The new Deer Creek Fish and Wildlife Area (FWA) got Indiana’s leader’s endorsement last week when Gov. Mitch Daniels had his first on-the-ground look at what will be Indiana’s newest FWA. He liked what he saw.

“I just can’t tell you what a great deal I think our folks got in adding almost 1,000 acres to an already record amount that we have been protecting,” Daniels said while visiting Deer Creek FWA in Putnam County.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is in the final stages of acquiring the almost-2,000-acre site from the Department of Correction (DOC) as part of a land exchange releasing 1,200 acres of Atterbury FWA to the Indiana National Guard for expansion of its training operations at Camp Atterbury in Johnson County.

Daniels announced the proposed exchange in April. Since then, the DNR, DOC and National Guard have been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service to complete the deal.
“Having visited the part we swapped and now being able to visit here at Deer Creek, the quality is just astonishing,” Daniels said.
The area to become Deer Creek FWA was surplus DOC land adjacent to the Putnamville Correctional Facility, which opened in 1915 and operated for 70 years as the Indiana State Farm. The nearly 2,000 acres being transferred to the DNR is a mix of hardwood forest and open fields over rolling terrain, interspersed with small ponds and Deer Creek.

“This is so beautiful, so much more diverse,” Daniels said. “It’s going to be a lot more exciting for people to come and watch (wildlife), fish and hunt. We got the better end of this deal.”
Despite giving up a portion of Atterbury FWA to the National Guard, the addition of Deer Creek represents a net gain in public land for the DNR and increases to more than 34,000 acres protected through agency projects in the past six years.

“We’re just out to do all we can in our time to protect Indiana’s beauty like it never has been before,” Daniels said.

The Governor announced in June two initiatives to protect 43,000 acres along Sugar Creek and the Wabash River, and approximately 26,000 along the Muscatatuck River. The DNR already has received nearly two dozen unsolicited letters of interest from landowners along those river corridors.

Deer Creek will be the 24th FWA managed by the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife. The property will open to public use on a limited basis, beginning Oct. 29.

The primary use of the property will be to provide opportunities to anglers, hunters and trappers. Compatible secondary uses will include wildlife watching, nature study and the gathering of berries, nuts and mushrooms.

Caucus fights proposed ban of lead fishing tackle

Seventy-eight members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) signed a letter delivered in late September to Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging it to dismiss the petition to ban the use of lead in fishing products.

The CSC members state in the letter: “There are 60 million recreational anglers in America that contribute $125 billion to our economy annually, and penalizing these men, women and children that are the best stewards of our environment, as well as the financial backbone to fish and wildlife conservation in our country, would be a terrible and unnecessary injustice.”

The CSC letter comes on the heels of a similar letter to Jackson requesting dismissal of the petition, sent on Sept. 15, from the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and its partner members of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners and sport fishing communities.

“This issue is about protecting America’s 60 million recreational anglers, and this attempt to ban lead-based fishing tackle could potentially drive up cost and serve as a disincentive for Americans to fish,” said CSF President Jeff Crane.

The Assoc. of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, representing the 50 state fish and wildlife agencies, also sent a letter the EPA on Sept. 2 urging it to dismiss the petition. State fish and wildlife agencies are authorized to manage most of a state’s fish and wildlife, and therefore closely monitor and address any local concerns about lead-based fishing tackle and any potential impacts on local species.

A federal ban on lead fishing tackle is not only unnecessary, but intrudes upon traditional state agencies’ jurisdiction. No scientific basis has been established to warrant any such ban on traditional fishing equipment.

A similar proposal to ban lead fishing tackle was dismissed by the EPA in the mid-1990s because there was insufficient data to support such a ban.

Fishing workshops for educators set on Nov. 18

Fishing workshops for educators and youth leaders, called Go FishIN Crew Captain workshops, will be offered again at the Natural Resources Education Center at Fort Harrison State Park, on Nov. 18 from 9- a.m.-4 p.m.

The programs teach adults who work with youth about fish biology, Indiana’s aquatic ecosystems, fish management in Indiana, basic angling skills and angler ethics.

Participants completing the course become “Crew Captains” and may then take the knowledge and skills to their classrooms and community. Crew Captains also can receive educational materials and fishing equipment for free use when teaching the program and taking kids fishing.

No fishing experience is needed, and no fishing license is required during the workshop. All fishing equipment will be provided. The usual gate fee will be waived.

The workshop is free but advance registration is required by e-mailing nrec@dnr.IN.gov or calling 317-562-1338. For questions on the details of the workshop, e-mail Clint Kowalik, the Go FishIN coordinator, at gofishin@ dnr.in.gov

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 for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.