Author to be inducted into Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday Gene Stratton-Porter will be inducted into the Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame Friday.

Porter has written 12 novels, seven nature books, two poetry books, children's books and magazine articles, according to a press release. Her books have been translated into seven foreign languages and eight were produced into movies.

The Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame recognizes individuals for contributing to Indiana's natural or cultural heritage, according to the release.

 “She was one of Indiana’s first environmentalists,” Dave Fox, property manager at the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site in Rome City, said in the release. “She worked alongside (Richard) Lieber and (Charles) Deam, and really brought Indiana’s environmental situation to the attention of people. She did that in a passive way through her stories, and in an active way in speaking to the legislature on laws about the drainage of wetlands.”

Others people being inducted to the Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame are Leila Botts, Lynton Caldwell, Reynold Carlson, Bill and Gayle Cook, Charles Deam, Tom and Jane Dustin, the Efroymson family, President Benjamin Harrison, Marion Jackson, Richard Lieber, Eli Lilly, Sally Reahard, Rev. Damian Schmelz and J. Maurice Thompson.
The induction will be Friday during a banquet at The Garrison at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis.

For tickets to the banquet, contact Bourke Patton at 317-234-5447 or by email at bpatton@dnr.IN.gov