Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Healthy Rivers INitiative open house in Austin, IN

The Department of Natural Resources will host a Nov. 14 open house in Austin to update the public on Indiana's Healthy Rivers INitiative, a land conservation project that includes the Muscatatuck River bottoms in southeast Indiana.

The open house is from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Austin Fire Department, 80 W. Main St.

Under the Healthy Rivers INitiative, the DNR and its partners are working with willing landowners to permanently protect 26,000 acres along the Muscatatuck River and another 43,000 acres in the floodplain of the Wabash River and Sugar Creek in west-central Indiana. Partners in the HRI include the Natural Resources Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy and several other resource agencies and organizations.

These projects involve the protection, restoration and enhancement of riparian and aquatic habitats and the species that use them, particularly threatened or endangered migratory birds and waterfowl. HRI also will benefit the public and surrounding communities by providing flood protection to riparian landowners downstream; increasing public access to recreational opportunities such as hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, boating, and bird watching; and leaving a legacy for future generations by providing a major conservation destination for tourists.

Representatives from DNR and partnering organizations will be on hand at the open house to answer questions and report on the initiative's progress.

A second open house is scheduled for Nov. 16 in Clinton, in west-central Indiana, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Clinton City Council Chambers, 259 Vine St.

To find out more, visit www.healthyrivers.IN.gov. Follow the progress on this ground-breaking conservation INitiative by following on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HealthyRiversIN or "like" HRI on Facebook at www.facebook.com/healthyriversIN.