Hunting guide, state fair, and reserved hunts

Come see us at the Indiana State Fair

Have you visited the DNR’s Natural Resources Building at the Indiana State Fair yet? If not there is still time, now through Aug. 19. Fish & Wildlife will be offering free educational programs at the building, which is located in the northwest area of the fairgrounds:

• Aug. 11 at 2–4 p.m.: Fish Cleaning & Cooking Demonstration on the Front Porch
• Aug 12. at 2–4 p.m.: Pheasant Cleaning & Cooking Demonstration on the Front Porch
• Aug 17. at 2–4 p.m.: Living With Wildlife Booth on the Front Porch
• Aug 18. at 1–2 p.m.: Pond Management Talk at the Amphitheater 

Stop by the Fishin' Pond (open daily). Children ages 5-17 can fish for free every day of the fair. 

Fish & Wildlife will also be at the Pathway to Water Quality (located on the east side of the fairgrounds next to the Boy Scout Bridge) offering these free educational programs:

• Aug. 11 at 4 p.m.: Living with Wildlife
• Aug. 11 at 1 p.m.: Aquatic Habitat Starts on the Land
• Aug. 15 at 1 p.m.: Aquatic Invasive Species
• Aug. 15 at 3 p.m.: Healthy Rivers Initiative

New DNR hunting guide online and in print

Your guide to hunting and trapping in Indiana is now available at hunting.IN.gov. You can pick up a printed version of the guide at the Natural Resources Building at the Indiana State Fair, at various retailers that sell hunting licenses and equipment, or at many DNR properties. A Spanish version is now available online, as well.

Online reserved hunt applications now available 

Hunters can apply online for a reserved hunt by visiting hunting.IN.gov and clicking on the "Reserved Hunt Info" link.
 
The online method is the only way to apply. Applicants must possess a hunting license valid for the hunt for which they are applying. Applications must be completed by the application deadline.

Hunters will be selected through a computerized, random drawing. Drawing results will be posted at wildlife.IN.gov within two weeks after application deadlines, and an email will be sent to applicants when results are posted.

Bowhunters needed to help with survey

We are looking for volunteer bowhunters to participate in the annual Archer’s Index. 

This survey relies on bowhunters to report days and hours hunted, the county hunted in, and what wildlife they saw while hunting. This gives us a picture of how some species may be changing over time by tracking wildlife seen while hunters are afield. 

Volunteers must sign up by Sept. 15 to participate for fall 2018. 

To sign up, send an email requesting more information on the Archer’s Index to dfw@dnr.IN.gov or call 812-334-1137 and ask about the Archer’s Index. 

View past Archer’s Index reports. 

Volunteers needed to build habitat structures for Monroe Lake, Aug. 14 

You can help make Monroe Lake a better place for fish during a special volunteer day on Aug. 14.

The volunteer day is part of Fish & Wildlife's Reservoir Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Program (RAHEP). RAHEP builds fish habitat in reservoirs where natural structure is lacking.

Volunteers will assemble 40 wooden structures from pallets that will give fish a place to live and hide from predator fish.

More than 100 hellbenders released into wild

The past year has been significant for Indiana’s hellbender conservation efforts as researchers at Purdue reintroduced 118 captive-reared hellbenders into the Blue River, where they were originally collected as eggs. The 4-5 year-old hellbenders were fitted with radio transmitters that allowed researchers to track their post-release movements.

These events were the products of more than a decade of research and collaboration by Purdue and the DNR, and were enhanced by collaborative partnerships with local zoos and conservation groups like The Nature Conservancy. Another hellbender release is scheduled for 2019. Indiana’s hellbender research and restoration efforts have been made possible by donations to the Indiana Nongame Fund.

Gamebird hunting opportunities

Fish & Wildlife is offering gamebird hunting (quail, woodcock, and pheasant) opportunities on private property through the Access Program Providing Land Enhancements (APPLE).

APPLE hunting opportunities are allocated by reserve draw. Interested hunters can apply online. Applications will be accepted Aug. 13 to Sept. 23.

Waterfowl season dates

Find out the hunting seasons for goose, ducks, coots and mergansers. Also, find out the dates of the youth waterfowl weekends.

Squirrel season starts in August

Gray and fox squirrel hunting season begins Aug. 15 and runs through Jan. 31, 2019. Remember to purchase your hunting license.

Loggerhead shrike returns to nest in Indiana

A color-banded loggerhead shrike found south of Goose Pond FWA in July 2017 successfully raised six young in Daviess County this summer. Fledging six young is exceptional for shrikes, which on average fledge 2.6 per nesting attempt.

This female is even more special because she is the only one of 12 banded shrikes that hatched last year to be sighted back in Indiana this year. This summer she paired with a male shrike that did not nest in 2017, likely because there were no female shrikes left in his area after steep declines in this songbird’s population.

Donations to the Indiana Nongame Fund help wildlife biologists learn more about the threats facing this endangered bird.

Seeking volunteers for Snapshot Indiana

Snapshot Indiana is a citizen science trail camera survey started in 2015 that collects data to help us monitor Indiana’s wildlife. Volunteers will temporarily host an Indiana DNR trail camera on their property for 30 days during October or November.

Volunteers must own or lease at least 10 acres of land, and cameras must be set with no bait or feed in the area on a natural pathway such as a deer trail or near a water source. Cameras must be returned at the end of the survey, but participants will receive highlights of species detected on their camera.

Seeking info from anglers on American eel

The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) was recently added to Indiana’s list of Special Concern fish species. 

In an attempt to get a better understanding of its distribution in the waters of Indiana, we are seeking the help of Hoosier anglers. If you catch one of these unusual snake-like fish, please snap a photo and send it to FishID@dnr.IN.gov along with the date it was caught, the river/stream/lake it was caught from, and location (closest bridge, town, boat ramp, etc.). 

Gaining information on its distribution and abundance in the state will help target future conservation efforts. 

Summer fish kills

August can be a stressful month for pond owners. Calm, hot, and dry conditions lead to very warm water in ponds. Such water isn’t able to hold much oxygen. This, coupled with no oxygen at the pond bottom and potentially abundant submersed plants, can be the perfect storm for creating summer fish kills.

Kills can occur when there is not enough oxygen in the water for fish to live. This happens as aquatic organisms deplete the oxygen supply or after those calm, hot days when a weather system moves in, creating cloudy conditions for a few days. As the clouds block some of the sunlight, plants slow or stop photosynthesizing and may die, consuming oxygen as they break down.

Bird of the Month: blue-winged teal

The blue-winged teal is the second-most abundant waterfowl in North America after the mallard. The ducks weigh around one pound or less and migrate from their breeding range in Canada and the north-central U.S. to as far south as central South America. They are in Indiana in early fall and late spring. Blue-winged teal is aptly named, with chalky blue feathers on their upper wing and a patch of green underneath, with buff-colored bodies.

In late summer, males go through an eclipse plumage phase and are nearly impossible to tell apart from females during fall migration, except by wings of the males that remain more brightly colored. They choose seasonal or semi-permanent freshwater wetlands, preferring shallow water and mudflats, emergent marshes, and ponds. If you are interested in learning more about these fascinating birds, please check out the Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook.

Upcoming events

• Aug. 11 – Family Archery Workshop, Hovey Lake FWA
• Aug. 12 – A Night Under the Stars, Goose Pond FWA
• Aug. 18 – Learn to Shoot: Trap Shooting, Kingsbury FWA
• Sept. 1 – Learn to Hunt: Family Dove Hunt, Bluegrass FWA
• Sept. 1 – Learn to Hunt: Dove Workshop Kankakee FWA
• Sept. 1 – Learn to Hunt: Dove Workshop, Kingsbury FWA
• Sept. 1 – Youth and Wounded Warrior Dove Hunt, Kingsbury FWA
• Sept. 2 – Learn to Hunt: Family Dove Workshop, Winamac FWA
• Sept. 6 – Fall Shorebird Walk, Goose Pond FWA
• Sept. 11 – Venison Processing Workshop, Farmland
• Sept. 12 – Venison Processing Workshop, Wanatah
• Sept. 13 – Venison Processing Workshop, Columbia City
• Sept. 23 – Family Fun Day at the Range, Kingsbury FWA

More

• Where to Hunt
• Where to Fish
• Buy a license
• Property Information
• Nongame and Endangered Wildlife
• 2018-19 Hunting Seasons
• Fishing Guide

About Fish and Wildlife Management in Indiana 

Fish and wildlife management and public access are funded by fishing and hunting license revenue and also through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. These programs collect excise taxes on sporting arms and ammunition, archery equipment, fishing equipment, and motor boat fuels. The money is distributed among state fish and wildlife agencies based on land size and the number of licensed anglers and hunters in each state. Find out more information about fish and wildlife management in Indiana at Wildlife.IN.gov.

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