TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – June 11, 2010 – Bottomland hardwood habitat and riverfront marshes have disappeared in Indiana at an incredible rate, but Ducks Unlimited and its partners are working with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to conserve crucial migration habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds in the state. On Thursday, June 10, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced a commitment to conserve as much as 43,000 acres of continuous property along the Wabash River for wildlife and waterfowl.

Standing along the Wabash at The Landing in Terre Haute, Ind., Gov. Daniels said that without the help of organizations like DU and other partners, this project would never have happened.

"Indiana is really stepping forward in terms of our commitment to being good stewards of God's creations," Daniels said to the crowd of more than 200 gathered around the podium. "We would not be taking this step if it had not been with the approval, the shaping and the input of [Ducks Unlimited and The Nature Conservancy]."

Dr. Robert Hoffman, director of Ducks Unlimited's Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office, spoke to the excited crowd, where DU shirts and hats filled the audience.

"On behalf of DU and the more than 12,000 Indiana DU members, we applaud Gov. Daniels and the Indiana DNR for their plan to conserve nearly 43,000 acres in the Wabash River watershed," Hoffman said. "Recent surveys indicate that the number-one concern for outdoor recreationists was access to land. This opportunity is not only good for Hoosiers, but also outdoor recreationists all over."

The Wabash River corridor plan will protect land beginning at Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Area and continuing through the new Wabashiki FWA, and north. This expansion is welcome news to waterfowl hunters and enthusiasts who have utilized the Wabash River for years.

"This is a great step in the right direction on behalf of conservation," said Mike Wright, chairman of the local Wabash Valley DU committee and member of the Wabash River Development and Beautification Committee. "I grew up spending winter mornings on the banks of the Wabash with my father and brothers duck hunting. This area means a lot to us here in Terre Haute and all of Indiana."