By JACK SPAULDING
Spaulding Outdoors 

Deer season opens in Indiana on Oct. 1, and many hunters will take to the woods. Forest officials want you to have a successful and safe hunt and be aware of the rules while visiting the Hoosier National Forest.

District Ranger Chris Zimmer reminds the public, "The Hoosier belongs to everyone and hunters are welcome to hunt on forestland, with limited exceptions." He explains designated recreation areas such as Hardin Ridge or Tipsaw, and Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest south of Paoli, are closed to hunting.

Zimmer also wants to remind hunters to leave their ATVs and UTVs at home. Hunters are welcome to park vehicles at forest trailheads or dispersed camping areas and walk to their hunting areas. Any deer killed must be dragged or carried out to the road. ATVs and UTVs are not authorized to use in the Hoosier. "Please remember that carts are not allowed within the Charles C. Deam Wilderness area," advised Zimmer.

He asks, too, that hunters be careful to not block roads and get their vehicles safely off the road. Forest Service regulations specifically prohibit discharging a firearm (including a bow and arrow) across any parking area, trail, body of water or road, or within 150 yards of a developed recreation site, residence or any place where people are likely to be.

Zimmer recommends hunters obtain a detailed area map either online or at one of the forest offices, and use caution to ensure they don’t inadvertently stray off public land onto private. Private land is interspersed with public land, and you must obtain permission from the private landowner to hunt on their property. "If a hunter uses a tree stand on the forest, it needs to be legibly marked with the owner’s name and contact information and the stand should be removed by January 10, 2016," said Zimmer. He also reminds hunters only portable stands are allowed on national forest lands with fasteners penetrating no more than 1/2-inch.

For more information on hunting on the Hoosier National Forest, contact the Bedford office at 812-275-5987 or the Tell City office at 812-547-7051.

Waterfowl hunters may apply online until Sept. 30 for a chance to hunt at Brookville and Monroe lakes, Goose Pond, LaSalle, Hovey, Kankakee, Kingsbury and Willow Slough fish and wildlife areas and Province Pond Wetland Conservation Area.

Applicants may choose up to five property and date combinations. Successfully drawn applicants will be chosen for one (or more) of their five property and date choices. Participants must have a party of three hunters to hunt Monroe Lake. On all other properties, hunters must be accompanied by at least one but no more than two other hunters.

Each hunter must possess a hunting license, state waterfowl stamp, federal waterfowl stamp and a HIP (Harvest Information Program) Number. All reserved hunt draw results will be posted online at least one week after the deadline has passed.

More information and the application system are online at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/5834.htm

Hoosier hunters may have a tough time registering their game on the CheckIN Game phone line; the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) inadvertently posted the wrong number.

The number for deer and turkey hunters to report their harvested animals is wrong in the printed version of the 2015-16 Indiana Hunting & Trapping Guide booklet. The correct number is 800-419-1326 – the correct number appears on page 12 of the booklet, but is incorrect as listed on pages 26 and 38.

Hunters are required to register their harvested deer or turkey within 48 hours either online through the DNR’s CheckIN Game system (CheckINGame.dnr.IN.gov); finding a check station, license vendor or retailer who will enter the information through CheckIN Game; or by calling 800-419-1326.

The DNR regrets the error and apologizes for any inconvenience it may have caused.

With the recent influx of the first wild black bear reported in Indiana in the last 140 years, the DNR has decided maybe the public should be in the know, just in case they have an encounter with our one wandering bear from Michigan.

In order to edify the public, the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife will conduct two free educational programs in October to provide the public with information about black bears. The programs will address sightings this summer of a black bear in northwestern Indiana, the first confirmed presence of a wild bear in the state in nearly a century-and-a-half.

Presentations will cover black bear ecology and behavior, management of black bears and ways to minimize negative interactions and live safely with bears. The public will be able to ask questions of wildlife biologists from the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife and Indiana conservation officers from the DNR Division of Law Enforcement.

Dates and locations for the programs are:

•Oct. 14, St. Joseph County Public Library (main library, lower level), 304 S. Main Street, South Bend, IN 46601

•Oct 15, Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. 4th Street, Michigan City, IN 46360

Both events are from 6-7:30 p.m. local time. Doors will open at 5:30. Because space is limited, anyone wishing to attend should register at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/7548.htm or by calling 317-234-8440. With black bear populations expanding in several states around Indiana, it is possible other bears will find their way to our state in the coming years.

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 email at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.