When dealing with coyotes in Indiana, the law’s guidelines for landowners are: any time, any place and use your weapon of choice. Day or night, using spotlights or high-powered weapons, any method for taking the alpha predator is fair game.

Even with the liberal regulations, Indiana has a well established and expanding coyote population. There was little to protect the coyote – that is, up until now.

Coyotes taken outside the regulated trapping and hunting seasons can no longer be sold live, as a result of an administrative rule change unanimously adopted by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) on July 15. The change clarifies a gray area being interpreted by some to allow live coyotes legally trapped in Indiana to be sold across state lines for the purpose of training hunting dogs in penned facilities.

The decision, which requires approval of the attorney general and Gov. Mitch Daniels, came at the bimonthly meeting of the NRC, which has rule-making authority over the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The DNR is authorized by the state legislature to set season dates and bag limits for hunting, trapping and fishing. The coyote hunting and trapping season is Oct. 15-March 15. A separate state law allows landowners to take coyotes at any time on the land they own, or provide written permission for others to take coyotes on their land.

The revision, approved July 15, clarifies coyotes taken outside the trapping and hunting seasons must be euthanized within 24 hours, but will allow the sale of hides and parts. Ohio and Kentucky asked the Indiana DNR to stop the live trade market to avoid diseases from native Indiana coyotes being spread to other states. Also, the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies recently passed a resolution opposing the practice.

The Indiana commission gave preliminary approval to the amended rule in September. The DNR began accepting public comments in November and received 1,900 comments and more than 1,000 signatures on competing petitions.

2008 Indiana spring turkey hunt nets second best harvest

According to the numbers, hunting the wary gobbler in Indiana is progressively getting better and better, as hunters posted their second best harvest during the spring hunt. Hunters harvested 12,204 wild turkeys in 85 of the 91 Indiana counties open to hunting during the 2008 spring wild turkey hunting season.

The 2008 harvest was the second highest harvest in 39 years. The total was 9 percent more than the 2007 harvest of 11,163 birds. A record 13,193 birds were harvested during the 2006 spring season.
Counties with the highest 2008 wild turkey harvests were: Switzerland 533; Jefferson 464; Harrison 428; Greene 358; Dearborn 353; Perry 320; Washington 314; Clark 307; Jennings 304; Sullivan 303; Parke 302; and Lawrence with 301.
A total of 956 birds were taken during the special youth weekend prior to the regular season (8 percent of the statewide harvest).
DNR wildlife biologist Steve Backs says while the majority of the turkey harvest occurs in the southern half of the state, the harvest continues to increase in northern Indiana as those turkey numbers increase, both in total numbers and proportionally.

“This year’s increased harvest probably reflects a combination of general turkey population growth around the state, especially in some northern counties, and the continual increase in hunter numbers,” he said. “Flooding the past two springs has also influenced turkey production in some southern counties, along with limiting hunter access during the hunting season.”

More 2008 state and county turkey harvest information is available online at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3915.htm

‘Leave No Trace’ workshop

You can find out what it means to “walk gently upon the Earth” by joining Bill Houk for a “Leave No Trace” workshop at 8 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Rustic Oak Shelter the Ouabache State Park.

Houk is a Master Educator who volunteers to lead workshops about how to leave no trace, throughout Indiana and the Midwest. He will be using games, demonstrations and hands-on activities to help participants learn seven important “Leave No Trace” principles.

The program is free and designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts and groups with making decisions about how to reduce their impact when they are in the out-of-doors. According to the park’s interpretive naturalist, Kate Curless, Houk offers an educational and ethical program, not a set of rules and regulations.

“It’s a tremendous workshop for everyone interested in learning how to minimize their impact on Indiana’s state parks and reservoirs,” she said.

The event is free after paying the standard gate fee of $5 for in-state and $7 for out-of-state vehicles. Limited parking is available at the Rustic Oak Shelter. Additional parking is available nearby.
For more information about the Leave No Trace program, call 260-824-0926, go to www.LNT.org or e-mail Ouabache Interp@dnr.IN.gov

Ouabache State Park is located at 4930 East State Road 201 in Bluffton.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may contact Jack Spaulding by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.