The Indiana Department of Natural Resources will open 1,166 acres of land along the Wabash River for public use to coincide with the start of spring turkey hunting season April 22.

The land was acquired as part of the IDNR’s Healthy Rivers INitiative (HRI), which was launched in 2010 to secure permanent conservation protection for nearly 70,000 acres along Sugar Creek, the Wabash River and the Muscatatuck River.

The new lands include: 245 acres in Sullivan and Vigo counties that will be part of the Fairbanks Landing Fish and Wildlife Area; 815 acres in Vermillion and Vigo counties that will be part of the Wabash River Conservation Area; and 106 acres in Vigo county that will be part of the Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area.

These new public areas will be managed in accordance with the rules for each associated property. For more information on fish and wildlife areas and conservations areas, visit wildlife.IN.gov/3077.htm.

The three new public use areas increase the acreage that HRI has opened to public use since the conservation project began to 28,425 acres. An additional 4,128 acres are enrolled in conservations easements, bringing the total of permanently protected land to 32,553 acres.

The lands are protected through a combination of acquisitions from willing sellers, conservation easements and wetlands reserve program enrollments.

Source: Indiana DNR