Indiana conservation group seeks to replenish exhausted fund

HUNTERTOWN, Ind. (AP) - A northern Indiana conservation group is seeking donations to replenish a fund it exhausted buying land that's now protected from development.

The Huntertown-based ACRES Land Trust needs nearly $97,000 in donations for its revolving fund that's set aside for land purchases.

ACRES spokeswoman Lettie Haver says the group drained that fund to leverage a $1 million grant from Indiana's Bicentennial Nature Trust that helped increase the size of some of its recent acquisitions.

The Journal Gazette reports that in recent years the group has acquired 193 acres appraised at $3 million. That acreage has been added to the environmentally-sensitive Cedar Creek corridor in northern Allen and DeKalb counties.

That northeastern Indiana corridor now spans 1,000 acres and contains unique topography that's home to unusual and rare plant and animal species.

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Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net