Chapter News
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We are needing articles from chapters for our State Website. If you have any articles or information that you would like posted please send them to BrentHeadland@indiananwtf.org. We need your help. Our goal is to keep members in the State of Indiana updated on what our local chapters are doing, but we can't do this without your help.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
NASP Regional Shoot
Monroe Central High School hosted a regional shoot. The top 800 shooters statewide will qualify for the NASP State Tournament on Friday, March 16,2012 in Muncie, Indiana.
The following schools participated in the regional shootout: Monroe Central, Anderson Preparatory Academy, Union High School, Union County and Anderson High School.
Good luck to all shooters at the NASP State Tournament.
Cabin Creek Chapter Partnership with the Indiana DNR
The Cabin Creek Chapter has partnered once again with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to manage a section of the Randolph County Wildlife Management Area. Click here to see the management plan.
2011 -- Archive
The Midwest Deer-Wild Turkey Study Group has met annually since the first meeting was fist held in Missouri in 1977. The Midwest Deer and Wild Turkey Study Group (MDWTSG) consist of representatives from Midwest state wildlife agencies and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources who, as wildlife biologists, are directly responsible for the management of deer and wild turkeys in Midwest habitats. States invited for the group are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The Province of Ontario, Canada was incorporated into the Group in 1984. In 2004, the Group approved 1 representative from the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) to function as a liaison between the Group and the Association. The 11 member state and Ontario rotate the responsibility of hosting the meeting that is relatively informal, 2-3 days, and relatively low cost.
Objectives of the meeting are to: 1.) Provide a forum for discussion of common management problems concerning the white-tailed deer and the wild turkey in habitats typical of the Midwest region, 2. Provide an opportunity to define common problems and goals and formulate priorities for investigations into these problems, to minimize duplication of efforts among the member agencies, 3. Stimulate peer review and exchange of information among member agencies on survey techniques and results, harvest regulations and results, research projects, and habitat management, 4. Act as a source of detailed information on deer and turkeys in the Midwest for the public and other resource agencies, and 5. Formulate long-range guidelines for species management in the Midwest region. The meeting also provides a unique forum for the wildlife specialists to meet in person their respective counterparts in each state/Province while sharing information and developing a communications network.
The 2011 meeting was held at Roscommon, MI and fairly well attended by member agencies. Several of the guest speakers in the joint session held on the first day addressed topics related to preserving the future of our hunting heritage while addressing the many, diverse demands of the many, often competing, stakeholder groups. Several examples of how Michigan has dealt with some of these challenges were presented, while one speaker gave a more national perspective using wild turkeys and wild turkey hunting as a case example. Basically, the restoration era is over, we are now into the population management aspects with increasing demands, and we are also dealing with a greater proportion of the public that is disconnected from the realities of the natural world and what got us to where we are today.
After the joint sessions, the deer and turkey groups met separately to discuss various topics that are particular to respective species specialists. There are often similarities in discussions, e.g., various disease transmission issues (TB, CWD, AIV, Avian Pox, etc) and cooperative monitoring protocols among agencies. This year both groups discuss some of the ills related to wildlife feeding and baiting, particularly disease and increasing nuisance animal issues, and how can we better inform the public as to these risks. The year prior the MDWTSG made a recommendation for a position statement on wildlife feeding and baiting that led to the adoption of a position statement by the MAFWA that now serves as a model statement for other regions of the country to consider. The deer group spent considerable time discussing various state population management objectives for the their respective deer herds. Meanwhile, the turkey group spent considerable time on regional declines in turkey productivity following restoration and an extended cycle of inclement weather during the early brood period. Both groups independently discussed various agency efforts/successes/failures related to hunter recruitment and retention.
Probably one of the most valued traditional aspects of the meeting are the state by state status reports of harvests, production, harvest & habitat management issues, proposed or new regulation changes, pending legislative and policy changes that will influence the future of the deer and wild turkey resources in a state and their respective hunting opportunities. The sharing of the ‘real” stories behind the stories of the day often offer valuable perspectives as to why certain management decisions came about in the other states. It gives the specialist an opportunity to understand how certain issues or changes evolved in other states thus potentially avoiding such conflicts or mistakes in the home state while seeing how successful programs or efforts were implemented in other states.
August 5-6 2011
The Cabin Creek Chapter of the NWTF hosted their annual Women in the Outdoors Event. This year was a success with some very exciting activities. This year we had Outdoor Cooking in Dutch Ovens, Outdoor Survival (Taught by a former US Marine), ATV Safety, Shooting Sports, etc. We had 22 Women this year. We still have a women's only turkey hunt available for purchase. Cost is $250 if interested contact Aaron Retter 765-730-2990. We would like to thank the Farmland Conservation Club, Indiana DNR, Jay County 4-H Shooting Sports, Randolph County Shooting Sports, and the volunteer Hunter Ed Instructors for their assistance.
August 3 2011
The Cabin Creek Chapter hosted their annual JAKES event in partnership with the Randolph County Law Enforcement camp. We had 80 Kids this year and had plenty of assistance with the DNR, Law Enforcement, Hunter Ed, and 4-H Shooting sports lending a hand. The kids were able to shoot Rifles, Pistols, Shotguns, Muzzleloaders, and Archery. They also were given ATV rides, Airboat Rides, and were taught boater safety by the DNR.
On April 9th 2011 the National Wild Turkey Federation and LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area hosted a Turkey hunting seminar. Twelve kids participated in this event. The day started at 5:30a.m. with the kids going out into the field to listen for birds gobbling on the roost. It was a very good morning with lots of birds heard gobbling before the storms hit. The kids returned to the check station for hot chocolate and doughnuts. After filling up on doughnuts they put together slate and box call kits that had been provided by NWTF. While it was raining outside they listened to talks about hunting regulations and safety by Conservation officer Tim Janowski. Department of Natural Resources employee Doug Lorman gave talks on basic hunting equipment needed to start turkey hunting and the basic calls needed and how to use them. The kids got to watch various turkey hunting videos and it was explained what they were trying to do to get a bird within gun range. The rains stopped and the kids were able to go outside and participate in the scavenger hunt. The kids really love this part of the event they get to look for items like turkey feathers, nests, droppings, dusting areas, tracks and a variety of other things that one might come across while turkey hunting. The event ended with kids learning how to pattern their shotguns. All kids received door prizes plus the top three winners of the scavenger hunt. Prizes were supplied by the NWTF and Cabela’s
