrive.

07/23/2025

Ever wonder why some birds wear tiny leg bands?

Trained researchers place these special bands on birds’ legs to track their movements, lifespan, and behavior over time, and different sized birds get different sizes and types of bands. Each band has a unique number that helps scientists gather critical data when a bird is recaptured or re-sighted. This tells us where the bird has been, how long it lives, and how often it returns to a particular area. Each bird was captured and tagged by professional scientists who made the safety of the birds their top priority.

For land managers, this data is gold. When we see certain bird species returning—or disappearing—from a site, it helps us understand what’s working and what needs improvement. If grassland birds vanish after woody plants take over, that’s a sign it might be time to cut back trees or reintroduce native grasses. If migratory songbirds show up every spring, it might mean our efforts to restore healthy habitat are paying off.

Birds are sensitive indicators of ecosystem health. Thanks to bird banding, we can tune in to what they’re telling us—and make smarter decisions for the land we all depend on.