The funding from Indiana's Department of Natural Resources will boost efforts to control or manage non-native species, including curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil.

The state Department of Natural Resources said last week the fungal pathogen was detected in rhododendrons at about 30 stores. The number has since tripled.

The new outdoor classrooms will be built at Wendell Phillips School 63 in Indianapolis.

On Free Fishing Days, Indiana residents can fish public waters without a fishing license or salmon/trout stamp.

The groups Friends of Salamonie Forest and the Indiana Forest Alliance are seeking to have two state forests designated state parks.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources received a report March 11 that an animal, possibly a mountain lion, had killed a domestic cat in Brown County.

The DNR says it will have stocked more than 23,000 rainbow trout in 17 streams covering 12 counties for the opener.

Several groups support a ban on the sale of Callery pear and Norway maple.

Indiana is also working to ban the sale of a host of invasive plants on land. The DNR expects to hold a public meeting about the ban in early December.