Lake Size: 100 Acres (0.40 km2)
Shoreline Length (Miles): 21.47
Deepest Depth: 30.00
Latitude: 38.7203
Longitude: -86.9206
Lake Level Above Sea Level: 2785 ft (849 meters)
Counties: Daviess/Martin
Cities: Loogootee

Information: "The area was formerly owned by the Fibreboard Corporation until the early 1970s when a group of California Native Plant Society (CNPS) members, botanists from the University of California and local residents asked the company to consider setting aside the vernal pool and an adjacent forest. Although an undisturbed area, there were logging operations in the forest as well as geothermal and recreational activities that posed a threat to the fragile ecosystem. Fibreboard agreed to the offer, donated the land in 1973 and CNPS contacted The Nature Conservancy to assist with stewardship and legal matters. Named the Boggs Lake Preserve, it was a little more than 100 acres (0.40 km2) in size, included most of the lake and was immediately added to the portfolio of preserves managed by The Nature Conservancy. The Boggs Lake Preserve Committee was created soon afterwards and spent the next 10 years mapping and monitoring rare plants of the preserve. The result of these scientific observations over a decade showed that the boundaries of the preserve were inadequate and did not protect some unique plant species growing outside the preserve. Off-road vehicle activity was increasing, both inside the preserve and in the surrounding area. Also, a housing development proposed near one side of the lake could cause algae growth from septic tank runoff infiltration. Logging and geothermal resource extraction were still possible impacts to the area. In 1984 a new design for the preserve was drafted by the staff of The Nature Conservancy to address these issues. Based on the previous efforts of studying and managing the site, the expanded area added two major and six small parcels of the lake edge and a large meadow west of the lake to the original boundaries. These additions were obtained with donations from individuals, and the Dean Witter Foundation and the Goodhill Foundation. Another benefit from this purchase was connecting the preserve to the county road to providepublic access to the area. The history of the Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve became a model for understanding what needs to be accomplished when the goal is to preserve lands having biological significance and diversity. In its early days, the Conservancy chose sites for protection based on opportunity rather than scientific analysis of the environment. Today, the information gathered and analysed is the driving force for selection of areas for preservation by the Conservancy."