Kankakee Sands: A Prairie Reclaimed for All to Enjoy

At Kankakee Sands Preserve in Newton County, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has spent the last 25+ years restoring native plants, wildlife and prairie habitat. Four years ago, a still more powerful part of the restoration began, one focused on people. TNC set out with the goal of transforming Kankakee Sands into a welcoming destination, not only in Indiana, but in the Midwest, for an immersive, educational and inspirational nature experience.

To accomplish this vision, TNC received technical assistance from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program, who facilitated a planning process that invited input from many of our partners. This participation and feedback created more inclusive and accessible infrastructure that invites visitors to connect with each other, the land and the many stories the land holds. The improvements include accessible parking, restrooms, informational signage and trails built with compacted gravel and limestone fines for firm, smooth surfaces.

Viewing decks with ramps now invite people using strollers or wheelchairs to take in sweeping prairie vistas. At two of those decks, visitors will find viewing scopes at two heights, each having a special lens to help those with color blindness see the prairie in full bloom. Additionally, QR codes on signage link to Spanish translations.

But there’s something deeper going on at Kankakee Sands. In a time of changing climatic conditions and loss of the essential variety of plants and animals, when many of us are feeling the weight of environmental anxiety, this preserve offers something rare: hope.

The original prairie was lost through time. Because of the tireless dedication of many people, the prairie has been revived. More than 600 species of native plants have returned, and with them, the butterflies, birds, reptiles and mammals. A herd of 100 bison now roams 1,000 fenced acres, nourished not by human hands, but by the land itself. This is what happens when people believe in the power of restoration—and act on it.

TNC has traditionally told the story of Kankakee Sands as an ecological success. Now, we are also embracing a fuller, more complex human narrative: that this land is part of the homeland of Indigenous Peoples. The educational experience goes beyond the visible landscape to include the deeper human roots to this land. Visitors can learn about the historical, cultural, linguistic and spiritual connections of modern Indigenous Peoples to the place known as Kankakee Sands today. The signage has contemporary Indigenous words for species in the prairie, with translations provided by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. 

As TNC expands the human stories that we learn and tell, we expand our capacity to understand and connect to each other and to nature. Our communities become more complete.

Kankakee Sands is more than a destination. It is a living, evolving example of what’s possible when we honor both the natural world, and the human stories rooted in it. And it’s a reminder that, together, people can restore what’s been lost and ensure everyone is invited to experience and share in the wonder of a thriving prairie.