Getting started in waterfowl hunting can be a little bit intimidating. With all the regulations, gun and shot requirements and licenses and stamps, it can be overwhelming for someone just starting out.
To help new hunters along in their sport, there will be two free waterfowl hunting workshops offered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in the fall. The first will be at Grouse Ridge Public Fishing Area on Sept. 17, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The second will be on Oct. 8 at Monroe Lake’s North Fork Service Area, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

The same material will be covered at each event, and there is no need for hunters to attend both. The workshops are intended for novice waterfowl hunters and those who want to try waterfowl hunting for the first time. All ages are welcome.

“We had folks at last year’s event aged from eight to 73,” said DNR waterfowl biologist Adam Phelps. “All beginners are welcome.”
Parents who already hunt waterfowl are welcome to bring children, but the material is tailored for beginners; experienced waterfowl hunters are not likely to get much out of the workshops.
Organizers hope to build on the success of last year’s novice waterfowl workshop at Monroe Lake. “We had over 50 people at last year’s event,” Phelps said. “Feedback from participants was excellent and helped fine-tune the presentations for this year.”
Presentation topics will include waterfowl hunting regulations; duck and goose identification; and equipment and techniques, including a show-and-tell segment. Waterfowl hunting equipment, including blinds, waders, clothing, decoys, gadgets and boats, will be displayed and discussed at length.

“Despite all the equipment you can use, we stress that you can hunt ducks and geese with a minimum outlay, so we focus on what you must have,” Phelps said.

DNR law enforcement and Fish and Wildlife personnel will be available to answer questions, and lunch will be provided. Both workshops are free, but registration for the Monroe Lake workshop is required. No registration is required for the Grouse Ridge workshop.

Participants may register for Monroe Lake by calling South Region Law Enforcement at 812-837-9536. Questions on the Monroe Lake workshop may be addressed to Phelps at 812-334-1137. Questions on the Grouse Ridge workshop may be addressed to Steve Mund at 812-346-5596.

Mourning the passing
of Dick Mercier

Current and former DNR officials and others from the hunting and fishing community are paying tribute to Dick Mercier. The longtime conservation leader and member of the Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame died on July 31, 2011.

“Dick was a true champion for outdoor enthusiasts and the cause of conservation,” said Rob Carter, director of the DNR. “His tireless efforts, especially in the legislative arena, not only benefit today’s hunters and anglers but will do so for generations to come.”
John Goss, former DNR director and former executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation, said, “Dick Mercier put his time and talents into his passion for the outdoors, serving as an unpaid advocate and the force behind the Indiana Sportsmen’s Roundtable, as the most consistent and effective voice for Hoosier sporting groups at the Statehouse for many years.”

Mercier, 85, was best known in conservation circles for helping incorporate the Roundtable in 1993. As its president for 16 years, he promoted legislation favorable to sportsmen and -women and was instrumental in passage of the Landowner Liability Bill and the Senior Fishing License.

The former opened the door for hunters, anglers and trappers to access private land while lifting the threat of liability to the landowner in the event of an accident. The latter established a low-cost license, enabling the DNR to capture federal excise tax dollars being lost.

Mercier also worked to advance hunter education and apprentice licenses, encouraging more youth participation in the outdoors, and was a strong advocate for the expansion and funding of venison donation programs to food banks.

“Dick was an outdoorsman, an ally of other outdoorsmen and -women and an honored friend of the DNR,” said Mark Reiter, DNR Fish & Wildlife director.

In 1995, Mercier accepted the DNR’s Conservation Organization of the Year award on behalf of the Indiana Sportsmen’s Roundtable. He was named Conservationist of the Year by the Indiana Wildlife Federation in 1998 and by the DNR in 2002.

In 2004, the Indiana Bowhunters Assoc. (IBA) created the Dick Mercier Conservationist of the Year award, which is presented annually to a deserving individual.

“He was kind of a unique blend of visionary and pragmatic,” said Gene Hopkins, an IBA member and Mercier’s successor with the Roundtable. “That’s what I liked about him.

“It was something rare to have someone who could see the future and put the present into clarity as well as he did. He’s one of the guys I consider a mentor, a true mentor. Thank God he was there. Thank God he had the time and commitment to do what he did. He’s going to be missed.”

Doug Allman, who worked with Mercier on the Roundtable, said, “I admired Dick for seeing the big picture in a lot of things … Even though he didn’t always agree with the DNR, he still put that aside and worked for funding and legislative issues that helped the DNR and helped sportsmen. He saw the connection.
“You don’t see that very often today. People get so locked in on a ‘you’re either for me or against me’ entality. Dick rose above that.”

One of Mercier’s proudest moments came when he was inducted to the Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame in 2010.

“We have lost one of Indiana’s giants of conservation,” said Bourke Patton, executive director of the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation and chair of the Hall of Fame Committee. “Dick worked tirelessly to promote hunting and make it safer in Indiana. His significant contributions made him a deserving selection to our Hall of Fame.”

An avid hunter and angler, Mercier raised and trained champion hunting dogs.

“He loved his bird dogs,” said Jack Corpuz of the Central Indiana Chapter of Pheasants Forever. “He just got a new puppy about four years ago, so clear up to the end he was still training bird dogs. If you go back far enough in the archives, you’ll probably find a hunting regulations book with him on the front behind a bird dog.”

Mercier was a lifelong resident of Indianapolis and a 1943 graduate of Shortridge High School. He attended Texas A&M and Purdue. After graduating from the U.S. Army Air Corps School of Aerial Navigation, he served in World War II as an instructor for Air Corps navigation cadets.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Em (Mamie), daughter, Mary Jane Van Hoesen, of Lummi Island, Wash.; sons Richard M. of New Albany, Ind., and David G. of Indianapolis, Ind.; three grandchildren and a great-grandchild; and a sister, Marilyn Wetzler, of Boca Raton, Fla.

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.