IN SB0398

Requires the Department of Natural Resources to conduct a comprehensive review of all state public lands by July 1, 2015, and nominate tracts meeting wilderness criteria for designation as state wilderness areas.

Permits Indiana citizens to nominate tracts of state public land for wilderness area designation between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015, with the department evaluating all nominations.

Requires the DNR to draft proposed rules governing use and management of state wilderness areas by January 1, 2015, hold at least two public meetings for comment, and submit final rules to the Natural Resources Commission for adoption by July 1, 2016.

Establishes that state wilderness areas must consist of at least 1,000 acres (or fewer if preservation of wilderness conditions is practicable), be state-owned and DNR-managed, with wild character preserved and human activity substantially unnoticeable.

Prohibits energy development, logging, motorized transportation, and road building in state wilderness areas; allows camping, hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking on existing trails; and restricts vegetation manipulation except for trail/campsite maintenance and invasive species control using minimal-impact methods.