Indiana wetlands plan is called
'amazing'
By Bill Ruthhart
Posted: June 11, 2010
Gov. Mitch Daniels on Thursday unveiled the state's most aggressive
conservation initiative in recent history, promising to preserve thousands of acres
of wetlands in two areas.
Daniels said the state would try to acquire 43,000 acres in the flood plain of a 94-
mile stretch of the Wabash River from Shades State Park south of Crawfordsville
to Fairbanks Landing Fish & Wildlife Area south of Terre Haute.
Today, he'll announce a similar initiative for the Muscatatuck River in southeastern Indiana, but state
officials declined to give details of that project.
The Wabash conservation effort, however, is considered one of the largest ever undertaken and ranks
as a top environmental initiative during Daniels' two terms in office.
"This is the most amazing and perhaps the most significant investment in conservation in a generation
in Indiana," said Mary McConnell, state director for The Nature Conservancy of Indiana. "It's exactly
the kind of project we should be working on as a state."
The Daniels administration has embarked on other conservation efforts -- the rehabilitation of the
Grand Calumet River in Northwest Indiana and the purchase of the 8,000-acre Goose Pond wetland
reserve near Linton -- but Thursday's announcement dwarfs those.
Daniels called the effort a "huge leap forward" in conservation that would "create something of lasting,
large importance and make the statement that no one anywhere is more determined to protect the
natural beauty that was their inheritance than Hoosiers are."
The state will use $21.5 million from the Lifetime License Trust Fund, a state account dedicated to
conservation, and $10 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to begin acquiring the land. The
Lifetime License Trust Fund collected money from the sale of lifetime hunting, fishing and trapping
licenses, which were discontinued in 2005.
Daniels said the $31.5 million in cash would be used to leverage additional federal funding, as well as
private contributions.
Nick Heinzelman, director of land acquisition for the state Department of Natural Resources, said that
money would not be enough to buy all of the land but would go a long way. None of the land, he said,
would be taken forcibly by eminent domain.
"This will all come from voluntary sellers. Some will want to sell now; others may wait," Heinzelman
said. "Any land that comes up for sale, we'll be there to buy it right away."
Daniels made it clear during his announcement on the banks of the Wabash in Terre Haute that he
intends to move the project forward quickly.
"Over the next few years -- and I hope it's very few -- this part of the Wabash River, 94 miles of it, will
be one continuous wildlife habitat, one of the largest in the eastern United States," the governor said.
"Anything worth really doing we always feel is worth doing as fast as possible. That will be our goal: to
make this real as fast as it can practically be done."
Several weeks ago, Daniels gathered McConnell and about 20 other conservation partners in his
Statehouse office to share his plan, and all were stunned by the size of the initiative.
"Our jaws were all hanging down," McConnell said. "Nobody could say anything. It was like, 'What?
Could this possibly be true?' "
Tim Maloney, senior policy director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, said he also was shocked
by Daniels' announcement, particularly because it's one of the largest acquisition efforts in recent
history.
"This is a very large undertaking," Maloney said, "and we're glad to see it happening."
He said this only further solidifies Daniels' record of making preservation a top priority. However, he
said, the governor's environmental record remains a "mixed one."
The Hoosier Environmental Council has criticized the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management for scaling back programs and has filed complaints challenging the state's air and water
quality standards.
Still, Maloney said Daniels' announcement Thursday marked a "significant step."
It's one the governor said he hopes leaves a lasting impression on the state's environment.
"The Wabash unites Indiana, if anything does," Daniels said. "So many of our great communities grew
up along it. It's in our state song. This is our river. I hope generations of Hoosiers will look back and be
grateful for this and enjoy it."