August 6, 2025 • 37 mins
An extended conversation with Indiana State Deer Biologist Joe Caudell, plus Connie Hudson from the DNR Pavilion at the Indiana State Fair.
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Speaker 1 (00:29):
Well, well, well we all assemble again, and I am
grateful for that love the theme. That means it's time
to get the Indian Outdoor Show underway. I your host,
Brian Pointer. We have got so many things. This is
a fun time of the year because we have natural transitions.
You know, once everybody's done with deer season and the
(00:52):
hunting seasons, and it's the boat sport and travel show,
and then it's fishing and now, my gosh, we're switching
again because once the Indiana State Fair is over here
in a week or so, we start talking in earnest
about our hunting season. And today we're going to talk
about a couple things. Of course, Connie Hudson's going to
be with us here. She is a special events coordinator
(01:14):
for our Department in Natural Resources, doing such a great job.
She's going to highlight what has been some great things
happening at the seventy fifth anniversary of the DNR Pavilion
at the Indiana State Fair this year. Soundtrack of Summer
is the theme for the State Fair, and she's talked
about some of the unique things that match the theme
(01:35):
in the pavilion. Of course, it's air conditioned, clean, bathrooms,
and that is a nice thing. But this year's been
such great weather. No reason not to go to the
DNR Pavilion, of course, but it's a great place. Connie
Hudson's going to join us here very soon, and then
I'm excited about talking to Joe Caddell. And here we
are in early August. Deer season doesn't start. Archery season
(01:59):
doesn't start until October, but I want to make sure
people are aware there's been some pretty significant rule changes
as it pertains to simpler. I should say rule changes
all meant to be more simplistic for the hunter, and
that's a good thing. We're going to visit with Joe
Caddell and find out. I want to know what's going
on with the CWD and EHD, those are the bad parts.
(02:24):
Then we're going to find out what lies ahead for
our deer hunters this fall. So as you can see,
it's a great opportunity to be here, and we thank
our sponsor, Indiana Donor Network Driven to Save Lives, Don't
go anywhere. We're going to be back right after this,
(02:48):
and well, happy Midsummer. I don't even know when Midsummer is,
but I'm going to call it midsummer because we're in
the Indiana State Fair. Kids are back to school. Hard
to believe it is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I your host,
Brian Pointer, so great to visit with you and be
(03:08):
with you and bring you this Indiana Outdoor Show. Of course,
we're brought to you by Indiana Donor Network driven two
Saved Lives dot org and as mentioned, if you've lived
under a rock, you know, the great Indiana State Fair
rolls on and our favorite person to bring us all
(03:30):
the latest and greatest from the DNR pavilion, Connie Hudson
joins us. Once again. It feels like you're a regular
now because well you have been. We always love to
get the updates on what's going on, and we're leading
into another big weekend here of the Indiana State Fair. Connie,
how have you been, How are things going, what's happening
in the pavilion? Give me some stories? How you doing?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Hey, Brian, Well, you know i'd love to hear when
somebody calls me their favorite.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Of course, Aha, I don't say that to just everybody,
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I believe that I truly think that it is me
because I bring you all the great stuff that's going
on with the DNR at the State Fair.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Yes, you do.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
We've been having a great run, all right.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So let's just kind of talk about some details here,
because it seems like the fair sneaks up on us.
And I don't know why, because it's on the calendar
and we know it's a big year for the DNR Pavilion,
and we know all the great things that are going
on out there, and then once it's here, it's like
a fast and furious dash. When when does the fair close?
(04:30):
Give me some I do, give me the details of
what people need to know. What's the last day of
the fair?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Well, I can't believe that we're, you know, just hitting
a halfway through with this year's twenty twenty five fair
and the celebration of the seventy five years the DNR,
the DNR building being out here. But the last day
of the fair that you can catch all of the
great things that are going on out there is August seventeenth, Sunday,
August seventeenth. You got just about one.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Week left, all right. So there is it's perfect analogy.
You know, it races up on you and then boom,
we got this stretch and I've come down with this
summer cold if you can't tell. So, I haven't even
been to the State Fair yet, so hopefully this is
the weekend to get out there. And I have a
whole agenda. See, I usually go a couple of times
(05:16):
in space out my fooding, throughout a couple of different visits,
and I'm just going to have to cram it in
and one fell swoop. But tell us some stories. I
know Director Morrison from the Department of Natural Resources came
out last at the start of the Great Indiana State
Fair last Friday, a week ago Friday, and kind of
(05:37):
recognized Ginger Murphy, which we've talked about here, who retired
and gave her last hurrah on her last official day
after some forty years of public service within parks and
our Department of Natural Resources in various capacities, and recognized
her with a Distinguished Citizen Award and gave some announcements.
How was that? Tell us what that was like for
the new director of the department to come out and
(05:59):
experience a seventy fifth anniversary and recognize the kick off
of the Great Indiana State Fair.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yes, I got to.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Say, Brian, you know like it's uh, it was definitely
very fitting for you know, gender to get that distinguished
Who's Your Award because like, I can't think of a
more distinguished Hoosier out there that's been out with the
dn R and Republic Service for all those years. And
it was just so special. We had a beautiful opening morning,
the sun was shining, it wasn't too super hot quite yet,
(06:28):
with our low presentation out there at the front of
the building, in front of the in front of the
stone structure fountain and such and lovely words by Director Morrison,
and it was so great to see so many We
even had our former director Dan Boortner come out and
and just to see a lot of a lot of
(06:48):
folks that have been part of d n R for
so many years to be around and honor everything that
has gone into the presentation that we bring out to
the state so every year, it was such a special moment.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Connie Hudson is our guest, and I know this is
one of many things that you're tasked with, but it's
so important to provide the experience to our guests that
come out to the Indiana State Fair, and of course
of the DNR Pavilion, just one of the thousands of
things you could do on a day to day basis
out there in the programming. We'll get to in a second.
I want to go back to Ginger for just a
(07:22):
little bit. You've had the opportunity to work with her,
and it's just kind of strange that we don't have
Ginger there anymore. She was the sunshine of this show
for gosh, almost these twenty eight years that we've been
doing Indiana Outdoors and she's not there anymore. But my gosh,
her legacy. Did you have some time to spend with
(07:45):
her and work with her in your time at DNR?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Oh? Yes, absolutely, Like I actually knew Ginger a little
bit before I moved into working for actually working for
the DNR, just some opportunities to work work on events
with state parks and such, and you know, a Ginger
has always been somebody that like, as soon as she
sees me, she gives me a big hug every single time.
And that hug that I got from her on her
(08:10):
last day, it was just it was probably the tightest
and warmest that there ever have been.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
You know, she had a fitting send off at Fort
Harrison and the ballroom was packed. And you go to
these retirement get togethers, and sometimes you feel like, oh,
I got to go and say goodbye, or I got
to go and show up. I've never seen more people
in a ballroom who were there to celebrate the intent
of the evening, which was ginger and the heartfelt recollections.
(08:41):
I thought I knew her well. But I sat in
that room and listened to the testimonies of people and
the impact that she made in her career with the
Department of Natural Resources, and I learned so many things,
and I thought I knew her pretty well. I can't
imagine what it must have been like to work with
her and all the leaving of lifelegacies that she left.
So now that she is not there anymore, hopefully she's
(09:06):
enjoying her retirement. And we are in this mid stage
of the Indiana State Fair. Tell us some stories. I
know that by now you've seen, you've experienced, and you've
got a week under your belt. What are some of
the things that have touched you as you've been in
the pavilion this week as we kick things off.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Well, you know, I try to be at the fair
every single day, Brian, but there's just some days that
I can't. I've had a few pea folks that have
you know, just I just know in my personal life
that have sent me pictures of their kids and their
families out at the D in our building checking out
the sights and sounds inside around there. And then of
course a lot I have my camera roll was filled
(09:50):
with a lot of pictures of kiddo's fishing and the
catch that they have brought up out of that water
and back there behind the D in our building and
are in our fishing pond. You know, that's as free
that's a free activity for kiddos five to seventeen. There
are several sessions going on throughout the rest of the
there for for fishing for kids. And then you know,
(10:15):
inside the building we have we have a little interactive
camp fite set up for people that are you know, uh,
trying to get their feet wet into camping and maybe
figuring out some things that they might want to bring,
some tips and tricks that they can find out from
our U, from our State Park staff and our all
of our other D and R staff that are around
(10:35):
as well. You know, we've talked about it's the uh
the theme this year. So the soundtrack of Summer we
have a few different soundtracks going on around the building
where you uh listen to the sounds that are always
there with us well, whether it's the pelt guns at
the conservation officers, hunters, hunter education booths, or the splash
(10:58):
of the fountains and the aquariums inside the building. There's
a lot going on it.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Is, indeed. And you know, one of the things that's
always a variable about the State Fair is weather. What
a great run we've had virtually every day. The cool weather.
Let's just say that. Let me rephrase that, cooler weather
and less humidity, which makes going to the Indiana State
Fair so much more enjoyable. But God loved the DNR Pavilion.
(11:26):
Air conditioned, clean restrooms, nice missing fountain out front. I
think that's one of the most iconic landmarks at the
Indiana State Fair. People have always said, where do you
want to meet? Well, let's meet at the fountain at
the Indiana Department of Natural Resource Pavilion. A lot of
people know where that is. It's a trolley stop and
it's just a great meeting place. One of the things
(11:48):
that I like are the kids. A lot of conservation
officers bring their canines with them out there. They're there
to answer questions and interact. You can pick up licenses,
you can pick up your permit, you can pick up
all the latest guides that are out there. Getting ready,
believe it or not, we're almost into our fall hunting
season here with the start of squirrel season, always a
(12:11):
ride of passage, and soon we're going to be talking
about all the things that happen throughout the rest of
the year. So you can go out there and it's
kind of a one stop shop, and it's the same
thing at the Boat, Sport and Travel Show, which I
know we're probably going to be talking about that sooner
than later. It's hard to believe that's just around the corner,
and I know you don't want to think about that
just yet. Tell me about some of the interactions you've
(12:32):
witnessed or some of the stories you've heard about the
kids out there, not just in the fishing, but just
looking at the fish and the tanks and other things.
I always think that's a special time and I like
to just sit and watch as people go in and
out and the families that are maybe playing a camping trip.
As you said, what are some of the things you've seen, oh.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
That is one of my favorite parts about going to
the working for the DNR at the fairgrounds is the
people watching and seeing the families and seeing the kiddo's
eyes light up and they check out some of those
really large fish in the Uklarians, or just playing around
with the activities that we have available there at the
D in our building. One of the activities this year
(13:12):
is actually a little a frog sound activity that's our
State Parks Interpretive naturalists are putting on for the kids.
There's they have different little tools that mimic the sound
of different frogs. Don't don't byan, don't ask me what
types of frogs there are, but there are several that
are that are native to Indiana that they can, you know,
(13:34):
rub a couple of balloons together and that is supposed
to mimic a frog, or shake some bells or either
morocca and things like that. So they that amazing staff
can definitely tell you how that relates back to nature.
Watching the kids figure that out and learn in the
connection with the education that we can bring to the
(13:57):
D in our building, it's one of the one of
my favorite things about it.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Well, speaking of kids, you know you've already talked about
our conservation officers as well as hunter education. Tim Beck
and his crew always a very popular destination wherever they
take their public outreach, and this is a great opportunity.
And I know when my kids were little at the
Indiana State Fair, that was one of their first experiences
(14:23):
kind of seeing a uniformed officer and talking and feeling
the different things, the furs, the pelts, the things that
they have out there, and then watching them play those
interactive games. The parents' eyes light up. And not only that,
I have a picture of my son when he was
a very young guy who was taken by the Indianapolis
Star just by coincidence, where I'm over his shoulder watching
(14:46):
him shoot those BB guns in the interactive forum. And
I know that's a great opportunity for kids to get
out there. So it's family friendly. You got so many
things to do, and you speak of the soundtrack of Summer.
You're right next to the free stage. And I know
Ginger was all concerned about her last hurrah because she
was had to get me done before three Dog Nights
(15:07):
started because it was going to drownd her out. And
I know that's kind of fun too. You guys can
get the benefit of the free stage just right next door.
Real quick, give me some of the details of what's
going on this weekend.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
This weekend, Brian, we have lots of programs on the schedule,
of course, as we do always. We're actually having the
Indiana Ducks Unlimited folks out today today, August ninth, Saturday,
August night between two to three doing an introduction to
water fowling out at the fishing ponds in between the
(15:39):
fishing sessions. I think that'll be a really neat one.
I was like, and I do have another program that
I'm going to have to name drop for you. I
know you don't quite like it, but it is a
don't It is a snake program. But it is a
really special snake program. It's the understanding the timber rattlesnake.
So our folks from Brown County State Park will be
up with of their timber rattlesnakes and hosting a program
(16:04):
talking about that special species and so that you know,
our folks here in Indiana can understand that animal a
little bit better and create some understanding around that as well.
This week you did mention that there is that we're
talking about the upcoming hunting season. There is going to
(16:26):
be a deer hunting Q and A on Tuesday, August twelfth,
and that is going to be from four to six
at the day in our building with our Division of
Fishing Wildlife Experts hosting that Q and A for folks
so that they can come out ask the question since
we know that those regulations are ever changing, or to
at least get a little bit of a refresher on
(16:47):
what to expect for this upcoming hunting season.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
You know, I didn't even prep you for this because
guess who as our guest Joe Caddell, our state dear biologist,
follows you. Because we wanted to talk about some of
those upcoming deer changes and regulations and just get it
a preview of what's happening, because a lot of folks
are as soon as affair is over, it kind of
seems like everybody's switching into their fall mode. I always
tell people plan ahead, get online, check out the activities
(17:11):
for the day, and plan a lengthy stop because there's
much more, and go all the way to the back
and hand up in our mercantile, one of the absolute
coolest merch places you can possibly find. They are always
accommodating and they have so many cool things. But Connie,
thank you for all the work that you do. Check
out the DNR at the pavilion. Just go online google
(17:33):
Indiana State Fair DNR and we may have one more
opportunity to do this, but in the meantime, thanks for
giving us the updates and the previews. We look forward
to talking to you again real soon.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Connie, absolutely, Brian, thank.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
You my pleasure. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. Connie
doing a great job. As mentioned Joe Coddell, our state
dear biologist, he's on hold, he's ready to go. It's
the Indiana Outdoor Show, and I'm your host, Brian Pointer.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
And it is the Indiana Outdoor Show, and I am
your host, Brian Pointer.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Grateful to be here each week with you, and thank
you to all the stations that carry Indiana Outdoors and
have for so many years. We love doing this and
we hope that you the listeners do and if you
find it enjoyable, make sure you thank the stations that
carry us and encourage your friends to join us each
and every week. And if for some reason you don't
(18:37):
get us at this hour, guess what, go online and
check out Indiana Outdoor Radio and you can find out
what we talked about and listen to this week's segment.
We couldn't do any of this if it weren't for
our friends at Indiana Donor Network Driven to Save Lives
dot org. Sign up to be an organ and tissue donor.
Maybe when you go to the Indiana State Fair and
buy a hunting and fishing license or and you do
(18:58):
it online, couldn't be any We think them as well well.
Connie Hudson gave us an update. We're midstream of the
Indiana State Fair, but as I mentioned, once the fair
is over, it kind of feels like everybody switches into
fall mode. We have the start of our traditional start
of our hunting season with the right of passage for
(19:21):
so many people, Squirrel season starts, and then by gosh,
we're into early archery season. No better person to talk
about the upcoming deer season and many of the changes
that you might be seeing this fall than are esteemed
deer biologists recognized by his peers doing such a great
job on behalf of those who love this passion for
(19:44):
Indiana Outdoors and deer hunting. Joe Coddell, Joe it's great
to have you be a part of it. I always
love to find out what you've been up to. How
have things been is here, we're midsummer, and so many
things happen in the summer. We'll get to that for
you as our dear biologists. But what's been the highlight
so far and how you've been doing.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
I've been doing good. I've been doing real good. And
actually our highlight of the summer this year is the
lack of EHD calls.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
Amen.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
So we have gotten very few suspects there this year,
and so I'm very thankful of that because that makes
what should be the slowest time of the year one
of the busiest times of the year. And so in
the absence of EHD, or in the where we just
have our normal background EHD where we have a few
deer dying just kind of everywhere, it makes it a
(20:37):
lot more enjoyable over the summer.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Well, you jumped right into the disease conversation because that
was going to be one of my questions. And I
know that is a random act of Mother nature. And
for those that don't know, EHD is something that happens
naturally in the wild, and it is kind of stark.
(21:00):
It can be very stark, especially if you get isolated
regional areas where it hits really hard.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
What is EHD so EHD is epizoodic heemorrhagic disease, and
a lot of people know it is blue tongue because
that's one of the signs of it. But it's just
a natural virus that's transmitted by a biting midge. And
those biting midges has to have mud and really warm,
(21:30):
hot temperatures to breed, and so if we have a
really dry season where everything is you know, constantly drying
up and making these little pockets of mud, like during
a drought, we ten typically have worse outbreaks. If we
have a lot of rain and there's a lot of water,
(21:50):
that's that's good for the mosquitoes, but not we don't
think quite as good for the midges. And so, you know,
I don't know if anybody has noticed, but it seems
like the mosquitoes have been like horrible this year at
least where we've getten a lot of rain. But typically
I'll take them a skatea bite over knowing that midges
are out there biting deer.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Joe cardell Are State deer biologists when midges aren't biting
our deer. And I'm so grateful that you left us,
kicked us off with some good news that we haven't
had a lot of that because several summers it feels
like we got really whacked in some areas of the state,
which caused some modifications to bag limits in certain areas.
(22:33):
That is good news. What about the always presence and now,
in our common vernacular, the other disease that everybody pays
attention to, which is CWD chronic wasting disease. What's the status?
Bring us up to speed.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Yeah, so we have chronic wasting disease or CWD, and
actually the two opposite corners of the state. So we've
got it up in the what would that be the northwest,
it's given it the northeast, the northeastern part of our state,
and then we have it all the way down in
Posey County in the southwest. And you know, those probably
(23:12):
just two disjointed areas. And so this year we're going
to be looking at it pretty hard down in like
Posey County in Vanderburgh and Gibson because that was an
unexpected place for us. And so we're going to be.
We've talked to a lot of processors and taxidermist and
(23:34):
there'll be some biologists out there on opening weekend and
some places around those those three counties collecting samples to
see how much of it we have down there or
if it was just like a random deer that just
happened to have it.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Boy, I'll tell you what, there's no rest for the wicked.
But on top of this, and the Indiana has been
the beneficiary of three decades of chronic waste disease experimentation
and how to deal with this, and we've seen this
manifest itself in so many different ways. Indiana, for buy
and large, has been immune to this until recently where
(24:14):
there's been identified cases in You of all, people have said,
it's not a matter of if, it's when and the
plan was in place. What is that plan?
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yeah, So, first of all, if anybody's interested, the plan
is online. And we look at where we found CWD
and so that that really matters. So if CWD is
really close to an area where we know we have
populations out in the wild that are walking around with CWD,
(24:43):
kind of like up in northeastern Indiana, that's real close
to Michigan and they've got you know, some pretty good
pockets of CWD up there, and so we consider that
an expected area. And up there we're just communicating to hunters,
letting them know, hey, we've got CWD up there. If
you're concerned, make sure you get your deer tested. Okay,
(25:06):
in an unexpected area like we had down in Posey
County because it was a buck and you know, and
if you hunt, you know that these bucks move around,
you know, like during deer season. Sometimes your your camera
out there you'll see some buck you've never seen before
the entire year. And because these guys travel, we don't
(25:27):
know where that deer came from, like, you know, was
it It could have been the Navy's county. It could
have min from another state. We don't know. And so
what we do is we go down to that area
and try to find where the actual pocket of CWD
is and how much of it there is, and then
that informs our decision for what our next step is.
(25:49):
And like I said, all this is outlined in our
plan and that's online if anybody wants the search and
go look at it and give it a.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Well, Joe, can you stay with us through another break,
because I want to get to the meat of a
discussion that I know a lot of people are talking
about some upcoming rule changes for this dear season. Can
we pay a few bills and come back and chit chat?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Absolutely, I'll refill my calfee.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
God love you all right. Joe Caddell, our State Dear Biologist,
is going to join us in this extended conversation about
the upcoming dear season. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
I your host, Brian Pointer, grateful to be here. We
look forward to our continued conversation right after this the
(26:43):
show rolls on. It's called Indiana Outdoors. We do it
each and every Saturday. We can't thank you enough for
being here. Brought to you by our friends at Indiana
Donor Network, Driven to Save Lives dot org. It is
that time of the year where we're already but looking
ahead into our fall dear season and other hunting seasons.
We're going to be talking about this as soon as
(27:04):
the Indiana State Fair is over. We are going to
be talking about our hunting season. But no better place
to kick that off than with Joe Caddell, or State
Dear Biologists, and Joe Great news that we haven't had
a lot of EHD, which is always, you know, one
of those question marks. And we know we've already talked
about CWD and the plan and the great work that
(27:25):
you're doing there, but there's going to be some changes
to the deer regulations kind of summarize where we're at.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Yeah, So, first of all, i'd really encourage everybody to
go out and get a new Hunting Regulation Guide this
year and look at that very carefully, because there were
some pretty big changes our goal online. We've got all
the information updated online. But yeah, we've had oh gosh,
(27:54):
I was trying to think about this the other day.
It's like maybe ten rule changes and some all changes
that affect hunting this year, and some of them are
pretty substantial.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Let's talk about them.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Yeah. So, probably the biggest one that I think hunters
are hearing about is our change to our centerfire rifle law. Okay,
and that's a pretty significant change, And basically it allows
the same calibers that are used on private land to
be used on public land, and it expanded the range
(28:32):
of ammunition that can be used in our center fire firearms.
And so now the minimum caliber is zero point two
one nine inches or five five six or five point
five six millimeters, Okay, and so that includes like you know,
you're twenty three.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Very common rounds. Sure.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
And then something new is that hunters can only carry
a maximum of pin cart. That was true on private
land before, but now that's also true on public land.
So the nice thing is when folks call now and
ask what kind of firearm they can use, the answer
is the same, and it's a much simpler answer, and
(29:15):
it's the true. It's true for public and private land.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
All right. I like that, and a lot of folks,
I tell you, it's interesting Indiana deer seasons. For years,
I grew up and we were an all shot gun
slug and then we went to the what they call
the cowboy action stuff, the long guns that usually like
the forty four magnums. And now we have migrated to
some pretty common sense and a lot of new options,
(29:41):
I should say common sense new options that make it enjoyable.
And a lot of folks are very happy with this.
What are hunters saying about these these caliber changes historically
that have been in place.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Yeah, I mean, in general, it sounds like most folks
are supportive of it. They like the simplicity. They like
being able to, you know, use the same rifle they're
using on private land on public land and not having
to worry about, you know, get a ticket or make
sure they're you know, they got to be careful. And
so most people have been supportive of it, and even
(30:16):
the smaller calibers. You know. The important thing with that is,
you know, looking at the bullet construction and making sure,
like in the two twenty threes, in some of the
smaller caliber, you're actually getting a deer hunting bullet, like
actually designed that, and so that's pretty important to think about. Sorry,
(30:40):
other phone was ringing right here. Somebody's calling and asked
about the deer hunting regulation.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
You know what it happens twenty four hours a day.
I don't know how you do it, but that's all right.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
But but yeah, so it's just really important that hunters
look at that and understand those regulations. And but the
good news is they are much sim.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Now, what about I know, one of the things that
always is on your radar is the bonus antlerless permits,
so the dough permits. As everybody knows, what's anything changing there?
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Yes, there were some big changes there and again actually
all of these regulation changes we made, our goal was
to make things simpler for hunters, okay, and so in
the past, again a common question that we would get
is hunters calling us and trying to understand how many
(31:33):
deer they could harvest in a particular county because you
had to add up the limit for archery licenses, you
had to know how many you can take with a
muzzleloader license, and then you had to figure out, okay,
what's the county bonus antelst quota. Now we've done away
with those separate bag limits for archery and muzzleloader and
what we have is just a single number for each county.
(31:57):
So if somebody goes and they look in our Hunting
Guy or they go online and look, they might look
at let me say, like Brown County here for instance,
and they would see, I think in that case is
the number four for this year. And that means they
can take four antlas deer in Brown County and it
(32:17):
doesn't matter what equipment they're using. They can take them
all with archery licenses, they could take them all with
muzzleloader licenses, and they can also take them with the
multi season antlust license, which is basically that replacement for
the bonus antlyst license, that function is just the same.
And so the other thing we added was a state
(32:38):
wide bag limit of six antlest deer per hunter. And
so that would mean, Okay, I can go maybe if
I live in Brown County, I can harvest my foreign
Brown County, and then I can go to another county
and harvest another two.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
And I think you're achieving the goal of being simple,
and I like that. And the simple fact is, listen,
if you have permission and you have the opportunity to hunt,
and you want to take more than one, you have options.
And the thing is is that if you still want
to go out and hunt, you can always donate that
deer to the who's yours feeding the hungry. You know,
(33:15):
it's just a great opportunity for hunters to get out.
And the simple fact is, very few hunters that I
know take more than a couple that fill their freezer
and maybe donate some too. But it's all part of
the management process that you and your staff and those
around work. But I'm telling you, Indiana has become a
destination for deer and I love it, and I think
(33:35):
it's becoming I like being in the conversation, and I
know that has to make you feel happy too, because
management seems to be going in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
Yeah. You know, one of the things I get to
do in the summer is actually work on our deer report,
and since we haven't had EHD, I've been able to
spend a good time working on it. And actually what
I was doing the other day was actually playing around
and looking at some of those numbers for the Boone
and Crocket reports and some of that, and you know,
we're still producing a lot of you know, awesome bucks
(34:06):
that hunters are able to harvest and then actually enter
into the record book.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
I am very happy with what I'm hearing here, and
I know that it's going to be a very busy time.
We've got a lot of folks out at the Indiana
State Fair. Connie Hudson was just talking about all the activities.
This is a great opportunity because conservation officers are out there.
If you have questions, they're always willing to ask. The
folks at the desk out there, and you can buy
(34:33):
your licenses. You can get all of the hunting guides
and all the recreation guides that are out there, and
I think your advice to check this out and be
aware of it is a wise one. So I can't
thank you enough.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
Joe.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
We may be calling you back here shortly because we're
going to get through the fair and then we're going
to be onto hunting season. But Joe, as always, thank
you for the work that you do and all the
great men and women and the biologists that help manage
our resources for the consumers out here. It's going to
be a great season.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Joe Caddell, everybody, thank you so much. We appreciate you
as always. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I your host,
Brian Pointer, don't even think about going anywhere. We're going
to be back right after this.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
And there it is.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
We are back, red lights, come on, time to talk.
And I can't thank Joe Caddell, our state, dear biologists.
People don't realize the great resource that we have in
our biologists in general, with Joe Caddell doing such a
great job, and he gave us some great news that
we haven't had a whole lot of ehd epizootic haemorrhagic
(35:54):
disease which Mother Nature seems to throw upon us from
time to time, a natural thing that causes some diseases
within our deer population and kind of be stark because
you find some dead deer and it can be troubling.
And as you heard him say, we haven't had that
as much this year, so that's a good thing. And
make sure, as you heard him say, you get the
(36:16):
updated fish or hunting regulations, because there's some new things
that have made it simpler as it pertains to bag
limits and resources to hunt our great deer in the
state of Indiana. We are so fortunate that the Indiana
is becoming and has become a destination for so many.
Of course, this is mid stream of the Indiana State Fair.
(36:40):
I have not been out there yet, shamefully got whacked
with one of these summer colds last week and couldn't
make it out. But that's going to change real soon.
We'll be out there this weekend for sure.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Take part of whatever you can in the great Indiana
State Fair. Get out and fish, get out and do
something in one of our great Indiana state parks. Do
some than in the Indiana outdoors. It's been a beautiful
midsummer here and we are grateful for that. Folks, as
we say, always remember turn in a Poacher one tip
I d n R. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
(37:14):
We're going to be back next week. Everybody'd be good
see outside
Well, well, well we all assemble again, and I am
grateful for that love the theme. That means it's time
to get the Indian Outdoor Show underway. I your host,
Brian Pointer. We have got so many things. This is
a fun time of the year because we have natural transitions.
You know, once everybody's done with deer season and the
(00:52):
hunting seasons, and it's the boat sport and travel show,
and then it's fishing and now, my gosh, we're switching
again because once the Indiana State Fair is over here
in a week or so, we start talking in earnest
about our hunting season. And today we're going to talk
about a couple things. Of course, Connie Hudson's going to
be with us here. She is a special events coordinator
(01:14):
for our Department in Natural Resources, doing such a great job.
She's going to highlight what has been some great things
happening at the seventy fifth anniversary of the DNR Pavilion
at the Indiana State Fair this year. Soundtrack of Summer
is the theme for the State Fair, and she's talked
about some of the unique things that match the theme
(01:35):
in the pavilion. Of course, it's air conditioned, clean, bathrooms,
and that is a nice thing. But this year's been
such great weather. No reason not to go to the
DNR Pavilion, of course, but it's a great place. Connie
Hudson's going to join us here very soon, and then
I'm excited about talking to Joe Caddell. And here we
are in early August. Deer season doesn't start. Archery season
(01:59):
doesn't start until October, but I want to make sure
people are aware there's been some pretty significant rule changes
as it pertains to simpler. I should say rule changes
all meant to be more simplistic for the hunter, and
that's a good thing. We're going to visit with Joe
Caddell and find out. I want to know what's going
on with the CWD and EHD, those are the bad parts.
(02:24):
Then we're going to find out what lies ahead for
our deer hunters this fall. So as you can see,
it's a great opportunity to be here, and we thank
our sponsor, Indiana Donor Network Driven to Save Lives, Don't
go anywhere. We're going to be back right after this,
(02:48):
and well, happy Midsummer. I don't even know when Midsummer is,
but I'm going to call it midsummer because we're in
the Indiana State Fair. Kids are back to school. Hard
to believe it is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I your host,
Brian Pointer, so great to visit with you and be
(03:08):
with you and bring you this Indiana Outdoor Show. Of course,
we're brought to you by Indiana Donor Network driven two
Saved Lives dot org and as mentioned, if you've lived
under a rock, you know, the great Indiana State Fair
rolls on and our favorite person to bring us all
(03:30):
the latest and greatest from the DNR pavilion, Connie Hudson
joins us. Once again. It feels like you're a regular
now because well you have been. We always love to
get the updates on what's going on, and we're leading
into another big weekend here of the Indiana State Fair. Connie,
how have you been, How are things going, what's happening
in the pavilion? Give me some stories? How you doing?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Hey, Brian, Well, you know i'd love to hear when
somebody calls me their favorite.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Of course, Aha, I don't say that to just everybody,
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I believe that I truly think that it is me
because I bring you all the great stuff that's going
on with the DNR at the State Fair.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Yes, you do.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
We've been having a great run, all right.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So let's just kind of talk about some details here,
because it seems like the fair sneaks up on us.
And I don't know why, because it's on the calendar
and we know it's a big year for the DNR Pavilion,
and we know all the great things that are going
on out there, and then once it's here, it's like
a fast and furious dash. When when does the fair close?
(04:30):
Give me some I do, give me the details of
what people need to know. What's the last day of
the fair?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Well, I can't believe that we're, you know, just hitting
a halfway through with this year's twenty twenty five fair
and the celebration of the seventy five years the DNR,
the DNR building being out here. But the last day
of the fair that you can catch all of the
great things that are going on out there is August seventeenth, Sunday,
August seventeenth. You got just about one.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Week left, all right. So there is it's perfect analogy.
You know, it races up on you and then boom,
we got this stretch and I've come down with this
summer cold if you can't tell. So, I haven't even
been to the State Fair yet, so hopefully this is
the weekend to get out there. And I have a
whole agenda. See, I usually go a couple of times
(05:16):
in space out my fooding, throughout a couple of different visits,
and I'm just going to have to cram it in
and one fell swoop. But tell us some stories. I
know Director Morrison from the Department of Natural Resources came
out last at the start of the Great Indiana State
Fair last Friday, a week ago Friday, and kind of
(05:37):
recognized Ginger Murphy, which we've talked about here, who retired
and gave her last hurrah on her last official day
after some forty years of public service within parks and
our Department of Natural Resources in various capacities, and recognized
her with a Distinguished Citizen Award and gave some announcements.
How was that? Tell us what that was like for
the new director of the department to come out and
(05:59):
experience a seventy fifth anniversary and recognize the kick off
of the Great Indiana State Fair.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yes, I got to.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Say, Brian, you know like it's uh, it was definitely
very fitting for you know, gender to get that distinguished
Who's Your Award because like, I can't think of a
more distinguished Hoosier out there that's been out with the
dn R and Republic Service for all those years. And
it was just so special. We had a beautiful opening morning,
the sun was shining, it wasn't too super hot quite yet,
(06:28):
with our low presentation out there at the front of
the building, in front of the in front of the
stone structure fountain and such and lovely words by Director Morrison,
and it was so great to see so many We
even had our former director Dan Boortner come out and
and just to see a lot of a lot of
(06:48):
folks that have been part of d n R for
so many years to be around and honor everything that
has gone into the presentation that we bring out to
the state so every year, it was such a special moment.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Connie Hudson is our guest, and I know this is
one of many things that you're tasked with, but it's
so important to provide the experience to our guests that
come out to the Indiana State Fair, and of course
of the DNR Pavilion, just one of the thousands of
things you could do on a day to day basis
out there in the programming. We'll get to in a second.
I want to go back to Ginger for just a
(07:22):
little bit. You've had the opportunity to work with her,
and it's just kind of strange that we don't have
Ginger there anymore. She was the sunshine of this show
for gosh, almost these twenty eight years that we've been
doing Indiana Outdoors and she's not there anymore. But my gosh,
her legacy. Did you have some time to spend with
(07:45):
her and work with her in your time at DNR?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Oh? Yes, absolutely, Like I actually knew Ginger a little
bit before I moved into working for actually working for
the DNR, just some opportunities to work work on events
with state parks and such, and you know, a Ginger
has always been somebody that like, as soon as she
sees me, she gives me a big hug every single time.
And that hug that I got from her on her
(08:10):
last day, it was just it was probably the tightest
and warmest that there ever have been.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
You know, she had a fitting send off at Fort
Harrison and the ballroom was packed. And you go to
these retirement get togethers, and sometimes you feel like, oh,
I got to go and say goodbye, or I got
to go and show up. I've never seen more people
in a ballroom who were there to celebrate the intent
of the evening, which was ginger and the heartfelt recollections.
(08:41):
I thought I knew her well. But I sat in
that room and listened to the testimonies of people and
the impact that she made in her career with the
Department of Natural Resources, and I learned so many things,
and I thought I knew her pretty well. I can't
imagine what it must have been like to work with
her and all the leaving of lifelegacies that she left.
So now that she is not there anymore, hopefully she's
(09:06):
enjoying her retirement. And we are in this mid stage
of the Indiana State Fair. Tell us some stories. I
know that by now you've seen, you've experienced, and you've
got a week under your belt. What are some of
the things that have touched you as you've been in
the pavilion this week as we kick things off.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Well, you know, I try to be at the fair
every single day, Brian, but there's just some days that
I can't. I've had a few pea folks that have
you know, just I just know in my personal life
that have sent me pictures of their kids and their
families out at the D in our building checking out
the sights and sounds inside around there. And then of
course a lot I have my camera roll was filled
(09:50):
with a lot of pictures of kiddo's fishing and the
catch that they have brought up out of that water
and back there behind the D in our building and
are in our fishing pond. You know, that's as free
that's a free activity for kiddos five to seventeen. There
are several sessions going on throughout the rest of the
there for for fishing for kids. And then you know,
(10:15):
inside the building we have we have a little interactive
camp fite set up for people that are you know, uh,
trying to get their feet wet into camping and maybe
figuring out some things that they might want to bring,
some tips and tricks that they can find out from
our U, from our State Park staff and our all
of our other D and R staff that are around
(10:35):
as well. You know, we've talked about it's the uh
the theme this year. So the soundtrack of Summer we
have a few different soundtracks going on around the building
where you uh listen to the sounds that are always
there with us well, whether it's the pelt guns at
the conservation officers, hunters, hunter education booths, or the splash
(10:58):
of the fountains and the aquariums inside the building. There's
a lot going on it.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Is, indeed. And you know, one of the things that's
always a variable about the State Fair is weather. What
a great run we've had virtually every day. The cool weather.
Let's just say that. Let me rephrase that, cooler weather
and less humidity, which makes going to the Indiana State
Fair so much more enjoyable. But God loved the DNR Pavilion.
(11:26):
Air conditioned, clean restrooms, nice missing fountain out front. I
think that's one of the most iconic landmarks at the
Indiana State Fair. People have always said, where do you
want to meet? Well, let's meet at the fountain at
the Indiana Department of Natural Resource Pavilion. A lot of
people know where that is. It's a trolley stop and
it's just a great meeting place. One of the things
(11:48):
that I like are the kids. A lot of conservation
officers bring their canines with them out there. They're there
to answer questions and interact. You can pick up licenses,
you can pick up your permit, you can pick up
all the latest guides that are out there. Getting ready,
believe it or not, we're almost into our fall hunting
season here with the start of squirrel season, always a
(12:11):
ride of passage, and soon we're going to be talking
about all the things that happen throughout the rest of
the year. So you can go out there and it's
kind of a one stop shop, and it's the same
thing at the Boat, Sport and Travel Show, which I
know we're probably going to be talking about that sooner
than later. It's hard to believe that's just around the corner,
and I know you don't want to think about that
just yet. Tell me about some of the interactions you've
(12:32):
witnessed or some of the stories you've heard about the
kids out there, not just in the fishing, but just
looking at the fish and the tanks and other things.
I always think that's a special time and I like
to just sit and watch as people go in and
out and the families that are maybe playing a camping trip.
As you said, what are some of the things you've seen, oh.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
That is one of my favorite parts about going to
the working for the DNR at the fairgrounds is the
people watching and seeing the families and seeing the kiddo's
eyes light up and they check out some of those
really large fish in the Uklarians, or just playing around
with the activities that we have available there at the
D in our building. One of the activities this year
(13:12):
is actually a little a frog sound activity that's our
State Parks Interpretive naturalists are putting on for the kids.
There's they have different little tools that mimic the sound
of different frogs. Don't don't byan, don't ask me what
types of frogs there are, but there are several that
are that are native to Indiana that they can, you know,
(13:34):
rub a couple of balloons together and that is supposed
to mimic a frog, or shake some bells or either
morocca and things like that. So they that amazing staff
can definitely tell you how that relates back to nature.
Watching the kids figure that out and learn in the
connection with the education that we can bring to the
(13:57):
D in our building, it's one of the one of
my favorite things about it.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Well, speaking of kids, you know you've already talked about
our conservation officers as well as hunter education. Tim Beck
and his crew always a very popular destination wherever they
take their public outreach, and this is a great opportunity.
And I know when my kids were little at the
Indiana State Fair, that was one of their first experiences
(14:23):
kind of seeing a uniformed officer and talking and feeling
the different things, the furs, the pelts, the things that
they have out there, and then watching them play those
interactive games. The parents' eyes light up. And not only that,
I have a picture of my son when he was
a very young guy who was taken by the Indianapolis
Star just by coincidence, where I'm over his shoulder watching
(14:46):
him shoot those BB guns in the interactive forum. And
I know that's a great opportunity for kids to get
out there. So it's family friendly. You got so many
things to do, and you speak of the soundtrack of Summer.
You're right next to the free stage. And I know
Ginger was all concerned about her last hurrah because she
was had to get me done before three Dog Nights
(15:07):
started because it was going to drownd her out. And
I know that's kind of fun too. You guys can
get the benefit of the free stage just right next door.
Real quick, give me some of the details of what's
going on this weekend.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
This weekend, Brian, we have lots of programs on the schedule,
of course, as we do always. We're actually having the
Indiana Ducks Unlimited folks out today today, August ninth, Saturday,
August night between two to three doing an introduction to
water fowling out at the fishing ponds in between the
(15:39):
fishing sessions. I think that'll be a really neat one.
I was like, and I do have another program that
I'm going to have to name drop for you. I
know you don't quite like it, but it is a
don't It is a snake program. But it is a
really special snake program. It's the understanding the timber rattlesnake.
So our folks from Brown County State Park will be
up with of their timber rattlesnakes and hosting a program
(16:04):
talking about that special species and so that you know,
our folks here in Indiana can understand that animal a
little bit better and create some understanding around that as well.
This week you did mention that there is that we're
talking about the upcoming hunting season. There is going to
(16:26):
be a deer hunting Q and A on Tuesday, August twelfth,
and that is going to be from four to six
at the day in our building with our Division of
Fishing Wildlife Experts hosting that Q and A for folks
so that they can come out ask the question since
we know that those regulations are ever changing, or to
at least get a little bit of a refresher on
(16:47):
what to expect for this upcoming hunting season.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
You know, I didn't even prep you for this because
guess who as our guest Joe Caddell, our state dear biologist,
follows you. Because we wanted to talk about some of
those upcoming deer changes and regulations and just get it
a preview of what's happening, because a lot of folks
are as soon as affair is over, it kind of
seems like everybody's switching into their fall mode. I always
tell people plan ahead, get online, check out the activities
(17:11):
for the day, and plan a lengthy stop because there's
much more, and go all the way to the back
and hand up in our mercantile, one of the absolute
coolest merch places you can possibly find. They are always
accommodating and they have so many cool things. But Connie,
thank you for all the work that you do. Check
out the DNR at the pavilion. Just go online google
(17:33):
Indiana State Fair DNR and we may have one more
opportunity to do this, but in the meantime, thanks for
giving us the updates and the previews. We look forward
to talking to you again real soon.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Connie, absolutely, Brian, thank.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
You my pleasure. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. Connie
doing a great job. As mentioned Joe Coddell, our state
dear biologist, he's on hold, he's ready to go. It's
the Indiana Outdoor Show, and I'm your host, Brian Pointer.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
And it is the Indiana Outdoor Show, and I am
your host, Brian Pointer.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Grateful to be here each week with you, and thank
you to all the stations that carry Indiana Outdoors and
have for so many years. We love doing this and
we hope that you the listeners do and if you
find it enjoyable, make sure you thank the stations that
carry us and encourage your friends to join us each
and every week. And if for some reason you don't
(18:37):
get us at this hour, guess what, go online and
check out Indiana Outdoor Radio and you can find out
what we talked about and listen to this week's segment.
We couldn't do any of this if it weren't for
our friends at Indiana Donor Network Driven to Save Lives
dot org. Sign up to be an organ and tissue donor.
Maybe when you go to the Indiana State Fair and
buy a hunting and fishing license or and you do
(18:58):
it online, couldn't be any We think them as well well.
Connie Hudson gave us an update. We're midstream of the
Indiana State Fair, but as I mentioned, once the fair
is over, it kind of feels like everybody switches into
fall mode. We have the start of our traditional start
of our hunting season with the right of passage for
(19:21):
so many people, Squirrel season starts, and then by gosh,
we're into early archery season. No better person to talk
about the upcoming deer season and many of the changes
that you might be seeing this fall than are esteemed
deer biologists recognized by his peers doing such a great
job on behalf of those who love this passion for
(19:44):
Indiana Outdoors and deer hunting. Joe Coddell, Joe it's great
to have you be a part of it. I always
love to find out what you've been up to. How
have things been is here, we're midsummer, and so many
things happen in the summer. We'll get to that for
you as our dear biologists. But what's been the highlight
so far and how you've been doing.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
I've been doing good. I've been doing real good. And
actually our highlight of the summer this year is the
lack of EHD calls.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
Amen.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
So we have gotten very few suspects there this year,
and so I'm very thankful of that because that makes
what should be the slowest time of the year one
of the busiest times of the year. And so in
the absence of EHD, or in the where we just
have our normal background EHD where we have a few
deer dying just kind of everywhere, it makes it a
(20:37):
lot more enjoyable over the summer.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Well, you jumped right into the disease conversation because that
was going to be one of my questions. And I
know that is a random act of Mother nature. And
for those that don't know, EHD is something that happens
naturally in the wild, and it is kind of stark.
(21:00):
It can be very stark, especially if you get isolated
regional areas where it hits really hard.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
What is EHD so EHD is epizoodic heemorrhagic disease, and
a lot of people know it is blue tongue because
that's one of the signs of it. But it's just
a natural virus that's transmitted by a biting midge. And
those biting midges has to have mud and really warm,
(21:30):
hot temperatures to breed, and so if we have a
really dry season where everything is you know, constantly drying
up and making these little pockets of mud, like during
a drought, we ten typically have worse outbreaks. If we
have a lot of rain and there's a lot of water,
(21:50):
that's that's good for the mosquitoes, but not we don't
think quite as good for the midges. And so, you know,
I don't know if anybody has noticed, but it seems
like the mosquitoes have been like horrible this year at
least where we've getten a lot of rain. But typically
I'll take them a skatea bite over knowing that midges
are out there biting deer.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Joe cardell Are State deer biologists when midges aren't biting
our deer. And I'm so grateful that you left us,
kicked us off with some good news that we haven't
had a lot of that because several summers it feels
like we got really whacked in some areas of the state,
which caused some modifications to bag limits in certain areas.
(22:33):
That is good news. What about the always presence and now,
in our common vernacular, the other disease that everybody pays
attention to, which is CWD chronic wasting disease. What's the status?
Bring us up to speed.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Yeah, so we have chronic wasting disease or CWD, and
actually the two opposite corners of the state. So we've
got it up in the what would that be the northwest,
it's given it the northeast, the northeastern part of our state,
and then we have it all the way down in
Posey County in the southwest. And you know, those probably
(23:12):
just two disjointed areas. And so this year we're going
to be looking at it pretty hard down in like
Posey County in Vanderburgh and Gibson because that was an
unexpected place for us. And so we're going to be.
We've talked to a lot of processors and taxidermist and
(23:34):
there'll be some biologists out there on opening weekend and
some places around those those three counties collecting samples to
see how much of it we have down there or
if it was just like a random deer that just
happened to have it.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Boy, I'll tell you what, there's no rest for the wicked.
But on top of this, and the Indiana has been
the beneficiary of three decades of chronic waste disease experimentation
and how to deal with this, and we've seen this
manifest itself in so many different ways. Indiana, for buy
and large, has been immune to this until recently where
(24:14):
there's been identified cases in You of all, people have said,
it's not a matter of if, it's when and the
plan was in place. What is that plan?
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yeah, So, first of all, if anybody's interested, the plan
is online. And we look at where we found CWD
and so that that really matters. So if CWD is
really close to an area where we know we have
populations out in the wild that are walking around with CWD,
(24:43):
kind of like up in northeastern Indiana, that's real close
to Michigan and they've got you know, some pretty good
pockets of CWD up there, and so we consider that
an expected area. And up there we're just communicating to hunters,
letting them know, hey, we've got CWD up there. If
you're concerned, make sure you get your deer tested. Okay,
(25:06):
in an unexpected area like we had down in Posey
County because it was a buck and you know, and
if you hunt, you know that these bucks move around,
you know, like during deer season. Sometimes your your camera
out there you'll see some buck you've never seen before
the entire year. And because these guys travel, we don't
(25:27):
know where that deer came from, like, you know, was
it It could have been the Navy's county. It could
have min from another state. We don't know. And so
what we do is we go down to that area
and try to find where the actual pocket of CWD
is and how much of it there is, and then
that informs our decision for what our next step is.
(25:49):
And like I said, all this is outlined in our
plan and that's online if anybody wants the search and
go look at it and give it a.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Well, Joe, can you stay with us through another break,
because I want to get to the meat of a
discussion that I know a lot of people are talking
about some upcoming rule changes for this dear season. Can
we pay a few bills and come back and chit chat?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Absolutely, I'll refill my calfee.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
God love you all right. Joe Caddell, our State Dear Biologist,
is going to join us in this extended conversation about
the upcoming dear season. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
I your host, Brian Pointer, grateful to be here. We
look forward to our continued conversation right after this the
(26:43):
show rolls on. It's called Indiana Outdoors. We do it
each and every Saturday. We can't thank you enough for
being here. Brought to you by our friends at Indiana
Donor Network, Driven to Save Lives dot org. It is
that time of the year where we're already but looking
ahead into our fall dear season and other hunting seasons.
We're going to be talking about this as soon as
(27:04):
the Indiana State Fair is over. We are going to
be talking about our hunting season. But no better place
to kick that off than with Joe Caddell, or State
Dear Biologists, and Joe Great news that we haven't had
a lot of EHD, which is always, you know, one
of those question marks. And we know we've already talked
about CWD and the plan and the great work that
(27:25):
you're doing there, but there's going to be some changes
to the deer regulations kind of summarize where we're at.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Yeah, So, first of all, i'd really encourage everybody to
go out and get a new Hunting Regulation Guide this
year and look at that very carefully, because there were
some pretty big changes our goal online. We've got all
the information updated online. But yeah, we've had oh gosh,
(27:54):
I was trying to think about this the other day.
It's like maybe ten rule changes and some all changes
that affect hunting this year, and some of them are
pretty substantial.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Let's talk about them.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Yeah. So, probably the biggest one that I think hunters
are hearing about is our change to our centerfire rifle law. Okay,
and that's a pretty significant change, And basically it allows
the same calibers that are used on private land to
be used on public land, and it expanded the range
(28:32):
of ammunition that can be used in our center fire firearms.
And so now the minimum caliber is zero point two
one nine inches or five five six or five point
five six millimeters, Okay, and so that includes like you know,
you're twenty three.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Very common rounds. Sure.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
And then something new is that hunters can only carry
a maximum of pin cart. That was true on private
land before, but now that's also true on public land.
So the nice thing is when folks call now and
ask what kind of firearm they can use, the answer
is the same, and it's a much simpler answer, and
(29:15):
it's the true. It's true for public and private land.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
All right. I like that, and a lot of folks,
I tell you, it's interesting Indiana deer seasons. For years,
I grew up and we were an all shot gun
slug and then we went to the what they call
the cowboy action stuff, the long guns that usually like
the forty four magnums. And now we have migrated to
some pretty common sense and a lot of new options,
(29:41):
I should say common sense new options that make it enjoyable.
And a lot of folks are very happy with this.
What are hunters saying about these these caliber changes historically
that have been in place.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Yeah, I mean, in general, it sounds like most folks
are supportive of it. They like the simplicity. They like
being able to, you know, use the same rifle they're
using on private land on public land and not having
to worry about, you know, get a ticket or make
sure they're you know, they got to be careful. And
so most people have been supportive of it, and even
(30:16):
the smaller calibers. You know. The important thing with that is,
you know, looking at the bullet construction and making sure,
like in the two twenty threes, in some of the
smaller caliber, you're actually getting a deer hunting bullet, like
actually designed that, and so that's pretty important to think about. Sorry,
(30:40):
other phone was ringing right here. Somebody's calling and asked
about the deer hunting regulation.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
You know what it happens twenty four hours a day.
I don't know how you do it, but that's all right.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
But but yeah, so it's just really important that hunters
look at that and understand those regulations. And but the
good news is they are much sim.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Now, what about I know, one of the things that
always is on your radar is the bonus antlerless permits,
so the dough permits. As everybody knows, what's anything changing there?
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Yes, there were some big changes there and again actually
all of these regulation changes we made, our goal was
to make things simpler for hunters, okay, and so in
the past, again a common question that we would get
is hunters calling us and trying to understand how many
(31:33):
deer they could harvest in a particular county because you
had to add up the limit for archery licenses, you
had to know how many you can take with a
muzzleloader license, and then you had to figure out, okay,
what's the county bonus antelst quota. Now we've done away
with those separate bag limits for archery and muzzleloader and
what we have is just a single number for each county.
(31:57):
So if somebody goes and they look in our Hunting
Guy or they go online and look, they might look
at let me say, like Brown County here for instance,
and they would see, I think in that case is
the number four for this year. And that means they
can take four antlas deer in Brown County and it
(32:17):
doesn't matter what equipment they're using. They can take them
all with archery licenses, they could take them all with
muzzleloader licenses, and they can also take them with the
multi season antlust license, which is basically that replacement for
the bonus antlyst license, that function is just the same.
And so the other thing we added was a state
(32:38):
wide bag limit of six antlest deer per hunter. And
so that would mean, Okay, I can go maybe if
I live in Brown County, I can harvest my foreign
Brown County, and then I can go to another county
and harvest another two.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
And I think you're achieving the goal of being simple,
and I like that. And the simple fact is, listen,
if you have permission and you have the opportunity to hunt,
and you want to take more than one, you have options.
And the thing is is that if you still want
to go out and hunt, you can always donate that
deer to the who's yours feeding the hungry. You know,
(33:15):
it's just a great opportunity for hunters to get out.
And the simple fact is, very few hunters that I
know take more than a couple that fill their freezer
and maybe donate some too. But it's all part of
the management process that you and your staff and those
around work. But I'm telling you, Indiana has become a
destination for deer and I love it, and I think
(33:35):
it's becoming I like being in the conversation, and I
know that has to make you feel happy too, because
management seems to be going in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
Yeah. You know, one of the things I get to
do in the summer is actually work on our deer report,
and since we haven't had EHD, I've been able to
spend a good time working on it. And actually what
I was doing the other day was actually playing around
and looking at some of those numbers for the Boone
and Crocket reports and some of that, and you know,
we're still producing a lot of you know, awesome bucks
(34:06):
that hunters are able to harvest and then actually enter
into the record book.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
I am very happy with what I'm hearing here, and
I know that it's going to be a very busy time.
We've got a lot of folks out at the Indiana
State Fair. Connie Hudson was just talking about all the activities.
This is a great opportunity because conservation officers are out there.
If you have questions, they're always willing to ask. The
folks at the desk out there, and you can buy
(34:33):
your licenses. You can get all of the hunting guides
and all the recreation guides that are out there, and
I think your advice to check this out and be
aware of it is a wise one. So I can't
thank you enough.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
Joe.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
We may be calling you back here shortly because we're
going to get through the fair and then we're going
to be onto hunting season. But Joe, as always, thank
you for the work that you do and all the
great men and women and the biologists that help manage
our resources for the consumers out here. It's going to
be a great season.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Joe Caddell, everybody, thank you so much. We appreciate you
as always. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I your host,
Brian Pointer, don't even think about going anywhere. We're going
to be back right after this.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
And there it is.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
We are back, red lights, come on, time to talk.
And I can't thank Joe Caddell, our state, dear biologists.
People don't realize the great resource that we have in
our biologists in general, with Joe Caddell doing such a
great job, and he gave us some great news that
we haven't had a whole lot of ehd epizootic haemorrhagic
(35:54):
disease which Mother Nature seems to throw upon us from
time to time, a natural thing that causes some diseases
within our deer population and kind of be stark because
you find some dead deer and it can be troubling.
And as you heard him say, we haven't had that
as much this year, so that's a good thing. And
make sure, as you heard him say, you get the
(36:16):
updated fish or hunting regulations, because there's some new things
that have made it simpler as it pertains to bag
limits and resources to hunt our great deer in the
state of Indiana. We are so fortunate that the Indiana
is becoming and has become a destination for so many.
Of course, this is mid stream of the Indiana State Fair.
(36:40):
I have not been out there yet, shamefully got whacked
with one of these summer colds last week and couldn't
make it out. But that's going to change real soon.
We'll be out there this weekend for sure.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Take part of whatever you can in the great Indiana
State Fair. Get out and fish, get out and do
something in one of our great Indiana state parks. Do
some than in the Indiana outdoors. It's been a beautiful
midsummer here and we are grateful for that. Folks, as
we say, always remember turn in a Poacher one tip
I d n R. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
(37:14):
We're going to be back next week. Everybody'd be good
see outside
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