Before dove and waterfowl hunters take to drought-affected fields this hunting season, they should take time first to review baiting laws. The laws seem complicated at first, but with a little examination, sportspeople can soon determine if their hunting plans could run afoul of the law.

Baiting can be a complicated issue. It can become more complicated in years in which drought conditions have pushed many farmers to destroy their standing agricultural crops. It is imperative hunters keep in mind what is legal and what is not during waterfowl and dove hunting seasons.

What is legal? You can hunt waterfowl on, over, or from: standing crops or flooded standing crops; standing, flooded or manipulated natural vegetation; flooded harvested croplands; or lands or areas where grains or top-sown seeds have been scattered solely as the result of normal agricultural practices.

You can hunt doves on, over or from: standing crops; lands where seeds or grain have been scattered solely as a result of normal agricultural practices; lands planted as wildlife food plots; lands planted as pasture improvements or for the purpose of grazing livestock; standing or manipulated natural vegetation; or agricultural crops that have been manipulated.

What is illegal? You cannot hunt waterfowl in: areas where grain or seed has been top-sown; crops harvested outside of the recommended harvest dates; unharvested crops trampled by livestock or subjected to other types of manipulations that scatter, distribute or expose the grain; freshly planted wildlife food plots containing exposed grain; areas where grain is present or stored; or croplands where a crop has been harvested and the removed grain is redistributed or “added back” onto the area where it was grown.

You cannot hunt doves in: areas where grain, seed, salt or feed has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed or scattered; areas where grain is in piles or other concentrations; or freshly planted wildlife food plots containing exposed grain.

Reminder: It is legal to hunt doves on, over or from manipulated agricultural lands. It is not legal to hunt waterfowl on, over or from manipulated agricultural lands.

Below are a few potentially common scenarios for the upcoming dove/waterfowl seasons.

•If a farmer mows his agricultural fields in September because of crop insurance payments, a hunter cannot hunt it for waterfowl because waterfowl cannot be hunted over manipulated agricultural lands. However, this field can be hunted for doves.

•If a wildlife food plot is planted a few weeks before you are going to dove or waterfowl hunt, can you hunt it? Yes, if the grain is not exposed.

•You decide to put out grain to attract birds. It has been eight days since you last put out grain. Can you hunt this area? No. An area is considered baited until 10 days after all the grain has been removed from the area.

The fourth annual Hoosier Outdoor Experience, free to all participants, is coming to Indianapolis’ Fort Harrison State Park Sept. 15-16.

If you were one of the estimated 20,000 men, women or children who reveled in the more than 50 hands-on outdoor activities last year, you’ve probably had the dates circled for a long time. If you haven’t experienced the Experience before, mark the dates now. There’s plenty of room for more participants in the state park’s spacious 1,700 acres.

As in previous years, there will be activities for everyone, from archery and target shooting to mountain biking, various types of fishing, canoeing, kayaking and much more. Where else can you do activities at no charge, let alone all of them? You can also bring your own food, although food booths and trucks will be selling their specialties.

The Hoosier Outdoor Experience, which runs from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. each day, and is presented by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation. The goal is to introduce people to outdoor activities they may have never tried.

Online advance registration at www.hoosieroutdoorexperience.IN.gov is requested, to assist the presenters and activity providers with staffing and planning. Watch for event updates there or at www.facebook.com/HoosierOutdoorExperience

If you already enjoy outdoor sports and recreation and want to help others learn to enjoy them as much as you do, sign up to volunteer online at http://2012 experiencevolunteers.eventbrite.com

For questions about volunteering, contact volunteer coordinator Cheryl Hampton, 317-233-1002, champton@dnr.IN.gov or Leah Kopp, 317-234-1064, lkopp@dnr.IN.gov

Indiana conservation officers are continuing their investigation along with federal authorities in Texas, relating to a subject selling Red-Eared Slider turtles at Green Tree Mall in Clarksville, Ind.

Chau W. Tse, 36, of Jeffersonville, Ind., was charged with illegal sale of an Indiana native reptile and for being over the possession limit of an Indiana native reptile species. A total of 13 turtles were seized, 10 of which did not meet the minimum size requirement in Indiana.

Tse had purchased the turtles from a business in Texas and had been selling them at a kiosk in the Green Tree Mall.  A patron called in about the violation. Federal authorities are conducting an investigation in Texas relating to possible violations by the business and their sale of the turtles to Tse.

Sale of native reptile and amphibian species in Indiana is prohibited, whether or not they are acquired out of state. The possession limit of any non-protected native reptile or amphibian is four of any one specific species. Box turtles are also protected in Indiana and cannot be possessed without a special permit or be collected from the wild.

For more complete information about Indiana’s reptile and amphibian laws, visit www.in.gov/dnr/fish wild/3328.htm

Anyone with information relating to any type of fish and wildlife violation is encouraged to contact Central Dispatch at 812-837-9536 or the Turn in a Poacher/Polluter Hotline at 800-TIP-IDNR (847-4367).

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