CALL TO ACTION! Protect Our Wetlands
Update Feb. 6: CALL FOR A VETO!
Despite strong opposition, the bill that reduces wetland protection, HB 1383, passed the Indiana Senate this week. The vote was 32 to 17, with 8 Republicans joining all of the Democrats in voting against it. It is the first bill of the Session to move to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Please contact the Governor at 317-232-4567 or by email and ask him to veto HB 1383. Please also consider providing feedback to your state legislators about how they voted. (Representatives’ votes and Senators’ votes)
INPS Members and Friends:
We urgently request that you contact your Indiana legislators to oppose House Bill 1383, which is being considered right now in the Senate. The INPS Council has approved taking a stance on such bills, and following is a letter prepared by INPS President Coralie Palmer that lays our case for opposing this particular bill.
Background from Indiana Wetlands Association: HB 1383 chips away at protections for all wetland classes and provides exemptions specifically and exclusively for homebuilders. Indiana Builders Association (IBA) is the author of the bill and are also heavily involved in making “adjustments” to the classification worksheet in an effort to put more wetlands into the completely exempt Class I category. This bill flew through the house and has been fast tracked in the Senate in an effort to push it through before too much opposition is made public.
Please reach out to your legislators and let them know you are opposed to HB 1383.
Find your legislators here https://iga.in.gov/information/find-legislators
Some GOOD News: Dan Boritt of Indiana Wildlife Federation shares that a GOOD Wetlands bill just PASSED the Indiana Senate 48-0!
Says Dan, “While HB1383 has garnered much of our attention as it continues to deregulate wetlands, SB 246 helps move Indiana in the right direction. This bill, authored by Senator Glick, incentivizes the protection of wetlands by landowners and developers, allowing wetlands, for the first time, to be enrolled in the Classified Forest & Wildlands program. This bill, in a strong showing of bipartisanship, passed the Senate 48-0, and will now crossover to the House where it will be sponsored by Representatives Baird and Abbott. We strongly encourage you to reach out to your State Representative and tell them to vote FOR this bill, and standup for wetlands in Indiana. And while you’re at it, why not email your Senator and thank them for standing up for wetlands and voting in favor of SB 246!”
January 31, 2024
Opposition to House Bill 1383
I write on behalf of the Indiana Native Plant Society, a 1,000-member organization with a mission to promote the appreciation, preservation, scientific study, and use of plants native to Indiana, to oppose House Bill 1383 (HB 1383).
85% of the original wetlands of Indiana have already been destroyed, and the Indiana Wetland Task Force has highlighted the dire state of wetlands throughout Indiana and how vital protecting them is to the health of our state.
Indiana’s wetlands are of enormous importance – they are critical for clean water, to help reduce and control floodwaters, as well as for biodiversity conservation. Indiana’s wetlands have already had their protections severely eroded with legislation over the past several years; HB 1383 erodes these even further and will threaten critically important wetlands throughout the state.
Indiana’s wetlands are crucial habitat for hundreds of species of native Indiana plants. Over one third of Indiana’s flora, fully 888 species, grow in wetlands, making clear the importance of this habitat to native plants.
More than native plants are at risk, however. Losing protection of isolated wetlands would harm Indiana’s water quality, as wetlands with emergent plants can remove up to 95% of the sediments from floodwaters. Wetlands are crucial for floodwater storage during extreme precipitation events, which are becoming more and more common in Indiana and are costing the state millions of dollars each year.
Additionally, wetlands provide habitat and a variety of food sources for fish, waterfowl, and many other birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Thirty-four of Indiana’s animal species of greatest conservation need are found in wetland habitats.
We appreciate your consideration of our concerns on HB 1383 and hope that you will vote to oppose this bill,
Sincerely,
Coralie Palmer, President
Indiana Native Plant Society