"State still seeking money to buy Greene County wetland," is the headline to this AP story today. Some quotes:
LINTON, IND. -- The Indiana Department of Natural Resources continues to seek money to buy a southern Indiana marshland nearly four months after the owner said he was considering auctioning off the property. State officials said this week that they hope to keep the 7,200-acre Goose Pond marsh area intact and open to the public. "We're looking for money," DNR spokesman Stephen Sellers said. "We have a few million dollars available now, but that's likely not enough. So we're seeking more partners."This story in the Munster Times reports:Maurice Wilder of Clearwater, Fla., who owns Goose Pond, said in January that he was frustrated by long delays in having federal or state wildlife agencies take over the site about 40 miles west of Bloomington. Wilder said he planned to split the property up into parcels and sell it at an auction. He expected the land to sell for $5 million to $7 million.
WASHINGTON -- Despite decades of industrial buildup and continued suburban growth, Northwest Indiana has garnered a statewide reputation as the area most committed to nurturing green spaces in developed areas. The region's communities used about $219,000 in federal funds distributed by Indiana's Department of Natural Resources over the last five years to plant trees, build small parks and halt soil erosion in suburban and urban environments.Finally, this story today in the NY Times, titled "Bush Panel Will Study Great Lakes Cleanup." Some quotes:
President Bush created a task force on Tuesday to coordinate the federal government's policies toward the Great Lakes. He said the more than 140 federal programs dealing with Great Lakes issues, which are overseen by 10 government agencies, needed "more systematic collaboration and better integration."Posted by Marcia Oddi at May 19, 2004 09:46 AMMr. Bush named Michael O. Leavitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to head the task force. Mr. Leavitt said he would meet with all the region's governors, as well as mayors, tribal leaders and Canadian officials, within the next 30 days to set the task force's priorities. He said the priorities would include water quality and fishing stocks. * * * Last year, Congressional investigators reported that federal and state efforts to confront problems of the Great Lakes were so scattered and uncoordinated that it was difficult to measure their effectiveness. Mr. Bush directed the new task force, which will include cabinet secretaries and other top-level officials, to make recommendations to him by May 31, 2005.