Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

The park is in the Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion.

Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species
The park includes habitats for several rare plants and animals. The park has more than 1400 species of vascular plants, ranking it 8th in total plant species among all units of the National Park System. None of the plants are on the Federal list of Threatened and Endangered Species (T&E Species), but several are on the list of State T&E Species. Populations of each plant group are estimated to be around 100-120 individual plants. The species included are:

• White baneberry, (Actaea pachypoda)
• Virginia snake root (Aristolochia serpentaria)
• Shooting Star (Dodecatheon media)
• American columbo (Frasera caroliniensis)
• Pink corydalis (Corydalis sempervirens)

Among the rare and endangered wildlife are:

• Indiana bat, (Myotis sodalis)
• eastern massasauga rattlesnake, (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)

In addition, the park has habitat suitable for:

• bald eagle, (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Species Count
The numbers below are taken from the Main Articles or See also articles attached to this page. They will be updated as additional list/articles are created.

Wildlife - Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is full of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, Red Fox, raccoons, opossums, cottontail rabbits, Canada geese, seagulls, squirrels, hawks, Turkey Vultures, mallards, Great Blue Herons, garter snakes, songbirds, and rodents.

Flowering Plants - The Indiana Dunes has over 369 species of flowering plants. Of these, thirteen are considered Threatened or Endanger of extinction. Additionally, there four invasive flowering plants on the list. Some of the most common spring flowers include the May Apple, buttercups (6 varieties), and violets (14 varieties). Summer brings out the orchids (5 varieties) and lots of goldenrod (11 varieties).

Invasive Plants - Invasive plants are those introduced species that dominate a landscape pushing out traditionally native species and others species by their ability to multiply rapidly. There are 54 such species in the dunes.

Unusual Sightings
In October 1920, a rare Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker was captured a mile west of Dune Park Station. Later that month another male was captured east of Dune Park Station. One was busy digging out grubs and the other was nervously flying from tree to tree.

In May 1919, a Clay-colored Sparrow was found near Dune Park. It was a part of a larger flock of Harris's Sparrow migrating along the western shore of Lake Michigan.

Extirpated Species
Several species of plants and animals have disappeared from the dunes. Few can be clearly identified. Among those species thought to be gone are listed below:

Exotic and Invasive Species

Alien or exotic species are plants and animals which are not native to the area. These plants can be classified as Invasive if they rapidly replace other plants and animals in the ecosystem, creating a monoculture and threatening the extinction of the traditional plants and animals. Among plants found in the park, the following are considered to be exotic. Those marked with an '*' are listed as invasive