Description
Douglas Woods Nature Preserve is nestled along Fish Creek on the border of DeKalb and Steuben Counties. This preserve boasts almost 400 acres of mature hardwood forest. The diameters of some of these truly majestic trees reach nearly four feet with canopies easily topping the 100-foot mark.
Purchased from the Douglas Family in 1993, Douglas Woods South has a state-dedicated nature preserve at its heart. Its mature oak forest is dotted with a complex system of seasonal wetlands and serves as a focal point for conservation in northeast Indiana. It offers a window into the past, harboring rare species such as Blanding’s turtle and the blue-spotted salamander, while Fish Creek is home to several species of rare mussels.
At Douglas Woods North, 300 acres of agricultural land have been undergoing active restoration for the past 15 years. This includes the planting and caretaking of more than 300,000 native trees and 30,000 native wetland plants. Today, the land in and around Douglas Woods is home to restored forest, floodplain forest and wetland habitat, and a 550-acre buffer and filter water for Fish Creek, offering many native plants and animals a place to call home.
Visitor Improvements
In 2022, TNC was granted in-kind assistance from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program to gather community recommendations and develop a conceptual design and report. TNC has been collecting public input for the visitor upgrades to Douglas Woods over the past several years.
The responses to these concepts have been incorporated into a final conceptual design, which will be completed this year.
The planned improvements at Douglas Woods include clearly defined visitor parking and trails, as well as new signage and viewing areas. Construction will begin in 2026. Stay tuned!
Douglas Woods Addition
We are thrilled to share that an additional 265 acres have been protected at Douglas Woods Nature Preserve! This new tract of land helps bridge the gap between Douglas Woods North and Douglas Woods South and brings the preserve to 1,635 total acres. In this working landscape, protection of this property provides a buffer to Fish Creek, ensuring the health of the stream and the species that inhabit it.
With enhanced visitor amenities such as trails, wildlife viewing areas, accessible parking and educational signage now under development, the timing couldn’t be better for the protection of this tract.
December 2025
