Heritage Trust and Goose Pond
DNR Director Kyle Hupfer, flanked by Indiana TNC Director Mary McConnell
and Gov. Mitch Daniels, reacts to overwhelming crowd response to the question
“How many Environmental License Plate owners are here?” during ceremonies
at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area on Nov. 8.
It’s hard to believe that a year of new leadership will have passed by the time this issue of Outdoor Indiana hits your door. The 12 months following the election of Gov. Daniels have been very action-packed and exciting at the DNR.
This issue of Outdoor Indiana highlights the activities and benefits of the Heritage Trust program. The Environmental License Plate continues to be the best-selling affinity plate in Indiana, and the funds from those plate sales continue to allow the DNR to acquire lands to be protected for their fish, wildlife or historical value for generations to come.
One such legacy acquisition was completed in November. Since before the start of the Korean War, state and federal officials — as well as private sector groups and individuals — have tried to find ways to make Goose Pond available to all Hoosiers. They also realized that its preservation would be valuable as habitat for rare and endangered species of wildlife.
After I talked with Gov. Daniels about this project and explained the benefits, he told me to go buy it. That is what we did. But we did not do it alone.
Funds from each of you who have purchased an Environmental License Plate made this acquisition possible.
The picture with this column captures a particularly significant moment at the Goose Pond announcement last fall. During my presentation, I asked for a show of hands from those owning an Environmental License Plate. I wanted to thank them for being a part of what had been accomplished. What you see is my reaction and the reaction of the Governor when nearly all 200-plus in attendance raised their hands. It was very impressive. We will continue to look for these types of opportunities to put your money to good use.
And speaking of putting your hard-earned dollars to better use, we have announced a new, and we believe improved, fee structure at our state parks and reservoirs.
You have read in these pages for the past three years that the DNR has had a funding crisis. Tax revenues are down, and the cost of maintaining many of the services at our parks has gone up. In previous years, many short-term fixes — such as delays in equipment and vehicle replacement — were put into place. These remedies have, I believe, placed further pressure on an already stressed budgetary situation. This “finger in the dam” approach kept us afloat, but we needed a long-term answer.
In November, the Natural Resources Commission gave me the authority to set rates for entrance, camping, swimming, boat launching, and many other facilities and services. We have announced a new fee schedule beginning this month. In many cases, frequent visitors to the parks and reservoirs will find they are spending less.
We call this new approach “demand-based,” and we believe it will provide the right balance between keeping access to the parks and reservoirs affordable for Hoosier families and ensuring the revenue levels required to maintain the properties.
A complete list of fees is on the DNR Web site at www.dnr.IN.gov/parklake.
And, as always, for reservations visit www.camp.IN.gov or call 1-866-6CAMPIN (1-866-622-6746).
