The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

The Blue River is situated in southern Indiana, having its headwaters in Clark, Orange and Washington counties and meandering through Harrison and Crawford counties to its Ohio River destination (see map).

Largely spring fed, the river maintains a high dissolved oxygen level and serves as a refuge for several aquatic species of global significance, including freshwater mussels (like the elephantear mussel) and the Hellbender salamander - the Blue River is the only body of water in Indiana where this species still occurs.

The Blue River basin is underpinned by limestone bedrock interspersed with caves, sinkholes and underground rivers that deliver cold, oxygen-rich water to Blue River as well. Not only do these karst systems create habitat in the above ground portions of Blue River, the underground rivers and caves support numerous rare cave invertebrates and other unique species like northern cavefish and the Indiana bat.

The basin also contains rare karst plant communities such as limestone glades, chert barrens and upland sinkhole swamps. Lady-slipper orchids, Dwarf ginseng and Synandra are a few examples of the rare and endangered plant species that have been identified in and around the basin. A recent survey uncovered one of North America's rarest plants - the endangered Short's goldenrod - near the town of Corydon. This finding is one of only two  areas in the world known to harbor wild populations of this specific goldenrod.

What The Nature Conservancy is Doing and Has Done for the Blue River Basin

One way the Conservancy shows its commitment to the basin- as well as the lands and landowners surrounding it- is through the Forest Bank. Used primarily in areas that are near, but not within, "core" conservation sites such as glades, streams, and public lands, the Forest Bank allows the Conservancy to actively manage forest for those ecological attributes that best advance our mission and the health of the Blue River.

If you have any questions concerning the Blue River Project Office, please contact us at 5885 Wulfman Road SE, Laconia, Indiana  47135 or (812) 737-2087.