37,848 Acres of Permanently Protected Habitat
To date, the two major mechanisms for permanently protecting habitat through this initiative have been working with willing landowners on DNR land purchases and USDA-NRCS Wetland Reserve Easements (previously Wetland Reserve Program).
As of 2020, 37,848 acres of land are under permanent protection within the HRI project boundaries, over half of the overall goal of 70,000 protected acres. In the Wabash River and Sugar Creek project areas this includes 12,131 acres purchased by Indiana DNR and 4,052 acres enrolled in NRCS Wetlands Reserve Easements (WRE/WRP) on private land, both of which complement the 12,723 acres of state-owned protected land in the project area prior to the launch of HRI.
In the Muscatatuck River Project Area, 4,405 acres have been purchased by Indiana DNR and 2,048 acres have been enrolled in WRE on private lands, complementing 2,489 acres of existing state-owned or otherwise protected land.
Since June 2010, nearly 14,000 acres of new public land is now accessible to Hoosiers in the Sugar Creek, Wabash River and Muscatatuck River project areas for outdoor recreation.