Officially opening Indiana’s 2025 legislative session on Organization Day on Nov. 19, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said, “It is appropriate to say the expectation is a little lower this year because I do not think we will have the revenue we are accustomed to.”
He highlighted his intent to focus on public health care, education and decreasing property taxes—but the ambiguity of the budget for conservation funding is concerning Indiana’s environmental organizations.
In the past, land trusts and other environmental groups have had to battle for funds. For example, in 2023, Gov. Eric Holcomb requested $25 million for the President Benjamin Harrison Conservation Trust (PBHCT), funds which have resulted in the preservation of over 61,000 acres in Indiana for recreation and wildlife habitats. The Senate knocked that number to 0 but was countered by the House, which took it to $10 million.
“[Conservation agencies] have sort of been going every two years asking the legislature please, please, please give us $5-10 million for conservation," said David Van Gilder, senior policy and legal director for the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC). "Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.”
Van Gilder finds development pressures and “suburban sprawl” to be challenges for private land trusts and other organizations trying to purchase properties. In the past, being connected with the Acres Land Trust, which preserves lands in northeast Indiana and parts of Michigan and Ohio, as a board member, he found that an overwhelming majority of marketed land suitable for conservation was unaffordable. In communicating with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and with other land trusts, he’s found similar cases.
“Providing funding is to create the ability to preserve places before they get paved over,” he said.
HEC is pushing for a more stable funding source. A bill introduced in 2019 would have set aside a small percentage of sales tax revenue on outdoor recreational equipment such as camping gear and hiking shoes, dedicating it to conservation funding. Funds would have supported the PBHCT and the maintenance of outdoor recreational state properties. If reintroduced and passed, it is projected to bring in over $60 million.
The state has only around 4% of public land, but recreation is a valuable source of income.
“Outdoor recreation is a big economic engine,” Van Gilder said. “It generates a lot of interest and income.”
Cliff Chapman, president and CEO for the Central Indiana Land Trust, agreed.
“We know the people of Indiana love to get out and use these properties,” he said. "I think nationwide we probably have one of the best partnerships working together with the private land trust community."
The Oak Heritage Conservancy is a contributor to Indiana’s natural areas. Because of the PBHCT, it has been able to partner with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to protect a 147-acre property.
“As a small land trust, funding issues are always a big challenge,” Jack Sutton, executive director for the conservancy, said. “Our hope is that the Indiana legislature will see value in the PBHCT.”
Andrea Huntington, executive director for the Indiana Land Protection Alliance (ILPA), echoed that sentiment, saying, “[The Indiana Land Protection Alliance is] hopeful that Indiana’s legislature will make continued funding for this program a priority.”
This session, HEC will be on the watch for bills that strengthen wetland protection (following what Van Gilder called “back sliding”) and concerning water management and planning.
Data centers supporting artificial intelligence, for example, have been identified as significant users of water as a natural resource. Just last year, plans for the LEAP pipeline using water from Lafayette’s Wabash River highlighted a need for water management in the state.
HEC is also concerned about a bill attempting to define natural gas as green energy for federal benefits.
As a budget year, the push for new legislation is on hold for many environmental organizations like the Central Indiana Land Trust—the goal is to receive funding for conservation whether through PBHCT or sales tax.
“Land prices aren’t going down. And all the indicators out there are that it’s going to be a fight,” Chapman said. “I think it’s a really good case for support, and we’re going to try to work with the legislature to help show them why it’s a good investment.”
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