Finding a Delicate Balance Between Conservation and History

By Kris Vance, Indiana NRCS State Public Affairs Specialist

On the banks of the Wabash River, nestled within a landscape shaped by centuries of change, a quiet transformation is underway, one that honors the deep history of the Ouiatenon area while protecting its ecological and archaeological legacy. The Ouiatenon Preserve: A Roy Whistler Foundation Project is not your typical habitat restoration project. It's a rare and complex convergence of cultural preservation and ecological restoration, made possible by a unique collaboration between landowners, archaeologists, biologists and conservation agencies.

"This project was really unlike anything I'd worked on before," said Angie Garcia Miller, Area Biologist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who helped guide the project from concept to execution. "Most people come in and say, 'I want to restore pollinator habitat,' or 'I want to plant a prairie.' But in this case, the property-owners came in and said, 'We have this amazing archaeological site, how can we protect it?' That was a first for me."

The land in question is 186 acres of the historic Fort Ouiatenon site-once a thriving 18th-century French trading post, and before that, home to indigenous peoples for thousands of years who found a value on the banks of the Wabash River. Protecting the archaeological integrity of the site while restoring ecological function meant striking a delicate balance between nature and history.

"We had to make sure the plants we selected didn't have deep taproots that could disturb artifacts below the surface," Garcia Miller explained. "There was a lot of back and forth with archaeologists to make sure we weren't inadvertently damaging the very thing we were trying to preserve."

The restoration was implemented through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) initiative that helps landowners convert environmentally sensitive agricultural land into conservation habitat. State-level Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) funding through the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) added additional support to enhance the ecological value within this priority watershed. CREP is a unique partnership program between FSA and ISDA designed to help reduce some of the concerns of high nonpoint source sediment, nutrient, pesticide and herbicide losses from agricultural lands by restoring buffers and wetlands to improve water quality. NRCS adds a third layer by working with the partnership to provide technical assistance to the landowner to help determine conservation efforts. Starting the project as the rural conservationist for Tippecanoe County Soil and Water Conservation District Garcia Miller, now NRCS' northwest Area Biologist, worked closely with the landowners to develop and execute a conservation plan tailored to the site's unique conditions which included high water tables, sandy soils and flood cycles that can leave the ground underwater for weeks each spring.

"This wasn't a one-size-fits-all restoration," she said. "We went through the full NRCS planning process figuring out what the problem was, what the goal of the area was and how we could solve it. Then we built a restoration plan to fit the site, not just the soil and water conditions, but the historical context too."

One of the most complex challenges for the project was soil variability. Despite being classified as well-drained in places, much of the Wabash floodplain sits underwater for long periods in spring. "We needed plants that could survive being completely submerged for a week in April and then baked dry in August," Garcia Miller said. "It was like solving a living puzzle."

That kind of site-specific expertise is where NRCS thrives. As the technical arm of the USDA family, NRCS brings science-based planning, engineering and ecological insight to support landowners' goals. "We're there to walk alongside them, helping translate a vision into a viable, sustainable outcome," Garcia Miller said. "And in this case, the vision was preserving a piece of Indiana's past while also restoring its ecological health."

The project was seeded in phases, beginning in 2017, with seed mixes designed for varying moisture conditions and a diverse pollinator habitat planted into approximately five acres. In 2019, they expanded the project to include another 104 acres which were enhanced using US Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Wildlife Program funding. "That support gave us a little bit of an edge," said Angie. "We could use better-quality seed mixes and add species that wouldn't have been possible with CRP and CREP funds alone." Planting concluded in 2020 with the final 77.5 acres planted in grass and forbs.

Colby Barlett, archaeologist and Director of Ouiatenon Preserve, said the results speak for themselves. "This is a true partnership effort. By working with all of these groups, we were able to get more plants that directly benefit bees and butterflies. It's amazing to see how many pollinators are out there now."

Garcia Miller noted that ecological restoration isn't as simple as planting seeds and walking away. "People think restoration means just letting nature do its thing, but that's not really how it works, especially here," she said. "People have been managing this land for thousands of years. We're still doing that. We want the end result to look like untouched nature, but it takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get there and to keep it functioning."

The success of the project is the result of many hands, including private landowners, USDA, ISDA, and organizations like the Tippecanoe County Historical Association and Archaeological Conservancy, all which provided vital financial and technical support beyond the scope of federal and state funding. It's a reminder that land stewardship is rarely a solo effort. "It was a true partnership," said Garcia Miller. "Everyone brought something unique to the table."

Standing at the overlook above the restored wet prairie, you can feel the weight of time in the wind. Butterflies drift among blooming wildflowers, roots sink carefully into place and the Wabash River gently flows nearby. The Ouiatenon Preserve has stories to tell, both old and new, and thanks to this thoughtful and collaborative restoration, it will be ready to share them with generations to come.