Administrative Rule (Regulation) Changes
WILD TURKEY AND RUFFED GROUSE RULE CHANGE PROPOSALS
The DNR has proposed changes to the rule governing the hunting of ruffed grouse on public lands to a period of 6 weeks only. The season length on private lands would remain unchanged. Currently, grouse hunting occurs across all or portions of 25 counties from October 1 to December 31 (13 weeks) with a 2 bird bag limit. However, extremely low grouse population levels and deteriorating habitat conditions with uncertain prospects for improvement raise concerns about hunting mortality on grouse populations, especially on public lands with unrestricted hunter access.
The DNR has also proposed the following changes to the wild turkey rule:
1) add 16 new counties in Indiana for the fall firearms season, including 7 in northern Indiana
2) open all counties (statewide) for fall turkey archery season
3) add 7 days to the early archery portion of the fall turkey season
4) add a second (late) archery turkey season to coincide with the late deer archery season (they would run at the same time and have a hunter orange requirement)
5) expand the fall turkey firearm season in the south for 7 more days (12 days total - includes 2 weekends).
The relatively low harvests, hunter participation, and hunter success under the current conservative fall season structure indicate that the hunting range and the days of hunting opportunity could be expanded for both archery and firearms (shotgun) portions of the turkey season. These changes to the fall season would not be likely to have much of an impact on spring harvest. The proposed fall turkey structure would still be considered conservative relative to other surrounding states and still demonstrates the DNR’s commitment to emphasize spring over fall hunting opportunities as desired by turkey hunters in general. The extension of the archery hunting opportunities will likely have a negligible effect on overall fall harvests levels given the relatively low archery hunter success (≤ 2%). The more conservative 5-day firearms season in the north for a few selected counties will allow for a 3-year assessment of fall firearm hunting in a region with relatively lower overall turkey population levels.
View the proposed rule language
These rule changes were given preliminary adoption by the Natural Resources Commission in November of 2009. Public comments on these rule changes can be sent to the Natural Resources Commission; scroll down to “Ruffed Grouse & Wild Turkey Rule Seasons” and click on the appropriate link to comment on the proposed rules. You must include your name and city and state of residence when submitting a comment. Comments can also be mailed to the following address:
Natural Resources Commission
Indiana Government Center North
100 North Senate Ave., Room N501
Indianapolis, IN 46204
All comments sent to the Natural Resources Commission regarding these rule changes will be provided to Commission members and Department of Natural Resources staff and will be publicly disclosed and searchable on the internet and in a paper docket as part of the final report. A public hearing will take place later this year on these rule changes, but it has not yet been scheduled.
DEER HUNTING AND HUNTER EDUCATION RELATED RULE CHANGES
The rule changes listed below governing deer hunting and hunter education took effect on December 3, 2009. They were approved by the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) in September and subsequently approved by the Attorney General’s Office and Governor’s Office.
Condenses the Deer Hunting rules into the following four rules:
312 IAC 9-3-2 General Requirements and Licenses for Hunting Deer
312 IAC 9-3-3 Equipment for Deer Hunting
312 IAC 9-3-4 Season Dates and Bag Limits
312 IAC 9-3-8 Hunting deer on designated military reserves and National Wildlife
Refuges with extra deer hunting licenses
Youth Hunting Season
• Puts in permanent rule the ability for a youth hunter to use a rifle with the cartridges specified in the rule.
• Changes the age of youth that can hunt during this special season to those under the age of 18 instead of those under the age of 16.
General Deer Hunting
• Allows archery equipment and firearms to be loaded, or capable of being fired, before and after lawful shooting hours.
• Allows legal archery equipment and a firearm to be possessed during the firearms season, as long as the person possesses both an archery and a firearm license.
• Allows legal archery equipment and a muzzleloader to be possessed during the muzzleloader season, as long as the person possesses both an archery and a muzzleloader license.
• Clarifies that a handgun cannot be a rifle that has been modified to meet the state of Indiana’s definition of a handgun.
• Clarifies licensing and tagging requirements to make sure that the person who killed the deer puts his/her name on the tag and that the deer is recorded at the check station in the name of the person who actually killed the deer.
• Adds the city of Warsaw as an urban deer zone in Kosciusko county.
• Removes names of national wildlife refuges and military areas to simply say “designated military reserves and national wildlife refuges.”
• For deer killed by a vehicle or found dead, adds district wildlife biologists and property managers and assistant property managers to the list of people who can issue permits to possess one.
Hunter Education
• Allows a person to purchase an apprentice hunting license in accordance with IC 14-22-12-1.7 and be exempt from hunter education requirements.
• Allows a license retailer to issue an apprentice hunting license to a person who has not met the hunter education requirements.
The proposed rule language can be viewed at: http://www.in.gov/nrc/files/LSA_09_44.pdf.
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Youth Deer Season
The rule change to allow a youth hunter (under the age of 18) to take either a buck or a doe during the special youth deer season took effect on December 12, 2009. This rule change was approved by the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) in September and subsequently approved by the Attorney General’s Office and Governor’s Office. If the youth hunter takes a buck during this special season, the youth hunter would not be able to take another buck during any of the other seasons that year (except during the urban deer season in an urban deer zone).
The proposed rule language can be viewed at: http://www.in.gov/nrc/files/LSA_09_60.pdf
TECHNICAL RULE CHANGES
Definitions, General Provisions, Mammals (except for deer), and Birds
Technical (non-substantive) changes were made to the fish and wildlife rules that pertain to the following sections: definitions, restrictions and standards governing wild animals, mammals (except for deer), and birds. Some of the changes that have been made include removing the term “handicapped”, combining rules (such as those pertaining to hunter orange and migratory birds), and clarifying current requirements for the possession and sale of species of mammals and game birds.
The proposed rule language can be viewed at: http://www.in.gov/nrc/files/wild_animals_birds.pdf
These rule changes were given final adoption by the Natural Resources Commission in January. The rules will become effective after approval by the Attorney General’s Office and Governor’s Office.
TECHNICAL RULE CHANGES
Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, Special Licenses and Permits
The DNR has proposed technical (non-substantive) changes to the fish and wildlife rules that pertain to the following sections: reptiles, amphibians, fish, and special licenses and permits. The changes include combining multiple rules into one to help clarify requirements, updating common and scientific names of reptiles and amphibians, and clarifying requirements for the taking of fish.
The proposed rule language can be viewed at: http://www.in.gov/nrc/files/fish_reptiles_permits_proposed_rule.pdf
These rule changes were given preliminary adoption by the Natural Resources Commission in May. Public comments on these rule changes can be sent to the Natural Resources Commission by going to the following website at: http://www.in.gov/nrc/2377.htm and scroll down to “Fish and Wildlife: Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians, Etc.” and click on the appropriate link to comment on the proposed rules; you must include your name and city and state of residence when submitting a comment. Comments can also be mailed to the following address:
Natural Resources Commission
Indiana Government Center North
100 North Senate Ave., Room N501
Indianapolis, IN 46204
All comments sent to the Natural Resources Commission regarding these rule changes will be provided to Commission members and Department of Natural Resources staff and will be publicly disclosed and searchable on the internet and in a paper docket as part of the final report. A public hearing will take place later this year or early next year on these rule changes, but it has not yet been scheduled.
GAME BREEDER LICENSE RULE CHANGES
The DNR proposed changes to the rule governing the game breeder license established under IC 14-22-20 to help clarify housing and other requirements for licensed game breeders.
The proposed changes to the game breeder license are summarized as follows:
- Removes southern flying squirrels from the list of animals that can be possessed under this license because the statutory authority for this license only allows game or furbearing mammals (which are defined by statute) and non-migratory game birds to be possessed under this license
- Clarifies how white-tailed deer can be obtained and possessed
- Clarifies the legal use of wild animals kept under this license in accordance with IC 14-22-20 and IC 14-22-20.5
- Clarifies how wild animals can be obtained and kept under this license in accordance with IC 14-22-20
- Specifies the fence requirements for white-tailed deer
- Clarifies the requirements for housing white-tailed deer, including the availability of fresh water, feed and/or pasture, windbreaks, shelters, shade, and bedding
- Clarifies identification, registration, and disease-testing requirements for white-tailed deer in compliance with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health and USDA
- Adds a provision that white-tailed deer and their products can be sold in Indiana in accordance with IC 14-22-20
- Clarifies record-keeping requirements
- Adds language to address inspections by conservation officers to help eliminate stress to animals possessed under this license, help prevent the spread of disease, and clarify when violations must be corrected
The proposed rule language can be viewed at: http://www.in.gov/nrc/files/game_breeder_proposed_rule.pdf
The final report with all of the public comments, a response by the DNR, and a recommendation from the Hearing Officer will be available at the Natural Resources Commission's website during the first week of March. The NRC will likely consider these rule changes for final adoption at their meeting on March 16, 2010 at the Ft. Harrison State Park Inn. If approved by the NRC, attorney general and governor, the changes will become law later in 2010.
PADDLEFISH RULE CHANGES
The rules governing the taking of paddlefish and fishing in the Ohio River are now in effect. The changes prohibit the taking of paddlefish by sport fishing in public waters in Indiana. The changes also establish a season for taking paddlefish by commercial fishermen on the Ohio River, establish a size limit, and allow only a 10 gauge needle to be inserted into a paddlefish to check for the presence of eggs. There are further restrictions that allow a minimum bar mesh size of 4 inches for gill and trammel nets used from November 1 through April 30 and a range of 4 to 4 ½ inches for gill and trammel nets used from May 1 through October 31. Additional changes establish a standard for measuring a paddlefish since the bill of a paddlefish can be altered, prohibiting the standard method of measuring fish from being used. The changes also prohibit the snagging of sport fish.
These rule changes are necessary to protect paddlefish populations in the Ohio River as well as inland waters and prevent them from being over-fished. Paddlefish do not reproduce until they are seven to ten years old. Because commercial fishermen can sell the eggs of paddlefish as caviar throughout the world, there is an incentive for commercial fishermen to take more paddlefish. A major investigation into the poaching and illegal sale of paddlefish was conducted by Indiana Conservation Officers and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Agent in 2006 and 2007. This investigation led to the arrest of 22 individuals who were taking paddlefish in prohibited areas, selling paddlefish that were taken with illegal equipment, not reporting the taking of paddlefish under their commercial fishing licenses, as well as other violations. Without these rule changes, paddlefish populations will decline and are not expected to be able to continue to support the businesses that rely upon their harvest.
The final rule language can be viewed at: Paddlefish Rule Package.
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