Indiana DNR buys nearly 3,500 acres from utility

Indiana's wildlife agency has purchased nearly 3,500 acres of land along the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana from a utility.

The state Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday it has acquired 3,475 acres of Fairbanks Landing Fish & Wildlife Area from Indiana Michigan Power and reached an agreement to manage the rest of that site.

The DNR's Division of Fish & Wildlife had managed the site since 2005 under a lease agreement with I&M, but that lease expired two years ago and the company was considering selling a large portion of the property about 20 miles south of Terre Haute.

Fairbanks Landing is now the southern anchor for a conservation and recreation project aimed at permanently protecting more than 43,000 acres along the Wabash River and Sugar Creek.