Southern Johnson County is getting 109 acres of environmentally important forest land, known as Callon Hollow, that will result in more than 1,500 acres in that area that will be protected forever.

The forest has been acquired by the Central Indiana Land Trust and is home to a variety of plants and animals that include species of concern such as worm-eating warblers, hooded warblers and broad-winged hawks, as well as a plentiful population of spotted wintergreen, a plant species on the state watch list.

The land is part of the land trust Hills of Gold, which is one of the most biodiverse areas in the region that features red oak and spring wildflowers as well as habitat for the rare and endangered Eastern box turtle, hooded and worm-eating warbler and cerulean warbler.

“By adding to the Hills of Gold area, we are protecting crucial habitat for so many rare and endangered species. Indiana doesn’t have a lot of big blocks of forest remaining so adding this preserve within a larger conservation area does a lot to help plants and animals to thrive,” Cliff Chapman, executive director of CILTI, said in a media release.