Be knowledgeable of your local officials and assist them in their understanding of the importance of wildlife and its need for habitat.

If you know a landowner who is interested in improving wildlife habitat on his/her property, have them contact their district wildlife biologist and set up an appointment to have the biologist come out to the property and discuss habitat development opportunities and cost-share assistance programs available through the DFW and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It is our district wildlife biologists’ job to know what programs are available, who qualifies, and how and when to enroll or apply for assistance.

Many farmers have very little time during the crop-planting season to help develop wildlife habitat. Volunteering your time and other hunters’ time to get habitat development work done may make the difference as to whether habitat work gets implemented or not.

Contact a local Fish and Wildlife property to ask about volunteering for projects or establishing a group that would/could assist in property projects.

WHITE-TAILED DEER
Deer and wildlife research biologist Chad Stewart answers questions on deer.

G&F: How is Indiana’s deer herd doing? Is it growing, shrinking, or maintaining a healthy and stable size?

Stewart: Over the past couple of years, the statewide trends have shown that the deer herd has been slowly reduced, about 4 to 5 percent annually. Of course, there are places where local herds are growing or declining significantly different from the statewide average.

G&F: How successful was the 2007 deer-hunting season?

Stewart: We are still compiling data, so we’re not sure if the harvest will reach the levels from the past three years, but it looks like the 2007 season will be a top 5 year, as far as total harvest goes.

G&F: Everyone is worried the epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) was causing deer mortality concerns in the southern part of the state. With the information you presently have, what is the situation with EHD in Indiana?

Stewart: The 2007 season yielded more reports of dead or dying deer, presumably from EHD, than any other year in history. We confirmed EHD in 17 counties and suspected it occurred in 59 counties in total. Some counties were hit much harder than others, though we don’t yet know to what extent that will be.

G&F: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is also of great concern to sportsmen. Were there any cases of CWD reported in 2007? And would you please elaborate on the protective measures that are in place to stop or minimize CWD?

Stewart: All of the samples we have submitted as part of our ongoing surveillance program have been returned to us, and no CWD prions were detected in any sample. Our CWD surveillance occurs year ’round, with biologists acting on any reports of sick deer, along with testing of hunter harvested deer and road-killed deer.