Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Last updated
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Agency overview
Formed1965 (1965)
Preceding agencies
  • Department of Conservation
  • Flood Control and Water Resources Commission
  • State Soil and Water Conservation Committee
  • Outdoor Recreation Council
JurisdictionState of Indiana
Headquarters Indianapolis, Indiana
Agency executive
  • Dan Bortner, Director
Website in.gov/dnr

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana. There are many divisions within the DNR and each has a specific role. The DNR is not only responsible for maintaining resource areas but also manages Indiana's fish and wildlife, reclaims coal mine ground, manages forested areas, aids in the management of wildlife on private lands, enforces Indiana's conservation laws, and many other duties not named here. According to the department's website, their mission is "to protect, enhance, preserve, and wisely use natural, cultural, and recreational resources for the benefit of Indiana's citizens through professional leadership, management, and education". [1]

Contents

History

The Department of Natural Resources was created as part of the Natural Resources Act, passed by the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Roger Branigin in 1965. [2]

Four agencies were placed under the department's umbrella:

In 1967, the Nature Preserves Act established the Division of Nature Preserves, also under the same departmental oversight. Since then, the department has been involved in numerous initiatives and legislative efforts, including the establishment of new state parks, new flood laws, hunter safety programs, forestry education, and the general rejuvenation of Indiana's forestland. Today, the Department of Natural Resources claims that Indiana has 4.5 million acres (18,000 km²) of forestland, still far from the area's original 23 million acres (93,000 km²), but an improvement from the two million acres (8,000 km²) that remained intact by 1900. [2]

Organization

At the top of the organization is the director (presently Dan Bortner), who reports directly to the Governor of Indiana. [3] In addition to overseeing the department, the director also serves on an autonomous board known as the Natural Resources Commission, consisting of both government officials and citizen members, which meets at least four times annually to address issues pertaining to the department. [4] The director also has an advisory council at his disposal.

Beneath the director, there are four deputy directors, each of whom is responsible for a team under which many of the department's divisions are organized. [3] Those teams and their divisions are as follows:

In addition, there are five departments that do not fall under one of the four teams:

The agency's official magazine is Outdoor Indiana.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Department of Natural Resources</span> Agency of the state of Georgia, United States

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources, and has five divisions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Department of Natural Resources</span> State government agency in Minnesota, United States

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals, wildlife, and forestry throughout the state. The agency is divided into six divisions - Ecological & Water Resources, Enforcement, Fish & Wildlife, Forestry, Lands & Minerals, and Parks & Trails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources</span> Government agency of Wisconsin, US

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin charged with conserving and managing Wisconsin's natural resources. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has the authority to set policy for the WDNR. The WDNR is led by the Secretary, who is appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin. The WDNR develops regulations and guidance in accordance with laws passed by the Wisconsin Legislature. It administers wildlife, fish, forests, endangered resources, air, water, waste, and other issues related to natural resources. The central office of the WDNR is located in downtown Madison, near the state capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Department of Natural Resources</span> Government agency of Michigan

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission. Currently the Director is Daniel Eichinger. The DNR has about 1,400 permanent employees, and over 1,600 seasonal employees.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, operates the Illinois State Museum system, and oversees scientific research into the soil, water, and mineral resources of the state. In 2017, the Illinois Historic Preservation Division was added to its portfolio. It is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Department of Natural Resources</span>

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a South Carolina state agency charged with regulating hunting, fishing, boating, duck stamp orders, and the conservation efforts of the state government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources</span>

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is a part of the Hawaii state government dedicated to managing, administering, and exercising control over public lands, water resources and streams, ocean waters, coastal areas, minerals, and other natural resources of the State of Hawaiʻi. The mission of the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources is to "enhance, protect, conserve and manage Hawaiʻi's unique and limited natural, cultural and historic resources held in public trust for current and future generations of the people of Hawaiʻi nei, and its visitors, in partnership with others from the public and private sectors." The organization oversees over 1.3 million acres of land, beaches, and coastal waters and 750 miles of coastal land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</span> Agency of the state government of Florida, United States

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida government agency founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tallahassee. It manages and regulates the state's fish and wildlife resources, and enforces related laws. Officers are managers, researchers, and support personnel, and perform law enforcement in the course of their duties.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is a department/agency of the U.S. state of Iowa formed in 1986, charged with maintaining state parks and forests, protecting the environment of Iowa, and managing energy, fish, wildlife, land resources, and water resources of Iowa.

The Colorado Department of Natural Resources is the principal department of the Colorado state government responsible for the development, protection, and enhancement Colorado natural resources for the use and enjoyment of the state's present and future residents, as well as for visitors to the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Department of Environmental Protection</span> Florida government agency

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the Florida government agency responsible for environmental protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation officer</span> Law enforcement officers responsible for protecting wildlife

A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician/technologist, game warden, park ranger, forest watcher, forest guard, forester, gamekeeper, investigator, wildernessofficer, wildlifeofficer, or wildlife trooper.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) is the state agency responsible for the conservation and management of Alabama's natural resources including state parks, state lands, wildlife and aquatic resources. ADCNR also issues hunting and fishing licenses for the state. The department promotes wise stewardship and enjoyment of the state's natural resources through five divisions: Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. Supporting those divisions are seven support sections: Accounting, Diversity and Recruiting, Engineering, Information and Education, Information Technology, Legal, and Personnel and Payroll.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. Its headquarters is in Annapolis.

Private landowner assistance program (PLAP) is a class of government assistance program available throughout the U.S. for landowners interested in maintaining, developing, improving and protecting wildlife on their property. Each state provides various programs that assist landowners in agriculture, forestry and conserving wildlife habitat. This helps landowners in the practice of good land stewardship and provides multiple benefits to the environment. Some states offer technical assistance which includes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Department of Natural Resources</span> State agency managing state trust lands

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages 2,600,000 acres (11,000 km2) of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands under Puget Sound and the coast, and navigable lakes and rivers. Part of the DNR's management responsibility includes monitoring of mining cleanup, environmental restoration, providing scientific information about earthquakes, landslides, and ecologically sensitive areas. DNR also works towards conservation, in the form of Aquatic Reserves such as Maury Island and in the form of Natural Area Preserves like Mima Mounds or Natural Resource Conservation Areas like Woodard Bay Natural Resource Conservation Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks</span>

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks (GFP) is the U.S. State of South Dakota's state agency charged with the management of the state's public recreational and outdoor resources. The GFP manages the 13 state parks and 43 state recreation areas within the state parks system, totaling over 96,000 acres of public lands. The agency manages the hunting of game and the state's fisheries, manages several wildlife management areas and game production areas to restore or establish habitat for a variety of species. The agency conducts public outdoor education programs, typically focusing on hunting and boating safety. The department issues hunting and fishing licenses along with issuance of boat registrations. The agency is also charged with enforcement of fish and game laws, including invasive species regulations. The agency is headquartered in Pierre, South Dakota.

References

  1. ↑ "What We Do". DNR. January 29, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "DNR History". DNR. January 29, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Organizational Overview". DNR. August 17, 2021.
  4. ↑ "NRC". NRC. May 10, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.