By Louie Stout

No one puts a Band-Aid on an open wound, but it appears that’s what state government is doing to your fish and wildlife management team.

And you, the Hoosier sportsman, are getting ripped off.

Consider this - there are 50 vacancies in the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife, many of which that have been there for a while.

Fifty. That includes district fish and wildlife biologists, hatchery managers and public hunting property employees that sportsmen finance with their license fees so the DNR can nurture Hoosier resources.

Some of the open positions were the result of retirements; others occurred when employees moved to better jobs in recent years. And several positions have been open for years or flat-out eliminated.

Now, there are some who may think a leaner state government is a more efficient government. I agree. But when you start messin’ with the Division of Fish and Wildlife, you’re messing with sportsmen’s dollars and depriving them of the services that provide and protect their fishin’ and huntin’.

Services they pay for with license fees, not tax dollars. That’s what dedicated funds are designed to do.

For example, Not-so-long-ago we had 15 district wildlife biologists who oversaw a handful of counties. Under a new manning table, there are eight.

And they’re spread thin. Before our former district wildlife biologist Linda Byer retired last month, she worked out of North Judson, Ind. and watched over six nearby counties – LaPorte, St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko, Starke and Marshall. Today, district biologist Jason Wade oversees those counties and another six from his office in Huntington, Ind.

Can one person manage a diverse district from that far away and keep his finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the field?

Don’t think so.

That also means if a hunter has a wildlife question, a landowner has an interest in developing habitat for game, or you need to report a concern about the health of deer or dying fish, good luck getting a response.

When you double a person’s workload, stuff falls through the cracks.

“There’s no way one person can tend to all of the things I was responsible for in all of these counties,” said Byer. “I spent the majority of my time dealing with nuisance animal issues, urban issues and working with landowners to develop habitat. Some things just won’t get done.”

The Fisheries Division staff is in slightly better shape except it still doesn’t have a Chief. It’s also short a couple district biologists and the state hatchery system is in dire need of employees.

DNR Director of Fish and Wildlife Mark Reiter says he’s doing all he can to fill the gaps while waiting for state leaders to approve his requests.

“Right now, we’re shuffling people around to higher priority projects,” he said. “I hope to fill all some positions but I can’t until I get approvals.”

Retirements sacrifice knowledge and experience. Reiter said he’s requested permission to fill supervisory positions from within, but promotions don’t fill gaps. There’s still a people shortage.

What is the hold-up?

Reiter wasn’t sure, saying only that he’s made several requests the past few months.

Other reliable sources have told me that there is a genuine belief within the DNR that many vacancies won’t ever be filled.

State officials seem fine with DNR operating in triage. They have no clue how vulnerable our fishing and hunting resources are to blind eyes.

Its politics as usual, a problem that has always plagued the Indiana DNR and today’s issue is similar to what we saw when former Governor Evan Bayh stuck it to sportsmen. Like Bayh (a democrat), Governor Mike Pence (a republican) apparently doesn’t understand the difference between dedicated sportsmen funds and tax dollars.

Or, like Bayh, he simply doesn’t care, and has an eye on making himself look good as fiscal conservative should he run for president.

If that matter isn’t disconcerting enough, the DNR is running out of money. There has not been a license increase in Indiana eight years, and requests to make adjustments have been denied, again, by state officials.

Vacancies aside, the Fish and Wildlife Division needs cash to match the millions of dollars available to them each year through sportfish and wildlife restoration funds. Those funds come back to the state through federal excise taxes – taxes that you pay on the fishing and hunting equipment you buy. If a state can’t come up with its share of the upfront money, the fed’s dollars are divvied among those that can.

Perhaps state leaders will wake up and recognize the need for a license increase, but it will be a tough pill for sportsmen to swallow knowing they’re being asked to pay more for fewer benefits.