Indiana Celebrates Two New Conservation Projects

Two new NRCS Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP) projects have brought over $1 million of the $4.3 million set aside nationally for WREP to the State of Indiana.  The Limberlost and Loblolly Marsh projects -- the result of cooperation between local, State and Federal agencies -- are located on the far eastern part of the State in the Wabash River Floodplain corridor that includes Vermillion, Parke, Fountain, Vigo, Warren, and Sullivan counties.

NRCS Indiana State Conservationist Jane Hardisty, NRCS Regional Assistant Chief Dick Coombe, Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman, and others were on hand for the recent signing ceremony to celebrate the two new conservation projects. “We didn’t create the Earth,” Coombe said, “but we have an obligation to protect it.” He called the Wabash River area a “treasure chest for endangered and rare species.”

“The new WREP projects are an exciting new conservation opportunity,” Hardisty said. She  praised State and local agencies for working together to make it a success. “It’s all about helping people help the land.”

The Wabash River Corridor project will receive WREP funds to create a habitat corridor for migratory birds by connecting existing Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) lands along the river in the six area counties. The project will also evaluate reforestation efforts and help to develop new reforestation strategies for the flood plain. Portions of the WRP sites are currently kept flooded during portions of the year to help create a habitat for certain species of birds and animals. Other portions are planted in crops that provide good food sources for those species. (from a Daily Clintonian article)
Your contact is Mike McGovern, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 317-290-3200, ext.324.