Nearly 4,000 acres in Sullivan County will become the new Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources was able to acquire more land, faster with the help of partners like the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, the Conservation Fund and the Nature Conservancy.
Dan Eckstein is the southwest public lands supervisor for the DNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife. He said Busseron Creek is 100 times the size of what the agency can usually acquire for a property like this on its own — at least in one go.
“4,000 acres is basically the average size of what we would consider a major wildlife area. So we're able to basically acquire a wildlife area at one time — which is pretty cool," Eckstein said.
In addition to a place where Hoosiers can hunt, hike and watch birds — Busseron Creek will also be part of the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape. It’s a project that helps protect natural resources while also creating a buffer between the public and military operations. In this case, the Lake Glendora Test Facility.
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Michael Spaulding works for the Conservation Law Center and is the program coordinator for the Sentinel Landscape. He said Busseron will also make the area more resilient to the effects of climate change.
“With the presence of the wetlands and the creek and all of that around here — this can really contribute to buffering flooding incidents. And, you know, we've seen some pretty bad flash flooding incidents throughout southern Indiana over the past several years," Spaulding said.
The land was once part of another fish and wildlife area called Minnehaha. It closed in 2016 when the most recent owner, a subsidiary of the coal mining company Peabody Energy, ended its lease with the state. The Conservation Law Center put together a thorough history of the land.
The DNR hopes to open the new Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area to the public in April 2025.
Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele .
