Commissioners establish 409-acre Monroe County Nature Preserve

By Donnie Burgess

A 409-acre donation of land to the county is now officially the Monroe County Nature Preserve.

Guided tours are planned for 2026 with full, open trails expected for 2027.

Nancy Huntington, whose family has owned and farmed the land since 1906, donated the property bordered by South Smith Road, East Moores Pike and State Road 446.

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners approved the donation Thursday and gave the land the title of Monroe County Nature Preserve. Historic markers or archeological notes may be added to the property in cooperation with the Monroe County Historic Preservation Board of Review.

“If there is a key archaeological significance that's found, they're going to look at the long history of this property,” said Julie Thomas, president of the board of commissioners.

The county parks and recreation department will build an extensive trail system on the land using grass pathways and create a limited nature park with recreational activities. There will be a focus on interconnectivity between the trails and existing neighborhood trails.

Wildlife management and forest and tree plantings will be a primary focus for the land.

“We're gonna be planting trees, hundreds of trees, thousands of trees,” said Kelli Wimer, director of the parks and recreation department. “We're working with Purdue University to calculate and figure out how to do all this.”

Turf fields or large facilities will not be feasible, according to a press release from the board of commissioners. Parts of the Huntington property are still being farmed.