§ 14-31-1-1 — Public policy

Indiana § 14-31-1-1

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 31: NATURE PRESERVES

Text

(a) As part of the continuing growth of the
population and the development of the economy of Indiana, it is
necessary and desirable that areas of unusual natural significance be set
aside and preserved for the benefit of present and future generations
before the areas have been destroyed. Once the areas have been
destroyed, the areas cannot be wholly restored. The areas are
irreplaceable as:
(1) laboratories for scientific research;
(2) reservoirs of natural materials, not all of the uses of which are
now known;
(3) habitats for plant and animal species and biotic communities
whose diversity enriches the meaning and enjoyment of human
life;
(4) living museums where people may observe natural biotic and
environmental systems of the earth and the interdependence of all
forms of life; and
(5) reminders of the vital dependence of the health of the human
community upon the health of the natural communities of which
the human community is an inseparable part.
(b) It is essential to the people of Indiana that the people retain the
opportunities to:
(1) maintain close contact with the living communities and
environmental systems of the earth described in subsection (a);
and
(2) benefit from the scientific, esthetic, cultural, and spiritual
values the living communities and environmental systems
possess.
(c) It is therefore the public policy of Indiana that:
(1) the department establish and maintain a registry of the areas
described in subsection (a);
(2) the state acquire and preserve the areas described in
subsection (a); and
(3) other agencies, organizations, and individuals, both public and
private, be encouraged to set aside the areas described in
subsection (a) for the common benefit of the people of present
and future generations.
[Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-4-5-1.]

Legislative History

As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.24.