History and Mission

Shirley Heinze Land Trust works to protect and restore ecologically significant natural areas in Northwest Indiana. Endowed as a charitable trust in 1981 through a gift by Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Seidner, it was named to honor the memory of Dr. Shirley Heinze, an Ogden Dunes resident who was actively involved in the protection of the Indiana Dunes. Dr. Heinze, who died in 1978, was a psychologist and faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Click here to see SHLT’s 30th Anniversary Magazine for pictures of preserves, activities, and a historical timeline of organizational activities.

The mission of Shirley Heinze Land Trust is twofold:

• To protect habitats and ecosystems of Northwest Indiana through acquiring, restoring, and protecting environmentally significant landscapes for present and future generations and
• To inspire and educate people of all ages about the value of land conservation to protect our natural world and enrich our lives

Since inception, we have acquired for preservation over 1,100 acres of natural land surrounding southern Lake Michigan. This includes 900 acres that we own outright and manage, 100 acres held as conservation easements, and roughly 30 acres transferred to the National Park Service and Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

We also work in conjunction with other land protection and preservation entities, such as government agencies, non-profit groups, and businesses. Our current holdings cover almost the entire range of habitat communities in this area, including:

• Sand dunes and interdunal ponds in Miller (Lake County, IN)
• Globally rare dune-and-swale habitat in Hammond and Gary (Lake County, IN)
• Wet woodlands, stepped fen, bur oak savanna, and tallgrass prairie in Hobart (Lake County, IN)
• Sand prairie, yellow-birch fen, and oak savanna in Portage (Porter County, IN)
• Portions of the Great Marsh in Beverly Shores (Porter County, IN)
• Floodplain and upland woods in Chesterton (Porter County, IN)
• Boreal flatwoods and wetlands in Michigan City (LaPorte County, IN)
• Moraine forest (west LaPorte County, IN)
• Woodlands in Valparaiso, (Porter County, IN)

Alongside our efforts to preserve and restore ecologically significant natural areas in the southern Lake Michigan watershed, our community education program raises awareness of the scientific and cultural relevance of preserving our unique ecosystems. Shirley Heinze Land Trust has published four books of environmental interest and conducted numerous educational hikes and other public presentations.