>> PRODUCTION SUPPORT FOR "JOURNEY INDIANA" IS PROVIDED BY: >> COMING UP, MEET THE PEOPLE CHANGING HOOSIERS LIVES EACH AND EVERY DAY.

>> MEET A REAL LIFEGUARDIAN ANGEL IN VINCENNES.

>> SEE THE PRAIRIE RESTORATION UNDERWAY OUTSIDE OF MOROCCO, INDIANA.

>> AND WITNESS THE ANNUAL SAND HILL CRANE MIGRATION.

THAT'S ALL ON THIS EPISODE OF JOURNEY, INDIANA!

♪ >> WELCOME TO "JOURNEY INDIANA."

>> I'M ASHLEY CHILLA.

>> AND I'M BRANDON WENTZ.

WE'RE TAKING A LOOK BACK AT OUR FAVORITE ANIMAL STORIES.

PRODUCER RUBEN BROWNING HAS THE STORY OF ICAN.

♪ >> ICAN IS A REALLY UNIQUE NOT FOR PROFIT IN CENTRAL INDIANA.

WE TRAIN SERVICE DOGS TO BE PLACED WITH INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, BUT WE DO IT IN A REALLY UNIQUE WAY.

WE ACTUALLY USE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS TO DO THE TRAINING.

SO THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOG 24/7, AND THROUGH THE TWO-YEAR PROCESS, THEY ACTUALLY ENGAGE THE DOG IN DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES TO PREPARE THEM TO BE WITH INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABLE.

SO WE LIKE TO SAY THAT WE ARE CHANGING LIVES ON BOTH ENDS OF THE LEASH.

>> THE PROBLEM STARTED WHEN I WAS 40 YEARS OLD AND NOW I WALK EITHER WITH A WALKER OR ON A SCOOTER.

A FRIEND OF MINE WHO ALSO HAS A SERVICE DOG SUGGESTED I CONTACTED ICAN.

I HAD APRIL AN INTERVIEW.

THEY WANTED TO SEE WHAT TYPE OF DOG I WOULD REACT TO.

>> THE WHOLE PREMISE AND THE REASON WHY ICAN WAS STARTED WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN MORE INDEPENDENCE.

THE INDEPENDENCE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY, BUT ALSO THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL TO GIVE THEM A PURPOSE, TO GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY RIGHT FROM WHERE THEY ARE.

>> BUT I WASN'T PREPARED FOR WAS THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT.

BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN, I REALIZED HE MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN HOW I FEEL.

LET'S SAY I GO SHOPPING AND I TAKE HIM WITH MY WALKER AND WE ARE GOING VERY, VERY SLOWLY THROUGH THE AISLES, AND I DON'T MIND.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE GREATEST GIFTS, REALLY.

HE MAKES ME FEEL NORMAL.

I CAN TAKE OLIVER WITH ME ANYWHERE, RESTAURANTS, SUPERMARKETS.

I MEAN, HE GOES WITH ME EVERYWHERE, DOCTORS' OFFICES.

>> SINCE 2002, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PLACE OVER 210 PEOPLE WITH A SERVICE DOG.

THAT DOG MAY IMPACT TEN PEOPLE A DAY, OR 100 PEOPLE A WEEK, OR 1,000 PEOPLE A YEAR.

SO THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THAT ONE ANIMAL PARTNERED WITH THAT ONE INDIVIDUAL IS IMMENSE.

THIS IS A LIFETIME COMMITMENT.

SO WE WANT THE DOG TO BE THE BEST SUITED FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL, FOR THEIR FAMILY, FOR THEIR SITUATION.

>> SO IT'S A TWO-YEAR TRAINING PROCESS FOR EACH DOG AND THERE'S ASSESSMENTS ALL ALONG.

THE SPECIALIZED SKILLS CAN GO FROM EMPTYING A WASHER AND DRYER AND PULLING A BASKET OVER TO A PERSON.

OPENING DOORS WITH BUTTONS, TURNING ON LIGHTS, TURNING OFF LIGHTS.

THEY PULL DOWN THE BED SHEET AND PULL IT BACK OVER.

THEY WILL PULL OFF YOUR SOCKS OR GLOVES, YOUR COAT, PUT THE LEG BACK IN THE WHEELCHAIR.

>> HE'S VERY GOOD IN KEEPING ME IN THE MOMENT.

I'M RIGHT THERE, AND I'M NOT WORRIES AND I DON'T MIND HAVING A DISABILITY, AND SO, I MEAN, THAT'S THE GREATEST THING.

I MEAN, IT'S HARD TO LOOK AT A DOG WITHOUT SMILING.

>> ICAN CURRENTLY FACILITATED OUT OF THREE PRISONS IN INDIANA.

WE DO TWO AT THE PENDLETON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AND THOSE ARE MEN FACILITY, MAXIMUM AND MEDIUM SECURITY PRISON.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE DOGS LOCATED AT THE INDIANA WOMEN'S PRISON HERE IN INDIANAPOLIS.

AND WE TREAT IT LIKE A JOB.

FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF OUR PARTNERSHIP, THE ONLY REQUIREMENT THAT WE HAVE IS THAT THAT INDIVIDUAL HAS A HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE OR A G.E.D., AND THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS WORK, BECAUSE IT'S NOT EASY.

SO WE WANT THEM TO TAKE THE JOB VERY SERIOUSLY.

AND FROM THERE,S THE SKY IS THE LIMIT.

THEY CAN LEARN HOW TO EACH THE DOG TO LEARN ALL THE SKILLS THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BE PLACED WITH AN INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.

>> AND THE HANDLERS HAVE GONE THROUGH A NINE-WEEK PROBATIONARY TRAINING.

THEY WORK IN GROUP SESSIONS AND ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS WHERE THEY TEACH NINE BASIC CORE BEHAVIORS PUPPYBEHAVIORSTO THE PUPPY.

WE ARE DEVELOPING INDIVIDUALS NOT JUST DOGS.

WE TEACH LIFE SKILLS, INTERPERSONAL, ANGER MANAGEMENT AND WE TRY TO INCORPORATE THAT IN OUR TRAINING AND GIVE THEM THE TOOLS, ARE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE.

>> OUR HOPE IS WHEN THEY DO GET OUT OF THE PRISON, THEY CAN USE THESE SKILLS TO WORK FOR A VET CLINIC OR GO WORK FOR AN ORGANIZATION WHERE THEY MIGHT BE DOING DOG TRAINING OR DOG GROOMING.

PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED, THEY HAVE A GOOD JOB AND THEY STAY EMPLOYED, THE LIKELIHOOD OF THEM RETURNING TO THE PRISON SYSTEM IS SMALLER.

AND SO THIS GIVES THEM A LITTLE BIT OF HOPE.

>> IN THE BEGINNING, YOU KIND OF FEEL -- YOU FEEL KIND OF WEIRD BECAUSE THESE ARE -- THESE ARE SERIOUS OFFENDERS.

WE AS CLIENTS, WE DON'T -- WE DON'T APPROACH THEM AS OFFENDERS.

WE APPROACH THEM AS HUMAN BEINGS.

WETHEY HAPPEN TO BE EXPERTS WHO TRAINED OUR DOGS IT.

AS I MATTER OF PRIDE THAT THEY GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY.

>> WE TYPICALLY HAVE OUR GRADUATION CEREMONIES IN THE PRISON, AND SO WE INVITE THE PUBLIC.

WE USUALLY HAVE ABOUT 300 PEOPLE OR SO COME IN AND WITNESS THE CHANGING OF THE LEASH.

SO THE INMATE HANDLER THAT'S BEEN WORKING WITH THE DOGS AND ACTUALLY GIVES THE LEASH OVER TO THE CLIENT AND THEIR FAMILY IS THERE.

AND HERE ARE THESE MOST UNLIKELY PEOPLE.

YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SOMEBODY WHO IS COMMITTED A CRIME, AND THE MEN AND WOMEN IN OUR PROGRAM, THEY ARE IN PRISON FOR A LONG TIME.

AND THEN ON THIS SIDE, YOU HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO FELT ISOLATED FROM MAYBE THEIR COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF THEIR DISABILITY.

SO BOTH OF THEM HAVE A PROBLEM, RIGHT?

AND THEN THEY COME TOGETHER TO SOLVE EACH OTHER'S PROBLEMS.

AND NOW THE INMATE HAS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HELP SOMEBODY AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLD RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE, AND THE CLIENT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE THIS GIFT OF THIS DOG, AND BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THEIR WORLD IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT WAY.

AND WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IN A MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON?

THAT'S OUR GOAL THAT THIS DOG IS THE CONDUIT OF HOPE, AND THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF EXPERIENCE FOR VOLUNTEERS, FOR HANDLERS, FOR CLIENTS, THAT IS NOT MATCHED BY ANYTHING ELSE IN THEIR LIFE.

>> WANT TO LEARN MORE?

JUST HEAD OVER TO ICANDOG.ORG.

ASHLEY?

>> THANKS, BRANNON.

UP NEXT, WE'RE HEADED TO VINCENNES, TO MEET A FEW OWLS, A COUPLE OF ADORABLE BOBCATS AND THE HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM WHO ARE NURSING THEM AND OTHER ANIMALS BACK TO HEALTH.

PARTICIPATE.

♪ ♪ >> I WAS BORN AND RAISED HERE IN KNOX COUNTY, VINCENNES, AND ALL THROUGH MY CHILDHOOD, MY DAD ALWAYS HAD COON DOGS, PIGEONS AND WE HAD ABOUT EVERYTHING.

WE ENJOYED LIFE AND WE DID A LOT OF FISHING AND A LOT OF HUNTING.

WE JUST ENJOYED THE OUTDOORS.

>> ROBERT LANG, ANGEL TOLL JUST ABOUT EVERYONE WHO KNOW -- TO JUST ABOUT EVERYONE WHO KNOWS HIM GREW UP SURROUNDED BY ANIMALS AND TODAY AT 70, LITTLE HAS CHANGED.

FOR INSTANCE IN A FIELD BEHIND HIS HOUSE ARE HIS PETS.

>> MY PETS ARE AMERICAN EISON, ICE -- AMERICAN BISONS, LONGHORNS AND THOSE ARE MY PETS.

>> AND SOMEHOW THOSE ARE THE LEAST SHOCKING.

THESE ARE NOT YOUR EVERY DAY HOUSECATS.

THEY ARE BABY BOBCATS.

DEFINITELY NOT PETS.

ANGEL AND HIS WIFE JOANNE ARE LICENSED WILDLIFE REHABILITATORS, HOUSING AND CARING FOR SICK, INJURED OR ORPHANED WILDLIFE.

>> WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE?

>> MOMMA GOT HIT IN FRONT OF THE COAL MINE THIS MORNING WITH THREE BABIES.

>> SHE HAD TRIPLETS?

>> YES.

THREE OF THEM.

THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MADE IT.

SHE'S STILL BLEEDING A LOT FROM -- I WOULD SAY HE SEEMS LIVELY BUT STILL BLEEDING A LOT FROM THE UMBILICAL AREA.

>> THAT'S A NEWBORN.

>> YES.

THEY WERE STILL IN THE SACK.

>> THE WORK CAN SEEM ENDLESS.

>> IT'S ALL HOURS AND DAYS OF THE NIGHT.

BOTTLE FEEDING, THE FAWNS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

IT'S JUST CONSTANT BOTTLE FEEDING.

CLEANING BOTTLES AND STERILIZING THE BOTTLES AND FIXING FORMULA.

IF ANYBODY HAS EVER RAISED A CHILD, BOTTLE FEEDING, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH.

OKAY.

THAT'S ABOUT ALL YOU ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE IN ONE NURSING.

WE'RE NOT PROFESSIONALS.

WE DO COMMON SENSE.

WE DO THE BEST WE CAN.

>> AND THEIR BEST IS PRETTY DARN GOOD!

OVER THE COURSE OF MORE THAN 40 YEARS, THEY HAVE CARED FOR MORE THAN 1500 ANIMALS AND BIRDS.

ACCORDING TO THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, THE VAST MAJORITY, MORE THAN 90%, HAVE BEEN RELEASED BACK INTO THE WILD.

>> IT USED TO BE HEARTBREAKING BUT NOW WHEN IT'S TIME TO GO, GET RID OF IT, BECAUSE WE GOT MORE COMING IN, YOU KNOW?

I TELL YOU, WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS NOW FOR ABOUT 44 YEARS.

SHE'S AWFUL SMALL.

AWFUL SMALL FAWN.

SHE'S AWFUL LITTLE.

I HAVE ONLY BROKE DOWN ONE TIME ON LOSING AN ANIMAL.

I HAD AN EAGLE THAT WAS BLIND.

WHY IT WAS BLIND, WE HAVE NO IDEA.

AND I PLAYED WITH IT OUTSIDE IN THE YARD.

I WOULD TEASE IT, FEED IT, AND FINALLY, IN LaFAYETTE, IT STARTED HAVING SEIZURES AND THEY COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN BECAUSE I HAD THE FEDERAL LICENSE.

I HAD TO GIVE THEM PERMISSION.

THAT'S THE ONLY TIME I BROKE DOWN ON ANY ANIMAL.

HE WAS SO HELPLESS BEING BLIND.

IT WAS SO HELPLESS.

I DON'T KNOW.

IT JUST -- I DON'T KNOW.

THAT'S THE ONLY ONE.

>> DUE TO THE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY THEIR STATE AND FEDERAL LICENSES, THEY CAN'T SOLICIT FUNDS, AND THE BILLS CAN BE SIGNIFICANT.

FOOD, VET VISITS AND TRIPS FOR RELOCATIONS CAN RUN INTO THE THOUSANDS.

>> IT ALL COMES OUT OF OUR POCKET, EVERYTHING.

EVERYTHING COMES OUT OF OUR POCKET.

THAT'S WHY I WENT BACK TO WORK AFTER I RETIRED.

>> IT'S COSTLY WORK, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND FINANCIALLY, BUT IT HASN'T GONE UNNOTICED.

IN 2018, THE INDIANA D.N.R.

AWARDED ANGEL THE POSITION OF HONORARY LIEUTENANT COLONEL FOR HIS DECADES OF SERVICE.

>> IT SURPRISED ME.

IT REALLY GOT TO ME.

I MEAN, I USED TO BE HARD-NOSED.

I'M GETTING -- IN MY OLD AGE, I'M GETTING MORE SOFT HEARTED.

GETTING AN AWARD LIKE THAT, IT SHOWS THAT THEY APPRECIATE IT.

♪ SOMEBODY HAS GOT TO DO IT.

SOMEBODY HAS GOT TO DO IT, AND WITH ALL THE RESPONSIBILITIES, THE PAPERWORK AND EVERYTHING ELSE, THE COST FACTOR, I DON'T KNOW.

I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE THE RIGHT MIND TO DO IT OR NOT, BUT I HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR SO LONG.

THAT'S THE ONLY THING I KNOW ANYMORE.

AS LONG AS MY HEALTH HOLDS UP, AND THE GOOD LORD KEEPS ME UPRIGHT, I WILL PROBABLY KEEP DOING IT.

IT KEEPS ME ALIVE, I GUESS.

I DON'T KNOW.

I ENJOY IT.

OF.

MAYBE THAT'S MY CALLING.

I DON'T KNOW.

>> AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WILDLIFE REHAB, YOU CAN GET MORE INFO AT THE ADDRESS ON THE SCREEN.

UP NEXT, WE'RE HEADED TO RURAL NEWTON COUNTY, WHERE PRODUCER JOHN TIM BRINGS US THE STORY OF KANKAKEE SANDS.

♪ JET.

>> THIS IS REALLY THE ONLY PLACE IN INDIANA WHERE YOU CAN GO AND SEE LANDSCAPE SCALE NATIVE GRASSLAND.

THE PRESERVE IS 8400 ACRES IN SIZE.

IT'S THE LARGEST PLANTED PRAIRIE IN THE COUNTRY.

WE WANTED OVER 7,000 ACRES OF PRAIRIE TO DATE AND IT'S ALSO ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE.

IT'S TRULY AN IMPRESSIVE SCALE FOR A PRAIRIE RESTORATION.

WE ARE STANDING ON THE KANKAKEE SANDS PRESERVE IN NORTHWEST INDIANA, LOCATED IN NEWTON COUNTY, RIGHT ON U.S. 41.

KANKAKEE SANDS IS PRIMARILY LOCATED IN WHAT WAS THE HISTORIC BEAVER LAKE.

IT WAS THE LARGEST LAKE IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.

IT WAS DRAINED IN THE 1800s FOR AGRICULTURE, AND RIGHT NOW, WE'RE STANDING ON WHAT IS LEFT OF IT, AND YOU CAN SEE ONE OF THE DEEPEST PARTS OF BEAVER LAKE BEHIND ME.

OBVIOUSLY IT'S NO LONGER A LAKE, IT'S HIGH DIVERSITY PRAIRIE AND IT'S THE SOUTH BISON PASTURE, WHERE THE BISON ARE CURRENTLY.

>> THIS IS REALLY ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE PLACES IN INDIANA.

MY PARTICULAR HISTORY WITH THE SITE GOES BACK QUITE A WAYS.

IN THE EARLY 2000s, I DID PLANT SURVEYS OUT HERE WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AS PART OF A RESEARCH PROJECT.

SO MY PERSONAL HISTORY WITH THE SITE GOES BACK PUSHING 20 YEARS.

SO I ACTUALLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE SITE GO FROM MOSTLY CORNFIELDS TO REALLY NICE DIVERSE PRAIRIE, WHERE WE COULD BRING BISON BACK AND GET THE LANDSCAPE SCALE IMPACTS THAT YOU CAN'T SEE ANYWHERE ELSE IN INDIANA.

>> THE NATURE CONSERVANCY WAS ABLE TO PURCHASE 7200 ACRES IN A SINGLE PURCHASE IN 1996.

IT'S GROWN TO ABOUT 8400 ACRES, BUT WE PLANTED OVER 7,000 ACRES OF THAT TO HIGH DIVERSITY PRAIRIE PLANTING.

AND SO IT'S A LANDSCAPE THAT'S CHANGED FROM ROW CROP AGRICULTURE, TO HIGH DIVERSITY PRAIRIE RESTORATION.

>> WE'RE LOOKING AT TODAY A REALLY WIDE ASSORTMENT OF NATIVE GRASSES AND WILDFLOWERS.

THE FLOWER YOU SEE HERE IS SPIDERWORT IT BLOOMS THIS TIME OF YEAR.

WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS REALLY DYNAMIC.

AND CERTAINLY IN-TACT ECOSYSTEM THAT WE MANAGED TO PUT BACK TOGETHER.

THERE'S A LOT OF INTERESTING PROCESSES GOING ON, THE PLANTS WE PUT HERE, RISING AND GROWING AND OUR MANAGEMENT CONTROLLING THE SPECIES.

AND WE HAVE LOTS OF INTERESTING THINGS HAPPEN.

LOTS OF NATIVE REPTILES AND INSECTS HAVE RECOLONIZED THIS AREA AND THE BACKGROUND, YOU CAN SEE THE BISON WHICH HAVE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.

♪ >> WE BROUGHT THEM BACK FOR PRAIRIE MANAGEMENT.

WE DIDN'T BRING THEM BACK FOR BISON CONSERVATION.

IT WAS TO CONSERVE PRAIRIE.

AND SO WHAT DO BISON DO?

BISON EAT GRASSES AND THEY MAKE LITTLE BISON.

AND SO WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?

IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THESE SYSTEMS EVOLVED WITH NATIVE GRAZERS AND SO THERE'S A WHOLE HOST OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT NEED SHORT GRASS.

IT'S EASY TO PLANT A PRAIRIE AND GET 6-FOOT TALL GRASSES.

IT'S DIFFICULT TO PLANT A PRAIRIE AND GET 1 FOOT GRASSES AND THERE'S A WHOLE HOST OF SPECIES THAT NEED THE 1 FOOT TALL GRASS AND BISON CREATE THAT ON THEIR OWN, JUST BY BEING BISON.

THEY ARE A GREAT TOOL FOR LAND MANAGEMENT.

>> WE THINK OF BISON AS PRIMARILY GRASS GRAZERS AND THAT'S REALLY TRUE OUT WEST AND THEY DO GRAZE ON GRASSES AS WELL HERE BUT THINGS LIKE THE WILLOWS AND THE SCOURING RUSH ARE KIND OF LITTLE SURPRISES WE DIDN'T EXPECT AND AS IT TURNS OUT THEY ARE A GREAT BENEFIT TO US THAT WE DIDN'T EXPECT WE WOULD GET.

>> 2016, WE BROUGHT IN 23 ANIMALS, AND 2017, WE BROUGHT ANOTHER TEN FROM WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK AND SINCE THEN THE HERD HAS GROWN, WE ARE SITTING AT OVER 70 ANIMALS TODAY.

THE BISON ARE THRIVING ON THE SITE.

THE ANIMAL WEIGHTS ARE CERTAINLY OVER AVERAGE, WHAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY SEE.

WHERE THESE ANIMALS CAME FROM IN SOUTH DAKOTA, THEY GOT ABOUT 18 INCHES OF RAIN.

HERE WE AVERAGE ABOUT 38 INCHES OF RAIN.

ADDITIONALLY, THEY ARE REALLY HIGH DIVERSITY PRAIRIE.

SO THERE'S PROBABLY OVER 600 SPECIES BEHIND ME RIGHT NOW IN THAT PRAIRIE AND THOSE BISON HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.

AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THEY ARE ABLE TO SELECT WHAT THEY LIKE TO EAT.

>> I'M EXPECTING TO SEE QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT RESULTS THIS YEAR.

WE HAVE SOME IMPACTS IN VEGETATION HEIGHT WHICH WE EXPECTED AND WHICH WE DESIRED.

INTERESTINGLY BASED ON THEIR GRAZING, THEY DO HAVE UNUSUAL PREFERENCES THAT WE DIDN'T EXPECT.

♪ >> AND IF THE BISON ARE DOING WHAT BISON DO.

THE BISON ARE DOING A LOT OF WORK FOR US.

IT'S NOT ONLY EXCITING TO SEE THE ANIMALS BUT IT'S ALSO EXCITING TO SEE THE EFFECTS THAT THE BISON ARE HAVING ON THE PRAIRIE ITSELF.

♪ >> NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHAT A RESTORED PRAIRIE LOOKS LIKE BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ONE.

PRAIRIE IS NOT A -- A -- PRAIRIE RESTORATION IS NOT AN END STATE.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS YET TO BE DONE.

WE MEASURE OUR SUCCESS HERE BASED ON THE CONNECTIVITY, AND SO WHAT HAVE WE SEEN?

WE HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS PLANTS AND ANIMALS MOVE ACROSS THAT LANDSCAPE, THAT WAS ONCE FRAGMENTED AND IS NOW SOME OF THE PRETTIEST PRAIRIE THAT YOU WILL EVER SEE.

>> I DIDN'T REALLY EVEN KNOW ABOUT PRAIRIES GROWING UP, AND COMING OUT HERE TO DO THE PLANT SURVEYS IN COLLEGE, I LEARNED ABOUT PRAIRIE AND WHAT A REALLY INTERESTING SYSTEM IT WAS AND HOW IMPERILLED IT WAS IN INDIANA.

JUST THE FACT THAT I'M ABLE TO COME BACK AND BRING BACK PRAIRIE ON A LANDSCAPE SCALE.

IT'S A COMPELLING REASON TO GET UP AND COME TO WORK IN THE MORNING.

♪ >> FOR MORE INFORMATION, JUST HEAD OVER TO NATURE.ORG AND SEARCH FOR KANKAKEE SANDS.

BRANDON?

>> THANKS, ASHLEY.

FINALLY, WE'RE HEADED OVER TO THE JASPER PULASKI FISH AND WILDLIFE AREA THAT'S ANNUALLY OVERRUN BY THOUSANDS OF UNDER SAND HILL CRANES -- OF SAND HILL CRANES.

WE HAVE THE STORY.

♪ ♪ >> THE SAND HILL CRANE IS ONE OF 15 SPECIES OF CRANES WORLDWIDE AND THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT POPULATIONS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.

THERE'S LOTS OF CRANES THAT WINTER RIGHT HERE IN INDIANA.

THEY WILL BE HERE ALL WINTER.

THE CRANES THAT COME THROUGH JASPER PULASKI, EVERYBODY WANTS TO KNOW WHY THEY COME HERE, AND IT JUST BASICALLY HAS TO DO WITH THE RANGE THAT THE GREATER SAND HILL CRANE OCCUPIES AND THE FACT THAT WE WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE TELL RIGHT TIME.

>> WE SHOULD GET 25.

>> THIS PROPERTY STARTED IN 1929, AND THE FIELD OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT WAS BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND MORE WHAT WILDLIFE NEEDED IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.

AND ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS WAS HABITAT.

♪ >> AND THE 1800s, INTO THE -- WELL INTO THE 1900s AND CONTINUING TODAY, WE'RE STILL LOSING HABITAT, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO PROTECT KEY HABITAT FEATURES IN TERMS OF THE SAND HILL CRANES.

THOSE WERE WETLAND AREAS.

♪ AS WE PROTECTED MORE HABITAT, THAT SMALL NUMBER OF CRANES IN THE CORE NESTING AREA IN WISCONSIN BEGAN TO INCREASE AND THEN REPIONEERED NEW AREAS.

SO WE WENT FROM IN THE 1930s, '40s, TO MAYBE JUST 300 NESTING PAIRS OF CRANES, TO ALMOST 100,000 IN THIS POPULATION NOW.

♪ AS THE SAND HILL CRANE POPULATION BEGAN TO REPOPULATE AND INCREASE, THE CRANES THAT USED THIS AREA CONTINUED TO USE IT, AND I MENTIONED THAT WISCONSIN WAS THE CORE NESTING AREA.

AND IF YOU WERE TO PUT YOUR FINGER IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN, AND A FINGER ON YOUR OTHER HAND IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, WHICH IS WHERE THE MAJORITY ROOSTED, OR SPENT THE WINTER IN THE '50s, '60s, '70s AND EVEN INTO THE '80s, JASPER PULASKI WOULD BE RIGHT UNDERNEATH THAT LINE.

SO THE MAJORITY NESTED IN WISCONSIN, MIGRATED TO FLORIDA.

SO THEY CAME THROUGH HERE IN THE FALL AND TO A LESSER EXTENT THEY ALSO CAME THROUGH HERE IN THE SPRING.

♪ >> THE PEAK HAS MOVED FROM MID-OCTOBER TO LATE NOVEMBER, EARLY DECEMBER.

BASED ON THE FACT THAT THEY ROOST IN OUR WETLAND AREAS AT NIGHT, WE CAN USE SEVERAL OBSERVERS AND COUNT THE CRANES AS THEY FLY OUT IN THE MORNING.

THE COUNT WAS 19,908.

JUST SHY OF 20,000.

SO WE ARE RIGHT -- THAT COULD BE A TYPICAL PEAK.

WE HAVE HAD PEAKS AT 35,000.

A FEATURE THAT THEY JUST DEVELOPED ON THEIR OWN IS THEIR OWN BEHAVIOR, IS THEY WILL LAND -- A LARGE NUMBER WILL LAND IN THIS FIELD, WHICH ACTUALLY WAS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED FOR CANADA GEESE, BUT THE CRANES FAR OUT NUMBER THE CANADA GEESE NOW.

♪ >> ONE THE THINGS THAT MAKES THEM SO INTERESTING TO PEOPLE, IS THEY ARE A BIRD THAT FLOCKS TOGETHER.

THEY ARE EASILY SEEN.

THEY MAKE A LOT OF NOISE.

THEY HAVE A LOT OF INTERESTING BEHAVIORS, PARTICULARLY THEIR COURTSHIP RITUAL.

SO THEY ARE JUST ATTRACTED TO PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE SUCH GREAT NUMBERS.

♪ ♪ >> LAST YEAR'S MIGRATION IS COMPLETE, BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE INFO ON THIS FALL, JUST GO TO IN.GOV/DNR AND SEARCH FOR SAND HILL MIGRATION.

AND AS ALWAYS, WE WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO STAY CONNECTED WITH US.

>> JUST HEAD OVER TO JOURNEYINDIANA.ORG.

THERE YOU CAN SEE FULL EPISODES, CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE AND INSTAGRAM AND SUGGEST STORIES FROM YOUR NECK.

WOODS.

>> BEFORE WE SAY GOOD-BYE, LET'S SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE SAND HILL CRANES AT THE JASPER PULASKI FISH AND WILDLIFE AREA.

♪ >> PRODUCTION SUPPORT FOR "JOURNEY INDIANA" IS PROVIDED BY: