DNR Photo Contest Celebrates 10 Years

 
 
Help celebrate the 10th birthday of the DNR Division of Historic Preservation and Archaelogy’s photo contest by entering the competition! The division is hoping to break their record for photo submissions, currently at 187 photos.

The photo contest celebrates Historic Preservation Month in May. Photographers are encouraged to take pictures of their favorite historic resource — from buildings, to bridges, to cemeteries and landscapes. Subject matter must be at least 50 years old and in Indiana.

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DNR Officer Has Tips for Ice Fishermen

Keith Wildeman
Keith Wildeman
The temperature has been below freezing pretty steadily over the past couple of weeks, leaving a nice layer of ice over many bodies of water in the Kankakee Valley. Conservation officer Keith Wildeman said the wintery conditions have given rise to ice fishing in the area, and he said it’s important that anyone venturing out on the ice be prepared and cautious.

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DNR Offers Late Hunting Season For Canada Geese

 
 
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is again offering a chance for hunters to participate in a late season for hunting Canada geese.

The season runs Feb. 1-15 in 30 counties: Steuben, LaGrange, Elkhart, St. Joseph, La Porte, Starke, Marshall, Kosciusko, Noble, DeKalb, Allen, Whitley, Huntington, Wells, Adams, Boone, Hamilton, Madison, Hendricks, Marion, Hancock, Morgan, Johnson, Shelby, Vermillion, Parke, Vigo, Clay, Sullivan and Greene.

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Kewanna Man Faces Charges Stemming from Fatal 2012 Hunting Trip

 
 

A Kewanna man accused of fatally shooting a friend in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun during a 2012 hunting trip in rural Fulton County faces multiple felony charges. Indiana Conservation Officers and Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Matthew Carlson, 25, at his residence Wednesday night. He’s charged with reckless homicide and criminal recklessness as C felonies as well as a D felony offense of criminal recklessness. The charges stem from the Sept. 30, 2012 shooting death of Kenneth Moore, 28, of Rochester. Investigators say the men were hunting together on private property north of Rochester with another adult male and a 12-year-old boy. Information released shortly after the incident occurred indicates the hunting party split into two groups, and Moore and the boy walked into an adjacent cornfield. Shortly afterward, Carlson picked up the gun and shot Moore in the head. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester.

 

Walkerton Man Hospitalized Following Grenade Accident in Marshall County

  
 

A Walkerton man is hospitalized in Indianapolis following an accident involving a grenade launcher at a private shooting range in Marshall County yesterday. Kevin Patterson, 41, of Walkerton, was firing a starburst grenade round from an AR-15 platform rifle when it detonated in the launch tube under the rifle barrel, according to officials with the DNR. Conservation Officer Corporal Ashlee Jackson describes the round as similar to an aerial firework. Patterson was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment of injuries to his arm. Officers from the DNR, Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police responded.

 

DNR to Celebrate National Public Lands Day Sept. 28

 
 

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has announced they will recognize current and former military members, encourage volunteerism and offer nature activities as part of this year’s National Public Lands Day, celebrated on Sept. 28. Active-duty military personnel and veterans can enter Indiana state park and reservoir properties as well as Deam and Starve Hollow state recreation areas for free on that day only. The free admission extends to anyone in the same vehicle.

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DNR Announces 22 Lake and River Enhancement Project Grants

 
 
More than a quarter of a million dollars in new grants have been awarded through the Lake and River Enhancement program as part of the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife. The LARE program looks to fund biological, engineering, construction and watershed land treatment projects throughout the state, and to that end, they have awarded $768,500 in grants for the care of Indiana’s water bodies.

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Toxicology Results Released in Lake Max Drowning Death

 

 

Valentin Sirghi
Valentin Sirghi

Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the July 14 drowning death of a 22-year-old Plymouth man, according to toxicology results released by the Marshall County Coroner’s office. Valentin Sirghi, 22, was swimming with a friend near the public beach at Lake Maxinkuckee when he went under water. Rescue teams searched the area for about an hour before they found his body. Sirghi was pronounced dead at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Plymouth. Final autopsy results are pending, but preliminary indications are that Sirghi died as a result of asphyxiation due to drowning.

 

 

 

Sirghi

Boater Education to Be Offered at Koontz Lake

 
 

A boater education course will soon be held at the Koontz Lake Homeowners Association clubhouse, offered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and sponsored by the Koontz Lake Homeowners Association. The course is free of charge and lunch is provided as attendees will learn general information concerning boats and maintenance, information on making boating experiences safe and more comfortable, tips on how to be a more courteous vessel operator, and laws and regulations you must follow.

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DNR Encourages Participation in National Volunteer Week

 
 

Hoosiers are invited to participate in National Volunteer Week by helping Indiana’s State Parks & Reservoirs. Jody Heaston, volunteer coordinator for the DNR Division of State Parks & Reservoirs, says there are many opportunities from maintaining trails to entering computer data. Heaston hopes many volunteers from National Volunteer Week will “catch the giving-back spirit” and continue to volunteer throughout the year. The Tippecanoe River State Park north of Winamac is always in need of volunteers. Park management and the nonprofit Friends of Tippecanoe River State Park are teaming up on Saturday, May 4 to host a volunteer day and spring clean the nature center, work on the new scenic overlooks and get the horse campground ready for the park’s busy season. Give the park office a call at 574-946-3213 if you would like to help out or like the Friends of Tippecanoe River State Park page on Facebook for more information

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Sign up Now for the Karl E. Kelley Memorial Youth Camp

Keith Wildeman
Keith Wildeman
Applications are being accepted now for the Indiana Conservation Officers Organization’s Karl E. Kelley Memorial Youth Camp.

Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman explained that this camp is held once a year in West Lafayette at Ross Camp.

“Camp is open to boys and girls both who have completed the fifth and sixth grades,” said Wildeman. “This camp is going to be held from June 16 to June 22.”

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Spring Turkey Hunting Season Opens April 24

 
 

The Turkey Tracks event begins next week, which Indiana Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman says is two days after the start of the spring turkey hunting season.

“The regular season will start Wednesday, April 24 and run two-and-a-half weeks to May 12,” said Wildeman. “The bag limit for the spring season is one bearded or male turkey. Hens can sometimes have beards too which makes them legal.”

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DNR Announces Becoming an Outdoors Woman Workshop

 
 

Hoosier women ranging in age from 18 to 80 are invited to take a walk on the wild side the first weekend in May. Registration is now open for the annual Indiana’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop. It gives women a chance to learn outdoor skills in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. Participants can design their own weekend experience based on their interests. Activities include learning to shoot clay targets, canoeing, fishing for trophy bass, campfire gourmet cooking, turkey calling and more. This year’s workshop takes place May 3-5 at Ross Camp in West Lafayette. Find more information and an online registration form at http://www.indianabow.com/.