For the first time ever, Hoosier hunters will be allowed to seek turkeys during a new fall season. Check the latest regulations for specifics on where hunting will be allowed. Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Each year, Indiana Game & Fish magazine provides an update for its readers on what's going on with the major game species in our state. Here, correspondent Javier Serna interviews Wildlife Chief Glenn Lange for some insight on the latest hot topics. Here's what Chief Lange had to say.

Game & Fish: As biologists expected, the one-buck rule seems to be having minimal impact during its first three years. What would need to happen in the last two years of the program to make it permanent? And is five years really long enough to see if it may be working?

Lange: We'd need to see that the age of the antlered bucks is actually increasing. That's the measured goal. But deer hunters are evenly split on this issue. We're running an experiment to see what happens. But so far, we've not seen any change. You normally see some ups and downs each year, and I think five years is enough. That's really the minimum amount of time. Some folks wanted us to look at it for only a few years. When five years is up, we'll bring the figures to the public and see what the public thinks.

G&F: Is there concern that big bucks would put more private lands into leasing situations and eliminate opportunities for the average hunter?

Lange: Leasing is a concern. If it becomes a common thing, that will reduce access to those who won't or can't supply the money to private landowners for a lease. For years, we've had generally good access to private land. If that changes drastically, it's going to hurt the average deer hunter. And it will reduce our ability to control the deer herd in Indiana because we'll be harvesting fewer does.

If the legislators get involved in managing deer, I don't think the hunters are going to like the result. We're going to have to be careful about this leasing business. We need to be able to harvest enough does. Currently about 3 percent of farm operators are leasing their property, according to our most recent survey.

G&F: Has anything changed so far in the efforts to keep chronic wasting disease (CWD) out of Indiana?

Lange: Nothing has changed. We continue to do sampling. We concentrated our sampling in the northwestern part of the state because of Illinois' cases of CWD, which are about 70 miles away from our border. We also are concentrating on counties with deer farms. We have not had any positive tests, which is a good thing. We are continuing to urge the Board of Animal Health to do everything in their power to prevent the import of animals that might bring in CWD.

G&F: Russ Bellar of Peoria was recently convicted of various counts connected with his high-fenced deer "hunting" operation, which was the largest in the state. What will it mean down the road?

Lange: That's going to play itself out in the public arena. I don't want to speculate on what that might mean. Obviously, he broke a number of state regulations and was convicted of several crimes. It should be real clear to everyone what the current regulations are.