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Indiana

State of the State Report

May 2016

Cameron Clark, Director

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

402 W. Washington St. Room W-255

Indianapolis, IN 46204

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The Healthy Rivers INitiative (HRI), the largest land conservation initiative undertaken in Indiana is celebrating its five year anniversary this year. The HRI set out to enhance, restore and protect over 43,000 acres located in the floodplain of the Wabash River/Sugar Creek riparian corridor and over 26,000 acres of the Muscatatuck River riparian corridor. To date, HRI has permanently protected 33,513 acres. These lands are protected for future generations through a combination of fee simple acquisitions from willing sellers, conservation easements, and Wetlands Reserve Program enrollments. To date, a total of 12,235 acres are now open to the public. A total of 21 new parking areas and one new boat ramp have been constructed. Allowable activities at this time include: hunting, fishing, trapping, bird watching, photography, and mushroom hunting.

In addition to HRI accomplishments, the public lands unit acquired 1,435 new acres in 2015. These lands include one new Game Bird Habitat Area and a multitude of additional acres added to current fish and wildlife areas.

Given the nationwide increase in firearms and ammunition sales and the increase in available Pittman-Robertson monies, public lands invested approximately $5 million in the renovation and construction of two new state of the art shooting ranges to help better meet the growing demand for shooting opportunities. Construction on the Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area range renovation started last fall and should be complete this summer. Construction of a brand new shooting range at Deer Creek Fish and Wildlife Area started in April and is projected to be complete this fall.

The public lands unit program continues to evolve to the ever changing landscape. As more land is acquired outside of traditional management units, the public lands program is working to adapt management strategies. Contractors are being used more and more to help maintain or increase traditional management efforts. Partnerships are also being utilized to help achieve management efforts.

The public lands program is also working hard to manage the growing user base in a more efficient manner. Efforts are underway to purchase an internet and mobile based user management system to replace the traditional paper based system to allow users to check into properties through a mobile device. It will also allow DFW to evaluate user data and visitor harvest more effectively.

Photo: Construction on Willow Slough FWA shooting range.

Public Lands Program

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The Division of Fish & Wildlife, in conjunction with the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) sent out email reminders to lapsed anglers in 2015. Emails were sent in mid-April to select lapsed anglers. The DFW attended RBFF’s state marketing meeting in Dallas, TX in which 49 states attended and discussed marketing strategies. DFW also attended the Association for Conservation Information annual meeting in Flagstaff, AZ to network and learn what other states are doing for communications and marketing.

A strategic email marketing program is in its second year of development that includes “thank you” emails for license purchases, reminders on upcoming seasons including hunting and fishing tips, events (see photo to the right) and results of reserved hunt draws. Open rates on targeted emails ranged from 28 to 63%, way above the average government open rate of 15%. In addition to targeted email communication, an e-newsletter, Wild Bulletin, is sent out on a monthly basis to over 325,800 subscribers (an 8% increase throughout 2015) and offers DNR news, events, and license pur-chasing information. In 2015, DFW emails had 634,093 unique opens with an average open rate of 24%.

Social media is another marketing and communications tool utilized by DFW. The DFW has both facebook and twitter accounts, as well as a DNR-wide YouTube channel. In 2015, our facebook audience increased by 42% and our twitter following by 53%. Free fishing days were by far our most popular outreach posts on so-cial media with reaches of over 500,000. A total of 485 facebook posts and 586 tweets was sent out in 2015.

Branding guidelines were developed for all of DFW’s email communications. All emails now use a similar banner for the public to be able to easily identify the source of the emails. This branding is being expanded to DFW reports, social media posts, fliers, and infographics. (See photo above)

A printed hunting/trapping and fishing guide is available through a contract with J.F. Griffin, information and regulations are shared in these guides annually. In 2015, a Spanish fishing guide was published on our website. Plans for 2016 include an abridged version of the hunting guide in Spanish.

Marketing

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During fiscal year 2015-2016, the Private Lands Unit developed and implemented an Urban Wildlife Program and a Landscape Level Management Program. The Urban Wildlife Program consists of (2) Urban Wildlife Biologists and the Landscape Level Programs contains (2) Landscape Biologists. These two programs complement the existing Private Lands Program, consisting of (8) regionally based District Wildlife Biologists.

In the inaugural year of existence, the two programs found success. The Urban Wildlife Program instituted an urban habitat cost share mechanism. This program completed seven projects, totaling 62.1 acres of quality habitat in high profile, urban environments. Multiple workshops were focused on urban wildlife with the objective of helping people in urban areas value and understand the natural resources around them. The Landscape Management Program has investigated implementation of multiple landscape level conservation initiatives such as the Healthy Rivers Initiative (HRI), Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI), the USDA-Joint Chiefs Venture, and the Lower Wabash LCD. The Landscape Management Program also has engaged in GIS analysis to identify how best to connect existing conservation efforts, to increase habitat connectivity, and maximize efforts to link together conservation on a landscape scale. Meanwhile, the contemporary Private Lands Programs continued to resolve wildlife conflicts; provide technical and financial assistance to landowners interested in habitat management; and educate the public about wildlife and its importance in Indiana.

In fiscal year 2015-2016, all the Private Lands Biologists (from all three programs combined) implemented wildlife management plans with 860 landowners, impacting 7,762.8 acres, including the development of 4,347.0 acres of idle nesting cover, 797.8 acres of fescue eradication, and 763.0 acres of voluntary CRP mid-contract management. Biologists also addressed 2,568 nuisance wildlife complaints, including 506 deer and 490 goose complaints. As of March 2016, Indiana has 228,959 acres enrolled in CRP. This includes 11,677.8 acres of the popular CP33 (Field Borders for Bobwhite Quail). To date 37,175 acres are enrolled in

one of the six priority areas (Ring-Necked Pheasant, American Woodcock, Indiana Bat, Northern Bobwhite Quail, Henslow’s Sparrow, Sedge Wren/Grasshopper Sparrow) included in CRP- CP38 (SAFE) in Indiana.

Private Lands Program

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The Wildlife Science Unit is a comprehensive, science-based resource management program that conducts numerous activities to fulfill its statutory obligations including population management (species restoration, regulation of take and harvest), research, habitat acquisition, outreach, and surveys to monitor the distribution, relative abundance, and health of fish and wildlife populations statewide. Wildlife Science staff are the DFW’s species-specific experts and serve as the research and monitoring component of the Wildlife Section.

Despite multiple vacancies in field staff due to resignation, much was accomplished in 2015. The unit’s newly-created program manager and supervisor positions were filled as was the nongame ornithologist. The first regulated trapping season for river otters in Indiana began in November, a success story made possible by otter restoration efforts in Indiana and other Midwestern states. In September, the DFW received 150 northern riffleshell and 150 clubshell that were salvaged from a bridge project in Pennsylvania and placed them in the Tippecanoe and Eel rivers; more translocations are planned that will contribute to recovery objectives for these endangered freshwater mussels. Two new statewide citizen science projects were initiated: a trail camera survey to inexpensively monitor trends in wildlife populations (see photo below) and a bat roost monitoring program in which volunteers collect information on summer bat colonies on their properties. A black bear dispersing from Michigan spent several months in northwest Indiana, the first confirmed occurrence of this extirpated species in 144 years. Wildlife Science staff continued to participate in feral swine control and disease surveillance including highly pathogenic avian influenza, bovine tuberculosis, epizootic hemorrhagic disease, chronic wasting disease, and white-nose syndrome. Complete information on all Wildlife Science activities is available in the 2015 annual report (http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3347.htm).

In addition, federal funds for four new external research projects were obligated in 2015:

Assessing Hellbender Habitat for Potential Reintroductions: A 4-year study to assess habitat conditions in historically-occupied waterways and reintroduce captive-reared juvenile hellbenders into suitable por-tions of the species’ former Indiana range.

Genetic Assessment of Crawfish Frog Populations in Indiana: This project will determine the genetic di-versity of remnant crawfish frog populations to inform management and conservation strategies for this state-endangered species in Indiana.

Surveys for the Eastern Massasauga in Indiana: This 3-year study seeks to determine the current status and distribution of the east-ern massasauga rattlesnake (proposed threatened by USFWS) and identify occupied sites for re-search and management opportuni-ties.

Summer Ecology of the Northern Long-eared Bat: This 2-year study will examine the roosting ecology of the threatened northern long-eared bat, emphasizing the northern half of Indiana where forest habitats are less abundant and often spatially disjunct.

Wildlife Science Unit

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Indiana revised its State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) in 2015 and has been approved by FWS. This multi-year effort was completed by key Division of Fish and Wildlife staff with input from an Advisory Team of DNR and external partners. The SWAP is used to guide conservation of fish and wildlife resources across the state. It also secures roughly $800,000 every year for Indiana nongame and endangered species management through the State Wildlife Grant program. www.swap.dnr.in.gov.

State Wildlife Action Plan

Recruitment, Retention & Reactivation (R3)

The Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife’s (DFW) R3 unit along with its partners conducted 232 events across the state. Events focused on fishing, hunting, trapping, and shooting sports. Events where primarily open to the public and participation was free of charge. The events ranged from single day (2-4 hrs.) to multi-session workshops. The goal of our recruitment and retention efforts is to design programs using a multi-level approach that will allow participants to increase their knowledge and skills in the fields of fishing, hunting, trapping, or shooting sports. The ultimate goal is to create individuals that have the ability to participate in these activities on their own.

The DFW Go FishIN program continues to grow, reaching over 16,000 participants through Free Fish-ing Day (FFD) events and the Loaner Tackle Program (LTP). At FFD events, 2,100 people participated in casting and fishing activities. These events included 14 Family Learn to Fish workshops where the entire family gains basic angling knowledge and skills. These are held in conjunction with FFD, so parents can try fishing without a license. The LTP allows trained Go FishIN Crew Captains to borrow tackle and materials from 60 Loaner Sites across the state for local events. These volunteers got 15,000 people casting or fishing and learning about Indiana fish. The LTP played a vital role during FFD, supplying equipment to nearly half of the FFD participants.

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Recruitment, Retention, & Reactivation (R3) [Cont.]

In addition to FFD events and the LTP, Go FishIN hosted 3,600 kids at the State Fair Fishing Pond (see photo on previous page) and got 1,500 people fishing at the Hoosier Outdoor Experience. Other events run by DFW staff included, ice fishing and youth trout fishing derbies.

The Go FishIN in the City program is the DFW’s urban fishing program enacted in 2013. This program promotes shore fishing opportunities for Hoosiers that live in heavily populated urban areas. With the help of local partners, DFW in-tensively stocks catchable-size channel catfish and rainbow trout throughout the year in city park ponds that are family friendly and well main-tained. Several Family Learn to Fish Workshops were held at these lakes throughout the state to promote fishing and family outdoor activities close to home. http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/7508.htm

DFW staff facilitated a combination of 49 hunting, shooting, and trapping events across 20 counties in 2015. This includes two archery events, four trapping events, 12 shooting events, and 31 hunting events. The hunting events focused on eight different species with mourning dove and pheasant (photo to left) being the most targeted species at eight hunts each. The Hoosier Outdoor Experience had approximately 12,000 participants try archery, target shooting, and wild game. The Indiana State Fair’s Taste of the Wild (Wild Game Cookout) had 2,000 participants sample seven different wild game dishes.

The apprentice license program which was started in 2009, allows individuals to try hunting without having to take a hunter education course. In 2015, 16,890 apprentice licenses were purchased. This is an 11% decrease from 2014. The decrease may be due to the limit of three apprentice licenses allowed in a lifetime.

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Fisheries Biologists spent 2015 reaping tremendous benefits from nearly a decade of planning and strategically surveying fisheries across Indiana. After implementing a landscape level monitoring program for natural lakes in the north, biologists are developing new insights on the distribution and abundance of many species of sport and nongame fish and the habitat that they live in. Under this new approach, the Status & Trends program yielded over 40 research notes in 2015 that will help DFW shape the future of fishing opportunities available to anglers and is currently compared to historical data to evaluate changes in largemouth bass populations over the last 30 years. Due to its overwhelming success and the ample knowledge gained, research biologists also developed a similar initiative in 2015 to assess fisheries at impoundments and reservoirs statewide

The Impoundment Habitat Enhancement Program (IHEP) was developed to improve fisheries by increasing

and enhancing fish habitat. The IHEP

will focus where habitat is lacking,

work to stabilize shorelines, and

implement dredging projects on

impoundments with significant

sedimentation. All of Indiana’s

impoundments have a limited life

expectancy, as woody structure that

was present has deteriorated, and

most have lost volume due to years

of sedimentation. The IHEP was

initiated based on a need identified

by Division leadership and as ranking

very important in the 2005 angler

survey. The program started in 2015

with the planning phase for working

on Sullivan Lake in Sullivan County.

On the ground work has started at Sullivan in 2016 with the construction of habitat structures with the

placement of those structures planned for this summer.

Fisheries Management and Research

Impoundment Habitat Enhancement Program (IHEP)

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The DFW fish hatchery program stocked 26 million fish in 65 counties in 2015. In a typical year, stocking numbers are between 22 million and 24 million fish. The boost in hatchery output was primarily due to the second highest number of walleye fry produced in the past ten years. Hatchery production in 2015 included a diverse mixture of species stocked throughout Indiana including bluegill, brown trout, crappie, channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, hybrid striped bass, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskie, pike, rainbow trout, redear sunfish, saugeye, steelhead, striped bass. Stocking fish size ranged from fry to channel catfish more than a foot long.

Most DNR stocked fish originate from captive broodstock from DNR hatcheries or eggs collected from wild broodstock collection at special sites scattered throughout Indiana. Fish trades are also an important component to sustained production and stocking programs also. Some fish may be commercially purchased on an as need basis. For the first time in many years brown trout were released into Oliver Lake and Pigeon River (LaGrange County). The stocking of rainbow trout and large catfish into urban lakes for the GoFishIN in the City program is a promising new feature of fishing opportunity in Indiana. DNR hatcheries also provided fish for the Indiana State Fair and Backyard Fishing Pond. Hatchery stocked fish were highlights for

specialized youth fishing events and free fishing weekend events.

Fish Hatcheries & Stocking

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In 2015, DFW rehabilitated two Public Access Sites (PAS) in Indiana. These include Worthington PAS, located

in Greene County and Winslow PAS, located in Pike County. These sites were in need of repairs due to the

age of the structures. Three new canoe sites were constructed in 2015 serving free public access to northern

Indiana. These sites include St. Joseph College

PAS, located in Jasper County and serving the

Iroquois River. Riverside Park PAS, located in Cass

County and serving the Eel River. Ligonier PAS,

Located in Noble County and serving the Elkhart

River. Two new boat ramp Public Access Sites

were also constructed in 2015. Pittsburg PAS

located in Carroll County and is now serving the

Wabash River. Pike Lake PAS, located in Kosciusko

County is now open for free public access to Pike

Lake in the city of Warsaw Indiana. A new Public

Fishing Area (PFA) was opened in 2015 by the

DFW Public Access Program. Three Rivers PFA is

now allowing anglers to access the White River in Morgan County (Photo Above).

The Public Access Program has nine newly proposed projects for 2016. Four of these proposed projects are

Rehabilitations of existing PAS sites. These include Beaver Dam Lake PAS, Blue Lake PAS, Brush Creek

Reservoir PAS, and LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area boat ramp. Two of the proposed projects for 2016 will be

new PAS on natural lakes in northern Indiana. Lake Cicott, located in Cass County near the town of

Burnettsville Indiana and Bixler Lake, located in Noble County inside the town of Kendallville Indiana. Two

new canoe PAS sites are planned for 2016. These include Chili PAS, located in Miami County on the Eel River,

near the town of Chili Indiana and Deer Run Park, located in Brown County on Salt Creek, near the town of

Nashville Indiana. Kruger Lake PAS is also proposed for 2016. This will be a new PAS on Kruger Lake, located

in Jefferson County on the former Jefferson Proving Grounds.

The Indiana Natural Resource Commission approved several changes to size limits of various species for certain Indiana waters. Two lakes, Dogwood and Hardy Lks, in southern Indiana, established a 9-inch minimum size limit for crappie. A 16-inch minimum size limit for walleye on all public waters in Indiana north State Road 26 was established to create protection for stocked advanced walleye fingerlings. Muskellunge size limits were increased to 44 inches from 36 inches in select northern Indiana lakes to further protect our trophy muskie fisheries.

New statewide regulations were established to protect Indiana’s catfish population. The minimum size limit increased from 10 to 13 inches for catfish caught in rivers and streams, including the Ohio River. Also, new protection of large catfish caught in lakes, reservoirs, streams and rivers (including the Ohio River) was established This new protection allows no more than one per day of channel catfish 28 inches long or great-er, blue catfish 35 inches long or greater, and flathead catfish 35 inches long or greater.

Public Access Program

Fisheries Rule Changes

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In fiscal year 2015-2016, the Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) Program provided over $2.43 million in grants to sponsors in numerous Indiana counties. While many grants dealt with management and control of aquatic invasive vegetation, others served the dual purpose of addressing sediment and nutrient input into lakes or rivers as well as measures to improve aquatic habitat. LARE partnered with other local, county, state, and federal agencies to address these issues while leveraging funds from sources other than state tax revenue. Local citizens get involved as participants with project-sponsoring entities responsible for at least 20% of the cost in cash or in-kind support. The 84 projects funded included control of invasive aquatic vegetation, logjam removal, sediment removal, and various biological and engineering measures to reduce the input of nutrients and sediment in lakes or rivers. In 2015-2016, several of the projects specifically incorporated measures to improve aquatic habitat in addition to addressing stream bank stability, such as the one pictured to the right in Boone County. This pro-ject on Eagle Creek on the northwest side of Indianapolis incorporated geolifts, live-stake plantings, tree plantings, the creation of J-hooks and riffle pools in the creek that will not only reduce sediment and nutrients from entering the water above a city reservoir, but also will improve habitat and fishing opportunities in this area. The project area being within a nature park in an urbanized zone also provides great opportunities to teachers and school groups for educational programs involving hands-on studies of water quality, macroinvertebrates, and fish habitat. As the plantings take hold, this area that formerly suffered much erosion will become a stable, green bank in the future.

Eagle Marsh in Ft. Wayne, IN lies on the continental divide between the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins. During flooding, water can be shared between the two basins therefore allowing the transfer of aquatic invasive species. Asian carp are known to occur approximately 25 miles from Eagle Marsh. The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) ranked Eagle Marsh second in priority (behind the Chicago Area Waterway System) in the fight to prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. A severely deteriorating berm along Graham-McCulloch Ditch and a fence constructed across Eagle Marsh were the only defenses to prevent Asian carp from reaching the Maumee River and ultimately Lake Erie. NRCS engineers designed a 1.7 mile long berm along Graham-McCulloch Ditch which averaged 7.5 feet high and contained 177,000 cubic yards of compacted fill. (continued on next page]

Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) Program

Watershed Connection Severed at Eagle Marsh

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Record rains in the early summer of 2015 left most feeling the project could not be completed in the planned time frame. In August, the water subsided and conditions became workable. In just 3 months the berm was constructed and the natural con-nection between the Wabash and Maumee watersheds was severed. The berm construction resulted in the filling of 12 acres of wetlands which required mitigation. The end result of the combination of excavation at the berm site and wetland restoration at a nearby off-site mitigation area (former agricultural field), was a net increase of 36 wetland acres. Total cost for the project is $3.5 million at full federal cost. Funding was provided through GLRI and NRCS. The primary partners leading the project include Indiana DNR, NRCS, and Little River Wetlands Project which is a local non-profit land trust. Little River is the co-owner of Eagle Marsh along with DNR-Nature Preserves.

Watershed Connection Severed at Eagle Marsh [Cont.]