The DNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is working to resolve a loophole in the online purchasing process for bonus antlerless deer licenses.

“It is currently possible,” said division Director Glen Salmon, “for hunters to short-circuit the system and purchase the discounted second bonus antlerless deer license prior to purchasing the first bonus antlerless deer license at full price.”

“When looking to add the discounted bonus option to the point-of-sale system, we learned that the programming needed to prevent a hunter from purchasing a discounted subsequent license would not be available for this hunting season. We decided that we would try the system out without the programming and instead rely upon the honesty of hunters to not purchase the discounted license until they had first bought a license at full price.”

During the past year, the DNR was able to convince legislators and the Natural Resource Commission to offer hunters a discount on second and subsequent bonus antlerless licenses on individual hunter purchases.

According to the new fee schedule, the first license costs $24 for residents and $150 for nonresidents. The second bonus license is marked at $15 for residents and $24 for nonresidents.

The goal was to reduce the financial burden on hunters helping the state manage the deer herd by harvesting multiple antlerless deer. Abuse of the point of sale system by some hunters now threatens the discount for the upcoming hunting season.

A check of the system has shown more than 100 hunters have taken advantage of the system to date. The DNR will monitor the system regularly and if abuse continues, the DNR will have no choice but to discontinue the discounted license until the system is capable of preventing abuse. Hunters who have bypassed the proper system will be contacted to allow them to correct their errors.

The Indiana Outdoor licensing system can be accessed at: www.in.gov/dnr/indianaoutdoor/

Autumn wiper update
DNR wiper-tracking data from a lake-wide Sept. 27 radio sweep of Monroe Lake shows most radio-tagged wipers are gathering along southern and eastern bay openings and points opposite the FourWinds Marina.

Indiana DNR is studying the movements of white bass/striped bass hybrids (wipers) at Monroe Lake using radio telemetry. In April, DNR fisheries biologists implanted electronic transmitters in 30 wipers.

About every two weeks, the wiper team races around the entire 11,000-acre lake near Bloomington tracking the free-roaming crossbred fish. Maps showing radio-tagged wiper locations throughout spring, summer and fall 2006 are posted at: www.IN.gov/dnr/fishwild/fish/wiper.htm

Fall updates online & Leaf Cam
It used to be, if one wanted to know how the color of fall has progressed, you simply went outside and looked around. But, in an attempt to encourage uncompromising couch potatoes, and to keep nature lovers abreast of the color changes, the Division of Fish & Wildlife will let the publics’ fingers do the walking.

Now, just pick up the phone, dial 317-232-4002 and find out what the leaves are doing in your neck of the woods.

Once again, it’s the time of year again when Mother Nature turns all of our Indiana landscape into a brilliant show of color.

Again this year the DNR’s division of forestry and division of communication have combined to let you know how the colors are progressing.

In case you’d like to know why the leaves are turning, go to the DNR’s fall page on the Web - www.dnrfall.com - and see “Rainbow on the Bough.” Just click on the “leaf colors” button, and there you are.

Or, if you would like to see for yourself how the leaves are doing, from the comfort of your armchair, log on to the Office of Tourism Leaf Cam. You can find it from the same DNR fall page.

This farm news was published in the Oct. 25, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.