I can appreciate the beauty and historical value of an area (field, pasture, etc) of pioneer grasses (they all look like weeds to me). In fact, earlier this year when our cemetery lost our caretaker and before one was hired, our grass grew taller than I had ever seen it. I was amazed at all of the wildflowers that grew on some of the graves in the old section of the cemetery, obviously planted there 50-100 years ago by family members. But our society's tradition has changed and we now expect our cemetery to be manicured and well maintained. I, too, have family buried in cemeteries where no care is given, except that which a few of us do each spring, which lasts only a few weeks and then reverts back to the way it was. (Maybe this will change with the inception of the Henry Co. Cemetery Commission) I see no difference between one that is left to nature and one that is reverted back to nature. The fact is, they appear to be abandoned. Keep in mind that not only did our pioneer ancestors clear this land for 'development', but in many areas they drained it as well. My question is simple...if we allow the DNR to let these areas grow wild and appear to be uncared for, what do we do when they want to flood an area where a cemetery exists, supposedly to revert it back to its natural state? For several counties here in Northwest Indiana, this could become an issue in the next few years as the DNR is wanting to revert us back to the swamp that we once were... Tell me, where does it stop? Yes, I agree our pioneer cemeteries may not have been as manicured back in those days, but I can also assure you that they were not without care and maintenance. My research into my cemetery clearly points this out in 1895 and again in 1925 when the cemetery was organized and reorganized, all due to deteriorating maintenance and care. The main reason the DNR uses cemeteries for this purpose is because so few farmers are willing to give up their tillable acres for such a project, and they find little opposition when they converge on an already uncared for cemetery. Kyle D. Conrad