DNR Hunter Safety Class Scheduled in Winamac

The Pulaski County 4-H Shooting Sports program is hosting a DNR hunter safety class. It’s open to residents of Pulaski and surrounding counties of all ages and genders. Topics to be covered include hunter heritage and responsibility, firearm history and safety, wildlife and conservation management and game care. Continue reading

Starke County Park Board Reevaluating Five-Year Plan

starke-county-courthouseEfforts to create a five-year plan for Starke County park facilities have hit a bit of an obstacle. The Starke County Park Board had been discussing the possibility of getting a grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to help pay for the planning process. But to qualify for the grant, the county would have to prove that residents’ incomes fall beneath a certain threshold. Continue reading

State Officials Approve Limited River Otter Trapping Season

River OtterStarting this fall, Indiana will have a limited river otter trapping season after action this week by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. In the early 20th century river otters were near extension in Indiana due to a loss of habitat and unregulated trapping. In 1921 the state Department of Conservation banned their taking. They were believed gone from the state by the 1940s.

The DNR began reintroducing otters to state waterways in 1995. Over a five-year period, 303 river otters were captured in Louisiana and released in northern and southern Indiana. Their populations increased enough through natural reproduction that river otters were removed from the state endangered species list in 2005. Presently, river otters have expanded their range to include over 80 percent of Indiana’s counties and their numbers continue to increase. Continue reading

Firearms Season Opens Today, Remember Safety

huntingIt’s the opening of the firearms season in the state.

Officials at the Department of Conservation ask that hunters be aware of firearms safety. Always positively identify your target. Don’t shoot at color, shape, sound and movement.

Treat every firearms as if it was loaded and point firearms in a safe direction. Avoid alcohol or drugs when handling firearms. When hunting with a companion, if visual contact with that person is lost do not resume hunting until visual contact has been made and confirmed. Wearing hunter orange is the law.

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Pleasant View Rest Home up for Historic Preservation Consideration

Pleasant View Rest Home
Pleasant View Rest Home

Written comments are still being accepted by the Division of State Historic Preservation and Archaeology for consideration to classify the county home in Pulaski County as a historical structure.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources notified county officials last week that the Pleasant View Rest Home has been proposed for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Indiana Division of Historic Preservation will consider the nomination during their meeting on Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m. ET at the Indiana Government Conference Center in Indianapolis in conference rooms one and two. Pulaski County residents are welcome to attend this meeting.

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Indiana Deer Hunters Help Feed Hoosiers in Need

 
 

Deer hunters in Indiana will soon be offering a helping hand in putting food on the tables of Hoosiers in need through the DNR Division of Law Enforcement’s Sportsman’s Benevolence Fund. The fund makes it possible for hunters to donate venison through a participating butcher by paying the processing fee, and Conservation Officer Lt. Colonel Steve Hunter said the program provides an opportunity for hunters to demonstrate concern for their fellow man.

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