A $200,000 gift from a charitable trust has helped the Central Indiana Land Trust acquire and preserve 109 acres of woodland in southwest Johnson County.

The land trust named the block of virtually untouched forest the Laura Hare Preserve at Blossom Hollow after the Dr. Laura Hare Charitable Trust covered 40 percent of the $500,000 acquisition.

The preserve, which is accessible from Hougham Road near Trafalgar, will protect a nesting area for migratory birds, among other plant and animal life.

The land trust says the area is home to several species that are rare in Indiana, such as the worm-eating warbler, the hooded warbler and the Eastern box turtle.

Additional contributions came from the Russell W. Lamb Trust, Indiana Heritage Trust, Johnson County Community Foundation, IPL Golden Eagle Grant, Amos Butler Audubon, INPAWS and several individuals.

Hare was a medical doctor who worked at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The lifelong Indianapolis resident, who died in 2006 at age 100, was a wildlife enthusiast who enjoyed developing animal habitats outside her home.

The Hare trust gave the land trust two other gifts in 2007 for other property acquisitions.