Indiana annual hunting, fishing and trapping licenses are good through March 31, but now is the time I make a vow to get my licenses and stamps for the upcoming year. I find it easiest to associate my licenses’ renewal with the annual Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show.

The licenses and stamps are available at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) booth and are often sold by Conservation officers. It’s mighty handy when buying a license to have just the right person to answer a quick question about the fish and game rules and regulations.

It’s been my experience that our men and women in green know just about all the rules, and if you do happen to stump them, they will take the time to look it up for you.

This year, Indiana’s fishing seniors will help bring in much needed federal tax revenues when purchasing the Senior Fishing License. This is required for Indiana residents born after March 31, 1943, and they may purchase either a $3 senior fishing license each year or a one-time $17 Fish-for-Life license to fish in public waters.
The $17 fee is the same price the 64-year-old anglers used to pay for their yearly license; however, the Fish-for-Life license will be the last fishing license a person will ever need to purchase in Indiana. Each of the senior fishing licenses also includes the trout/salmon stamp.

Residents born before April 1, 1943, will continue to be exempt from having to buy either of the two discounted senior licenses. Seniors who fished public waters at no charge will not be affected by the new law, except by reaping benefits gained from use of the additional federal funding.

Each senior citizen’s purchase of a discounted senior fishing license will bring the state an additional $7.90 of federal money. The funding gained will go toward sport fish restoration programs and expanding and maintaining public access to lakes and streams throughout the state.

Approximately 5,460 Hoosier anglers, age 64, bought a 2006 Indiana fishing license. If the same number were to buy a senior license in 2008, the state would gain $43,000 from the federal government. In 10 years, the total could swell to $2.3 million.
The federal program is funded by excise taxes on fishing equipment and boat fuel. The funds are distributed to states based in part on the number of licensed anglers in the state. When Indiana senior citizens did not have to purchase a fishing license, they were not counted as license holders, so a portion of the money gained from the excise tax charged to Hoosiers on equipment such as rods, reels, lures and boat fuel was distributed to other states.

DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) statistics show in 2007 there were approximately 90,000 Indiana seniors fishing in the state.

The DNR maintains more than 350 fishing sites, but many lakes and streams still lack public access. Additional funds are needed to purchase lands from willing sellers and to construct boat ramps, parking lots, entrance roads and ADA-accessible facilities.
In addition, increased funding is needed for maintenance projects at access sites, including the periodic rebuilding of worn-out ramps.
The DNR operates eight fish hatcheries, providing more than 20 million fish of 15 different species for stocking public waters each year. The two newest hatcheries are 20 years old. Others date back to early in the last century.

As the facilities age, repair costs mount. Without reinvestment made possible by the new legislation, the hatcheries would not be able to adequately supply tomorrow’s anglers.
I spoke with Kevin Renfro, and he says the 2009 show is one of the best shows they have produced. Remaining show dates and hours are: Feb. 25-26 from 3-9 p.m.; Feb. 27 from 1-9 p.m.; Feb. 28 from 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; and March 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tickets at the show gate are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors (ages 60+), $7 for children 6-12, free for children 5 and under and $18 for two-day event tickets.

CWD not found in Indiana

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was not detected in the 862 deer collected during the DNR’s 2008 CWD sampling.

In every year since 2002, DFW employees have been collecting CWD samples from hunter-harvested deer during the opening weekend of firearm season. Since 2007, the efforts have been supplemented with collecting road-killed samples throughout the year. CWD has not been detected in the more than 10,000 deer collected during the entire monitoring period.

CWD is one of a group of diseases called Transmissible Spongiform Encepalopathies (TSEs). Other examples of TSEs include scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. The agents of CWD are called prions, which are abnormal, protease-resistant forms of cellular proteins normally synthesized in the central nervous system and lymphoid tissues.

Prions thought to cause CWD are highly resistant to heat or disinfectant, and can be transferred to other deer through direct or indirect contact. No study has ever proven CWD is transmissible to humans.

CWD has been reported in free-ranging deer herds in Wisconsin, Illinois and West Virginia, among other states. Indiana has never detected CWD within its free-ranging or captive deer herds.
For more information on deer health, visit www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild
No turkey hunting at Atterbury

It is official: Atterbury JMTC (military) will not be an option for wild turkey hunters this spring.

Atterbury has notified the DNR its military training schedule will not allow for the public to turkey hunt on the base this year. Atterbury was offered as an option in the turkey hunt reservation system for the upcoming season.

Those who signed up for the Atterbury JMTC hunt before this announcement will be permitted to sign up for another site.

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.