Ken Brunswick

As a child, Ken Brunswick studied the abundant bird life on his family’s Holstein Dairy Farm in Ohio. Mr. Brunswick’s dream to become an ornithologist ended when he was encouraged to farm rather than enter college. However, after 20 years of owning and operating a crop farm and a Holstein Dairy Farm in Indiana, Mr. Brunswick entered Ball State University (BSU) to pursue a degree in Natural Resources and Biology. While attending BSU, Mr. Brunswick worked as Wetland Restoration Coordinator for the Whitley County Soil and Water Conservation District and Friends of the Limberlost.

After graduating from BSU, Mr. Brunswick spent the next ten years restoring the 428-acre Loblolly Marsh Wetland Preserve – part of the Limberlost Wetlands – and leading efforts to purchase and restore an additional 1,092 acres of farmed wetlands. Mr. Brunswick has written grants; negotiated acquisitions; coordinated with agencies, organizations, and local officials; given talks; overseen volunteers; and developed trails in an effort to ensure the restoration of the Limberlost. The project has provided migration and nesting sites for thousands of birds, including some endangered and threatened species. In 2003, the Limberlost and Loblolly Projects were put under the jurisdiction of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Nature Preserves to ensure long term sustainability. Since then, Brunswick wrote and received Indiana's first Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program grant and has overseen the restoration of over 1000 acres of the Limberlost Swamp Remembered Project.