No matter how good your waterfowl retriever or how much you love the animal, given the right situation and with the shotgun safety off, your beloved dog can shoot you.

Indiana conservation officers are investigating a hunting accident in Ohio County that seriously injured a hunter and slightly injured a second. At about 9 a.m. on Nov. 10, officers were contacted about a waterfowl hunter shot while in the field near Aurora, Ind.

During the incident, Adam Daugherty, 30, of Lawrenceburg sustained a gunshot injury to his left ankle while waterfowl hunting. Jeremy Legge, 37, of Petersburg, Ky., also sustained a gunshot injury to his right ankle. The men had concluded their hunt with two others and were standing outside the hunting blind when the firearm involved discharged, injuring both of them.

As reported, Daugherty’s firearm had been propped vertically inside the hunting blind when a dog re-entered the blind and knocked the firearm over, causing it to fall over and discharge.

Daugherty was taken to HighPoint Health to receive medical treatment. He was later transported to University of Cincinnati for further treatment. Legge transported himself to a doctor for medical treatment. The firearm involved was a 12-gauge Browning Maxus without the safety engaged.

Responders on the scene included conservation officers, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department and the Dearborn County EMS. The investigation is still ongoing at last report.

Testing for bovine tuberculosis in deer

Hunter participation in previous years has allowed the Indiana DNR to scale back bovine tuberculosis (bTB) surveillance in southeastern Indiana. The bTB surveillance the DNR conducted during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 hunting seasons resulted in the collection of more than 2,500 samples. None tested positive for the disease.

Because the testing results may suggest the prevalence of bTB within the previous surveillance zones was at a very low level, the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife has established a bTB surveillance zone in a smaller focal area of Franklin and Fayette counties than in previous years. The DNR will still accept samples for testing from concerned hunters who harvest deer from outside the focal area, but still within the 2017 bTB surveillance zone.

Surveillance involves collecting and testing lymph nodes from the head and neck of deer harvested by hunters and voluntarily submitted for evaluation. The DNR asks hunters in the small focal area to help collect as many samples as possible. The preference is for bucks 2 years or older, but all deer will be accepted for testing. Submitting deer for testing is voluntary.

A biological check station staffed by DNR employees will be located at Whitewater Canal State Historic Site maintenance facility at 19083 Clayborn St., Metamora, Ind. The check station will be staffed on weekends from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. through Dec. 23. After-hours, hunters may drop off deer heads in a designated drop box at the check station. In addition, drop-off locations will be established at two area businesses for hunters to drop off deer heads.

See www.wildlife.IN.gov/9320.htm for more information where to submit a deer for testing, more general information on bTB and how to help with this effort.

Hunters must check in their deer online and receive a confirmation number before bringing the deer to a biological check station. The deer must be delivered within 12 hours of harvest to be eligible for testing.

Opportunities to cut firewood

The public is invited to cut certain downed trees in designated areas at Mississinewa Lake for firewood. Trees eligible for firewood have died as a result of natural causes, been dropped by property staff or were blown down during storms. Trees along roadsides or in public areas of the property will be available to the general public to cut up and haul away as firewood until Feb. 28, 2019.

The program will require each participant to fill out and sign permits and waivers before cutting. The cost will be $10 for one load. Multiple truckloads may be purchased at the time of purchase; however, all firewood must be removed on the date for which the permit has been issued. No refunds will be issued.

All proceeds from firewood permit sales are used for resource management and restoration efforts, including replacement of trees in campgrounds and other public areas.

Times for cutting will be limited to 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on weekdays. Protective gear is required. Firewood may be cut up to 30 feet from roadsides in designated areas; however, vehicles are not allowed off roads. Firewood moved from the property must comply with Department of Natural Resources (DNR) firewood rules, which can be found at www.firewood.dnr.IN.gov

For more information, call 765-473-6528, between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.

The public is also invited to cut certain downed trees in designated areas at Brookville Lake and Whitewater Memorial State Park for firewood. Permit sales and cutting began Nov. 12 and will end Feb. 28. The cost of one pickup truck load is $10.

Permits are available at the Mounds State Recreation Area and Whitewater Memorial State Park offices. Permits are not available on observed state holidays or during deer reduction hunt days. For more information, call 765-458-5565.

Firewood from state parks is for personal use only and may not be sold. The DNR does not recommend long-distance movement of firewood of any species due to the potential for moving other insect pests and tree diseases beyond locally impacted areas. “Long-distance movement” is moving beyond the immediate county or surrounding counties.

Many state park properties close for deer reduction

Select Indiana state park properties will close temporarily for controlled deer reductions on Nov. 26 and 27. The participating state park properties will close to the general public on the evening before.

The properties are: Brown County, Chain O’Lakes, Clifty Falls, Fort Harrison, Harmonie, Indiana Dunes, Lincoln, Ouabache, Potato Creek, Prophetstown, Shades, Shakamak, Summit Lake, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Versailles and Whitewater Memorial state parks, as well as Cave River Valley Natural Area and Trine State Recreation Area.

These properties will reopen the morning after the two-day reduction. All Indiana state park properties not specifically mentioned will be operating under normal hours.

Only individual hunters selected from a drawing may participate at any site. A full report on the 2017 reductions is at www.dnr.IN.gov/parklake/files/sp-DeerRMRR.pdf

Improvement closes part of trail at Turkey Run

A portion of Turkey Run State Park’s iconic Trail 3 running through Rocky Hollow is closed for trail improvements for at least the next two months. All other trails in the park remain open.

Hikers will still be able to access the Ice Box, ladders, Falls and Boulder canyons and other features through Rocky Hollow-Falls Canyon Nature Preserve during the restoration work, by walking southwest on Trail 3 along Sugar Creek.

The trail through Rocky Hollow weaves back and forth across a small stream and climbs a waterfall in one of Indiana’s largest sandstone canyons. The project will better define the trail, protect fragile natural areas by blocking rogue “social” trails up to the bases of the canyon walls and improve water crossings.

Trail crew workers will be armoring the trail, where appropriate, to prevent erosion. Native sandstone stepping stones will be installed at stream crossings. Rock cribbing will be used, where appropriate, to prevent erosion. For the completed work to have the desired effect, hikers will need to use the new trail route through Rocky Hollow and avoid the temptation to create new “rogue” trails.

“This work, in combination with appropriate trail use, will allow those relict and rare species to grow again and will keep Rocky Hollow healthy for future generations to experience,” said Turkey Run interpretive naturalist Aaron Douglass.

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.