I was contracted in 2025 to scout and survey for chert barrens in southern Indiana. Chert barrens are grassland communities classified by a relatively high (10-20%) chert content in the soil, resulting in a seemingly out-of-place acidophilic plant community atop the alkaline Mitchell Karst Plain. This colossal project involved extensive desktop research, data management, extensive in-person scouting, strategic outreach to private landowners, coordination of group survey events, curation of a target-plant list, calculated follow-up, site inventories, and de-facto remnant habitat classification. The project was completed with four new chert barrens documented and relocation of a population of the state-endangered Polygala incarnata.
Client: Central Indiana Land Trust (CILTI)
Area: 300+ square miles
Location: Washington and Harrison Counties, Indiana