INDIANAPOLIS — The Forest Alliance and Forests for Indy will hold a Save Eastside Flatwoods Community Meeting on Tuesday Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at Lighthouse Community Church, 8401 E. Rawles. City Councilor Andy Nielsen is scheduled to be there and City Councilor Hart has been invited but has not yet confirmed his attendance. The organizations have also invited representatives from the Mayor’s Office.
They are pushing for the Mayor’s Office to use $4.5 million in unspent returned funds to purchase Eastside Flatwoods, I-70 Woods, and Goose Creek Forest. There is some urgency to this advocacy as these funds will be reallocated in March.
The Eastside Flatwoods are the major priority for the Forests for Indy Campaign to be preserved in 2025. This 75-acre urban forest has never been disturbed by plowing and for years has been highlighted as a special place to be preserved as greenspace and park. The forest has vernal pools, wetlands, and very little invasive species presence.
Flatwoods are the forest type that dominated the pre-European settlement landscape of Indiana; deep forests growing on flat lands. This forest is a remnant of the original Indiana forest. It is the largest flatwood in Marion County that is not preserved in the park system.
Unfortunately, that deal to purchase these woods by Indianapolis never got done. Warehouses are now being built around the forest, but there is a strong desire by all parties to preserve the existing forest and some nearby green space.
The long-time family-owned forest is willing to sell to the city of Indianapolis for conservation purposes. The Eastside Flatwood is located on Rawles east of South Franklin Rd.