Sec. 1. (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.]

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