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IDNR Report
The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) granted final adoption to allow the limited, regulated trapping of bobcats in designated southern Indiana counties.
Bobcat Trapping Rules
In 2024, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation (SEA 241-2024) directing the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to have rules in place for bobcat harvest by July 2025.
The approved rules include:
- Establishing a bobcat trapping season in 40 southern Indiana counties, including a limit of one bobcat per trapper and a cumulative season limit of 250 bobcats for all trappers combined.
- Allowing bobcats and their parts that are legally acquired to be sold.
- Allowing bobcats that are found dead to be kept by people with a permit.
- Adding bobcats to the list of species for which a game breeder’s license is required.
The NRC granted preliminary adoption of the rules in September 2024, and it later held two public comment periods and two public hearings.
Research maintained by the DNR and Purdue University shows that the bobcat population in Indiana has expanded during the last two decades. This research can be reviewed at on.IN.gov/dfw-rule-changes.
Bobcats have well-established populations in the 40 counties where trapping will be allowed. Analysis shows that this high-quality habitat can support regulated harvest while also maintaining a healthy, sustainable bobcat population.
After the rule’s adoption, DNR anticipates that Indiana’s first bobcat trapping season will begin this fall. A summary of all rules and regulations will be available in the annual Hunting & Trapping Guide, which is typically available in August.
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IDNR Report
Indiana DNR Director Alan Morrison announced that organizations in 20 Indiana counties across the state will receive $1,116,940 in grants to fund 53 lake and stream projects through the Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) program.
Funded projects are in Dearborn, Fayette, Fulton, Hamilton, Johnson, Knox, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Noble, Owen, Porter, Pulaski, Putnam, St. Joseph, Steuben, and Sullivan counties.
Grants totaling $643,300 will support 11 sediment or logjam removal projects in 10 counties. Another $473,640 will be used to support 42 projects to combat aquatic invasive plants, involving 52 bodies of water in 13 counties.
Aquatic invasive plant control grants help control or manage aggressive non-native species that compete native species and dominate plant communities. The grants, often give to lake associations, can also provide economic benefits to lake communities by improving lake conditions for those who fish or boat.
Click the link to see which lakes the DNR is offering funding for weed treatments:
The grants are funded through the LARE fee paid annually by boat owners when they register their crafts with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. This user-funded program benefits boaters all over the state by allowing for the completion of lake and stream projects that would be difficult for local organizations to fund on their own. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis, and local sponsors share at least 20% of the cost.
Funded projects for the planning and removal of sediment and logjams help improve recreational access by removing nutrient-rich sediment and woody debris near inlets or navigational channels, helping prevent bank erosion and the formation of new channels. These types of projects receive the highest priority for LARE funding, and they are only funded for projects focused on large-quantity debris removal.
Here is the link to waters that will receive sediment and logjam removal:
A list of grant recipients and sediment and logjam removal projects by body of water, county, project type, and grant award can be found at lare.dnr.IN.gov and clicking on project awards at the top of the page.
Reports on all past LARE-funded projects can be found at larereports.dnr.IN.gov.
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By Louie Stout
If you fish Oliver chain of lakes for trout, the Indiana DNR wants to hear from you this season.
The Chain consists of about 517 acres and includes Oliver, Martin and Olin lakes in LaGrange County.
Plans call for a comment box to be placed at the public access. A survey card will be there as well and anglers are encouraged to fill out the brief survey and deposit it in the box. In addition, a camera will be positioned on the boat ramp so officials can assess public use of the lake.
Historically, fisheries biologists place a part-time creel clerk at state accesses to query anglers as they come off the water.
“Posting a creel clerk on the lake can be expensive, so we’re trying this to see if it works,” says District Fisheries Biologist Matt Horsley. “Western states and some southern Indiana lakes have had success with it.”
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IDNR Report
The Indiana DNR continues to detect highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds throughout Indiana and has currently detected the H5NI virus in 30 counties. HPAI is also suspected in an additional 32 counties based on reports involving the deaths of raptors, cranes, and waterfowl.
Counties where avian influenza has been detected in wild birds currently are Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Benton, Boone, Clinton, Decatur, Gibson, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Huntington, Jackson, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Marion, Newton, Pike, Porter, Randolph, Ripley, Shelby, Starke, Tippecanoe, Union, Vanderburgh, and Vermillion.
HPAI is a disease caused by an influenza virus that usually spreads among birds. It is common in wild birds, especially waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors. Notably, more than 1,500 sandhill cranes have been affected by the virus since January, resulting in a large number of sandhill crane deaths in Greene, Jackson, Jasper, LaPorte, Newton, Starke, and Union counties.
If you find sick or dead wild birds, please report them at on.in.gov/sick wildlife.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public health risk for HPAI is low. However, it is possible for humans to contract HPAI. People who have close contact with infected animals or their environments, such as poultry farm workers or wildlife rehabilitators, are at higher risk.
Members of the public should avoid contact with sick waterfowl and other sick wildlife whenever possible. However, if it is necessary to remove a carcass, safely dispose of it by wearing a mask and disposable gloves to double bag any carcasses and place them in a secure trash container. Wash hands immediately after with soap and warm water. Alternatively, a wildlife control operator can be hired to remove carcasses.
A list of wildlife control operators can be found here. DNR does not offer carcass removal services.
DNR continues to monitor avian influenza in affected species throughout the state.