I would tend to agree with Rich Green's latest assessment on the proposed
legislative highlights except one point that he made. While Rich believes
that our pioneer cemeteries will continue to dwindle at the same rate they
are now, I would be willing to bet that when landowners are faced with the
fear that they themselves will have to incur expenses to survey, maintain,
restore, record, etc these cemeteries, we will see them disappear at a more
rapid rate, as these landowners try to hide any remaining evidence that a
cemetery exists on their property, thus avoiding the beaurocratic red tape
that we are all recognizing is coming. I feel we are going above and beyond
preservation and restoration here, and are likely to legislate ourselves out
of a cause, just like not being able to probe the ground for stones or remove
a hundred years' worth of topsoil to retrieve a grave marker from being lost
forever. While there may be some that don't mind fighting the
beaurocratic red tape to recognize that there is a cemetery on their
property, it seems to me that this whole issue is becoming blown out of
proportion. Maybe it's because the Indiana Historical Society or the Indiana
State Archivist should have been the overseer of this cause. Then the DNR
could have concentrated more on deer overpopulation and keeping my
campgrounds clean.
If there is to be some sort of tax incentive for these landowners, why not
give them a $1000.00 state income tax credit for each one they
own....hmmm...too simple, maybe? And to qualify for this, one would have to
obtain the signature from, lets say, the county surveyor who drives out to
the property, looks it over, and says "Yup...you've got a cemetery there".
Now that's my kind of red tape.
OK...I'm done.
Kyle D. Conrad