They promised us a big announcement and that is exactly what we got! Even better, we’re only half-finished.
Yesterday, Governor Mitch Daniels announced a sweeping new property acquisition initiative that will transform west-central Indiana into a wildlife (and outdoors enthusiast) paradise.
The state will begin to acquire 43,000 acres of river bottom land from willing sellers along Sugar Creek from Shades State Park to Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Area south of Terre Haute. When completed, this project will be larger than Brown County State Park and Morgan-Monroe State Forest COMBINED!
The plan is to purchase floodplain land in the area from willing sellers and turn much of it into wetland areas. This has a potential to alter the eastern flyway and turn Indiana into a major eastern U.S. waterfowl hotspot, along with becoming a “regionally-significant tourist destination.”
The state will use $21.5 million dollars from the Lifetime License Trust Fund to fund this project, along with additional support from The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Ducks Unlimited.
The hope is that this money can also be used to leverage federal matching funds in a 3:1 ratio.
This truly is a “game-changer” for Indiana and could turn what is currently a nice area to canoe, hike, hunt, fish, camp, sightsee and bird watch into a nationally-recognized outdoor sports destination.
Best of all, the governor will be make Part II of this announcement later today.
Click on map to see full-sized (large file!)
INFO LINKS:
Terre Haute TribStar.com
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette
Lafayette Journal-Courier
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The big news: 43,000 acres of adventure!
Posted by Brent on 6/11/10 • Categorized as Fish/Hunt,WildBlog
Yesterday, Governor Mitch Daniels announced a sweeping new property acquisition initiative that will transform west-central Indiana into a wildlife (and outdoors enthusiast) paradise.
The state will begin to acquire 43,000 acres of river bottom land from willing sellers along Sugar Creek from Shades State Park to Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Area south of Terre Haute. When completed, this project will be larger than Brown County State Park and Morgan-Monroe State Forest COMBINED!
The plan is to purchase floodplain land in the area from willing sellers and turn much of it into wetland areas. This has a potential to alter the eastern flyway and turn Indiana into a major eastern U.S. waterfowl hotspot, along with becoming a “regionally-significant tourist destination.”
The state will use $21.5 million dollars from the Lifetime License Trust Fund to fund this project, along with additional support from The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Ducks Unlimited.
The hope is that this money can also be used to leverage federal matching funds in a 3:1 ratio.
This truly is a “game-changer” for Indiana and could turn what is currently a nice area to canoe, hike, hunt, fish, camp, sightsee and bird watch into a nationally-recognized outdoor sports destination.
Best of all, the governor will be make Part II of this announcement later today.
Click on map to see full-sized (large file!)
Terre Haute TribStar.com
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette
Lafayette Journal-Courier
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