INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A state-run program that seeks to safeguard the wildlife-filled stretches of land that line some of Indiana’s rivers has put another 450 acres of land under its protection.

The land along the Wabash and Muscatatuck rivers and Sugar Creek boosts the Healthy Rivers Initiative’s total project areas to more than 29,600 acres. That land includes protected state properties and private land enrolled in a federal wetlands preservation program.

Indiana’s Healthy Rivers Initiative started in 2010 as a partnership between resource agencies and organizations. Its goals include creating more public recreation space, boosting tourism and protecting wildlife habitat and rest areas for migratory birds.

The program aims to protect 43,000 acres along the Wabash River and Sugar Creek, and another 26,000 acres along the Muscatatuck River.