Indiana conservation officers of District 8 – which includes Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Lawrence, Orange, Perry, Scott and Washington counties in south-central Indiana – made 349 hunting arrests and issued 153 warnings in the 2011 hunting seasons, according to Conservation Officer Jeffrey Milner.

Lt. Phil Schuetter (commander of District 8) stated, “I am proud of the job our officers did during the hunting seasons. Not only was there a large number of arrests, but the quality of the investigations was impressive.”

The most common violations officers encountered were hunting without a license; 136 license violations were found during the various hunting seasons, including 101 during whitetail deer season. A close second was illegal possession/taking of game. Officers issued 116 citations to poachers for illegal possession. Many of the citations were for whitetail deer, but one included illegal possession of a bobcat, which is an endangered species in Indiana.

Forty-five hunters were charged with hunting without landowner consent. According to Milner, “This is generally the most common complaint that we receive during the hunting season.” In Indiana you must receive permission from the landowner to hunt on private property.

Twenty-four poachers were arrested for hunting in closed season, which included the species of deer, fox, opossum, raccoon and turkey. There were also 48 check station violations, including such offenses as using someone else’s name on a deer or turkey tag and providing false information to the check station. Additionally, 12 hunters were charged with hunting with illegal weapons during the deer season.

Charges were also filed on 27 individuals for hunting without the required hunter orange. According to Cpl. Terry Allen, “This is a major safety violation and is strictly enforced.”

Sixteen poachers were charged with hunting with the aid of bait, and 14 for shooting from a public roadway. Use of an artificial light to take deer was charged on 15 poachers, along with 20 charges for hunting with the aid of a motorized conveyance.

The rest of the charges were for various other hunting violations. Also, during the 2011 hunting season, conservation officers handled several other criminal charges, hunting accidents and lost person investigations.

One kind of violation that added more charges not included in the 502 mentioned in my first paragraph was the dumping of deer carcasses along the roadways. Officers are still investigating several other cases not currently included in the totals for the 2011 hunting seasons.

One common violation encountered after the season is the abuse of the landowner exemption to the hunting license requirement.

“Many individuals claim to be landowners, when in fact they only rent a dwelling on the property, have a family member who owns the property or lease the property for hunting rights, which, none of these fit the exemption for the license requirement,” according to Officer Gary Pennington.

Conservation officers would like to remind all sportsmen and -women to report violations to the Turn In a Poacher (TIP) line by calling 800-TIP-IDNR (847-4367).

There are many ways to recycle Christmas trees, but tossing them on a frozen lake in order to create fish habitat has certain requirements ... and an uncertain outcome.

“Fish attractors tend to bring fish and fishermen together,” said Bill James, fisheries section chief for Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fish & Wildlife. “They provide cover but don’t necessarily grow more fish.”

Instead of waiting for an iced-over lake to thaw so a single discarded Christmas tree can sink to the bottom, James said there are better options for fish attractors. “They need to be designed, sized and placed appropriately to attract and hold fish,” he said. “Large hardwood brush piles work well and last for many years. Soft woods such as pine or spruce attract fish initially, but deteriorate quickly. This is especially true if used Christmas trees are placed singly or just scattered about.”

Further, state laws may apply, depending on the body of water. Discarding a Christmas tree on a private pond is at the owner’s discretion, but doing so on a public freshwater lake is governed by the Lake Preservation Act (Indiana Code 14-26-2) and Indiana Administrative Code (312 IAC 11-4-7).

The two laws stipulate a license from the DNR is needed to construct or place a fish attractor in a public freshwater lake. To qualify, the fish attractor must be anchored to ensure proper setting and must not be placed in a channel, a beach area, near the lake surface or in an area where it would adversely affect public safety and navigation; or adversely affect the natural resources or natural scenic beauty.

Three DNR divisions – Fish & Wildlife, Law Enforcement and Water – have a role in reviewing and approving a permit request for placement of a fish attractor. If approved, the permit carries a $100 fee and requires the permit holder to remove any portion or portions of the fish attractor coming unattached.

The administrative rule (312 IAC 11-4-7) was enacted in 1999 by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission in response to requests for permission to submerge cars and other large objects, including an airplane.

Enjoy the majesty of bald eagles in Indiana with the Upper Wabash Interpretive Services’ annual Eagle Watch field trips Feb. 18-19. Participants will meet at the center at 3 p.m. and caravan to several locations on the way to the roost.

The field trip sessions begin with a talk about bald eagles at the interpretive center. Then, participants will travel to popular eagle spots, ending up at a nearby roost site to watch the bald eagles fly in for the night. The roost spots have had many eagles in the past.

Participants should dress for the weather and bring binoculars, any snacks or drinks desired and a full tank of gas. Registration is required. There will be van seats available for a limited number of people. The number of cars to be included in the caravan also will be limited.

Register by calling the center at 260-468-2127 or visiting the Salamonie Interpretive Center in the Lost Bridge West Recreation Area, 3691 S. New Holland Rd., Andrews, IN 46702. Visit www.dnr.IN.gov/uwis for more information.

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.