OAKLAND CITY, Ind. (AP) - Environmentalists are celebrating President Obama's signature on a bill that includes $1.15 million to expand a southwestern Indiana wildlife refuge.

An appropriations bill signed by Obama last week provides land acquisition funding that will expand the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge by about 1,150 acres. Activists say the land had been in danger of being sold to developers.

Sue Vernier of the Evansville Audubon Society says that land about 30 miles north of Evansville includes wetlands and other habitats that sustain rare plants and animals.

Hoosier Environmental Council executive director Jesse Kharbanda says many environmental and conservation groups worked hard to ensure passage of the bill, which also includes $825,000 to expand
the Hoosier National Forest.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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