Indiana’s Choice for Outdoor News & Information • Since 1994
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VOL. 2012 • NO. 11
Inside:
FISHING REPORT PAGE 6
GONE AFIELD PAGE 7
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PHEASANTS FOREVER HELPS CREATE INDIANA GAME BIRD HABITAT AREA BROOK, IN -Pheasants Forever and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have completed the acquisition of a new Game Bird Habitat Area. Posthumously named after Bob Lyons, longtime leader of the local Iroquois River Pheasants Forever chapter. The 121-acre area represents Pheasants Forever's first land acquisition in Indiana and will be available to hunters via the state's pheasant draw hunt system. The Bob Lyons Game Bird Habitat Area is located in east-central Newton County and honors Lyons' longtime commitment to conservation. When the property first became available three years ago, Lyons was adamant about permanently protecting it, a goal carried on by the Indiana State Council of Pheasants Forever after Lyons' passing in 2010. “I am very proud to have been actively involved in this,” said state council president Rick Lopez. “Indiana Pheasants Forever chapters raised the necessary funding, selling one raffle ticket at a time. Our children will benefit in this investment and great tribute.” Indiana's DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife will manage the property with an emphasis on restoration of grassland habitat that benefits pheasant and quail, which will fulfill Lyons' vision for the parcel. In his home area of Newton
HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS PAGE 14
PIKE ON ICE PAGE 16
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and Jasper Counties, Lyons was personally responsible for more than 6,000 acres in ditch bank filter strips and habitat buffers, and he and the chapter worked with roughly 35 landowners over the years to establish conservation practices on their land. He was named one of Pheasants Forever's “25 Pioneering Volunteers” during the organization's 25th anniversary celebration. “Bob was a crusty old feather hunter who loved his habitat and really loved his birds and his bird dogs,” said Jack Corpuz, secretary of the Central Indiana Pheasants Forever chapter, “He spent just about every spare moment in the
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STATE PARK FEES TO INCREASE IN 2013 PREDATOR HUNTING PAGE 9
DECEMBER, 2012
Visitors to Indiana state parks and reservoirs will see some changes in user fees in 2013, but the daily entrance rate of $5 will remain the same. “Our goal, as always, is to provide the best state parks and facilities we can for our visitors,” DNR director Rob Carter said. “We’ve IDNR/Outdoor Indiana made minor fee adjustments in the past to keep pace with the costs of Magazine photo. meeting that goal. It’s now time to make a few additional changes, while also keeping in mind family budgets and the economic challenges Hoosiers are facing.” Some of the changes in fees include: • Annual entrance permits will increase from $36 to $40 for Indiana residents. • The annual out-of-state entrance permit will increase from $46 to $60. • Annual entrance permits also may be used for entrance to the interpretive center at Falls of the Ohio State Park. • Camping rates will increase by $1-$4 depending on the type of facilities, but weekday campers will still get a better rate. • Swimming pool fees will increase from $2/person/day to $3/person/day. A family swimming pass will be $50 for a 25-visit pass, which can reduce the per person/per day cost back to $2. Swimming passes have no expiration date, and can be used from one year to the next. • Cabin rates will increase by $5/day in some locations. • The annual motorized lake permit will increase from $20 to $22. • Some state park inn rooms will increase from between 99 cents and $4.95/night depending on location and amenities.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Noah Schoonveld arrowed a nice doe just 20 minutes after settling into his stand in Newton County last month. This big ten-pointer came by about an hour later. Now that’s a memorable hunt! Congratulations, Noah. Indiana’s archery season remains open through January 6, while the muzzleloader season runs December 8 through the 23rd.
Indiana Pheasant Outlook Though upland habitat continues to disappear across Indiana’s pheasant range at an alarming rate, the state’s northern tier experienced a mild winter, excellent conditions for spring breeding and then managed to elude the drought that ensnared much of the heartland. “I would assume based on the weather and the spring call count, the 2012 harvest would be up,” says Budd Veverka, Farmland Game Research Biologist with the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife. While the spring call count was only up about 3 percent statewide, the routes in Benton County were up more than 125 percent from last year. “We’ll see if the numbers cause a bump in the harvest,” Veverka says. He adds the Hoosier State’s 12,500 pheasant hunters will find birds in the northwest portion of the state, but believes good bird numbers can also be found in the northeast corner of the state too. Season Dates: November 9 through December 23 Daily Bag Limit: 2 Possession Limit: 4
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For a complete list of fees, see stateparks.IN.gov/2391.htm. Fee adjustments took effect on November 15. Camping, cabin, shelter, inn and other reservations made prior to November 15 will be honored at the old rates. In 2006, the Indiana Natural Resources Commission approved a fee
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POSTMASTER: Please deliver by December 10