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Renfro Report
Mark your calendars for the 27th Annual Indiana Deer, Turkey & Waterfowl Expo on February 21-23.
As the Midwest’s premier hunting expo, this 3-day event offers everything hunters and outdoor enthusiasts could want and more. Even better, your ticket to the Ford Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show or Indiana Motorcycle & Powersports Expo (valid February 21-23) grants you access to this incredible event!
This year’s expo promises an action-packed lineup of features designed to inspire, educate, and equip hunters of all ages and skill levels. Here’s what you can look forward to:
- Archery Alley & Manufacturer Demo Lanes – Test the latest equipment and refine your aim.
- Hoosier Record Book Trophy Buck Display – Marvel at Indiana’s most impressive bucks.
- Deer Scoring – Bring in your own trophy to be scored by the pros.
- Outfitters from Around the Globe – Plan your dream hunting adventure with expert guides.
- Waterfowl Flyways – Explore a vast selection of waterfowl hunting gear and accessories.
- Indiana Hunter Education – Learn safe and ethical hunting practices.
- Youth Archery Range – A free, family-friendly activity that gets kids excited about the outdoors.
Learn from the Best at the Seminar Series
Don’t miss this year’s engaging seminar series, where seasoned professionals share their knowledge, tips, and techniques to help you become a more successful hunter.
Highlights include:
- C.J. Winand, Wildlife Biologist – Hunting Deer with a Wildlife Biologist: Insights from a biologist’s perspective.
- Bill Epeards – Talking Turkey: All things gobbler, from calling to hunting strategies.
- Tom Mesnard – Land Management: Techniques for consistently harvesting big bucks.
- Chris Miller – Tracking with Dogs & Drones: Innovative tools and methods for deer recovery.
- Jeff Foiles – Mallard, Honkers, Calling, Setup & Bringing to the Table: Elevate your waterfowl game with expert tips.
For the full seminar schedule, visit IndianaDeerandTurkeyExpo.com/speakers.
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IDNR Report
Sonar search efforts are underway for a missing man who was last seen in the Ohio River.
At 9 a.m., emergency responders were notified of a person missing in the water approximately 1 mile east of the Grandview boat ramp.
Initial investigation revealed that Hunter Conner, 22, of Newburgh, was waterfowl hunting, when the kayak he was in capsized as he tried to retrieve a duck.
Responders completed unsuccessful water surface and bank searches of the area yesterday.
Other agencies assisting on scene include the Spencer County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, Spencer County Emergency Management Agency, Spencer County Emergency Ambulance Service, Grandview Fire Department, Chrisney Fire Department, Lewisport Fire Department, Yelvington Fire Department, Boonville Fire Department, Owensboro Fire Department, Daviess County (Kentucky) Fire and Rescue, Air Evac, and Hancock County (Kentucky) Emergency Management .
Indiana Conservation Officers strongly encourage the use of life jackets while participating in activities on or near the water.
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IDNR Report
Alan Morrison began leading the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as its director this week, following his appointment by Gov. Mike Braun to lead the agency.
“Growing up, some of my fondest memories include exploring Indiana’s DNR properties. Whether it’s hiking, kayaking, fishing, hunting, or other outdoor pursuits, I’m now making similar memories with my own kids,” Morrison said. “As DNR director, I look forward to traveling the state to hear from Hoosiers about how we can continue expanding opportunities to interact with our natural resources and provide high-quality customer service.”
Morrison moves to the DNR after serving Hoosiers from his west-central Indiana home in the state’s House of Representatives since 2012. In that elected role, he chaired the House Environmental Affairs Committee and was a member of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Morrison also previously worked for the Flint Generals, a minor league hockey team in Flint, Michigan, and for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute. He attended Slippery Rock University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and later attended Indiana State University for his master’s degree, both in sport management.
As DNR director, Morrison leads the team responsible for furthering the department’s mission of protecting, enhancing, preserving, and wisely using Indiana’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources for the benefit of all Hoosiers.
Morrison appointed Dan Bortner to serve as director of Indiana State Parks and Madalynn Conner to serve as DNR chief of staff.
Bortner is the former DNR director and previously served as Indiana State Parks director for 15 years. Conner is a former assistant vice president at Bose Public Affairs Group and earned her law degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
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IDNR Report
A colony of state-endangered crawfish frogs has successfully been reintroduced at Angel Mounds State Historic Site in Evansville, marking the first time in nearly 40 years the species has been seen at the site.
Starting in 2022, the multi-year conservation effort was a collaboration between the Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife and Angel Mounds.
“We are a multi-faceted site. It’s about the culture, history, and natural and environmental components that we can tap into, like this,” said Mike Linderman, site manager for Angel Mounds and southwest regional director for the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. “We’re helping an endangered species return to its natural habitat where it once thrived, that’s pretty exciting.”
With their spot pattern and loud croak, crawfish frogs are prairie-dwelling amphibians that spend much of their lives underground. The adult frogs, which can grow the size of a fist, rely on quality grassland habitat with high densities of crayfish burrows, which lends to their name. After sheltering in those burrows during the extreme weather months, the frogs emerge in the spring and relocate to nearby ponds to breed, leading to a chorus of croaking that can be heard more than a mile away.
A large population of crawfish frogs once thrived at Angel Mounds, potentially as far back as when Native Americans inhabited the site, until the mid-to late-1980s when the amphibians vanished suddenly and mysteriously, possibly triggered by an extended drought. Before the recovery project, the number of crawfish frogs in Evansville had dropped to zero, and the main threat to the species has been habitat loss due to land development.
“Indiana only has two robust crawfish frog populations remaining in the state,” said DNR Herpetologist Nate Engbrecht. “The recovery effort at Angel Mounds is somewhat unique for being a historic restoration project — a biological one — that aims to recover a historic component of the site that has been lost.”
A habitat suitability study conducted by DNR determined Angel Mounds has the ideal environmental conditions to support crawfish frogs. In particular, the analysis identified several small ponds in the northwest corner of the site that fill with water after each winter but dry out during the summer. The ponds were formed centuries ago from “borrow pits,” or large holes left after Native Americans built the mud wall at Angel Mounds.
In March, eight crawfish frog egg masses were collected from a large population in Greene County and relocated to the pond at Angel Mounds, where they were placed inside cages to protect the eggs as they developed. Engbrecht said the translocation process played out exactly as hoped, and within weeks, thousands of tadpoles filled the ponds. Engbrecht observed that the tadpoles began growing and developing legs, leading up to metamorphosis. Finally, following decades of absence, dozens of young spotted frogs began hopping by early July.
Crawfish frogs take two to three years to reach sexual maturity, meaning that the frogs that were moved to Angel Mounds this spring will not return to the pond from where they hatched to mate until 2026. In the meantime, the DNR plans to move additional egg masses to supplement the local population during the spring of 2025.
The Angel Mounds recovery project has also been supported by the Indianapolis Zoo, which provided grant funding for the habitat study, as well as Evansville resident and retired herpetologist Mike Lodato, who documented the Angel Mounds crawfish frog population crash in the 1980s.
More information about DNR’s work with crawfish frogs, including the ongoing project at Angel Mounds, is available through its website.
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IDNR Report
Franklin’s ground squirrel
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) have teamed up to return Franklin’s ground squirrels to their native Indiana range, starting with a population at Kankakee Sands nature preserve last summer.
Franklin’s ground squirrels were once found throughout northwest Indiana’s prairies, but the species lost most of its habitat as agriculture advanced. It was listed as state endangered in 1993 after the number of counties the species occupied declined by nearly 45% from the previous census. Today, the squirrel’s environment has been fragmented, which exposes it to more negative environmental pressures including predation, vehicle strikes, and loss of genetic diversity.
That’s why the DNR, TNC, and PFW selected TNC’s Efroymson Prairie at Kankakee Sands to establish the first translocated population. The site’s short-grass prairie offers the space the ground squirrels need to spread out and thrive.
“The Nature Conservancy has been creating prairie habitat at Kankakee Sands for more than 25 years,” said Trevor Edmonson, project director for the site. “The bison herd we brought to the site in 2016 has greatly improved the prairie with their selective grazing habits. The time was right to bring in the Franklin’s ground squirrel to take advantage of the improved prairie.
“This was the goal of TNC’s Kankakee Sands restoration—to create a grassland conservation area where all prairie plants and animals can thrive.”
PFW researchers collected 25 Franklin’s ground squirrels from South Dakota. The squirrels underwent a vet inspection and a 30-day quarantine prior to entering acclimation enclosures and being released at Kankakee Sands. Some of the Franklin’s ground squirrels were equipped with GPS collars to monitor their movements, habitat selection, and survival.
This relocation is part of a larger effort to reestablish Franklin’s ground squirrels in their native range. All three partners are establishing small groups of Franklin’s ground squirrels on managed properties across the area and will monitor their survival in upcoming years.
“By establishing populations on large, managed properties, we can reduce negative environmental pressures and offer a path to recovery,” said Brad Westrich, DNR state mammalogist.
The partners will continue monitoring this first group of Franklin’s ground squirrels into next summer. The data from this first translocated population will inform future location choices of Franklin’s ground squirrels establishment efforts.
This work is just one project to help state endangered mammals in Indiana. To learn more, visit DNR’s mammals page by going to on.IN.gov/wildlife, clicking on “nongame and endangered wildlife” and then “mammals.” To donate to help fund similar efforts, please see on.IN.gov/nongamewildlifefund.