indiana dnr and field trials

[jackrabbit]

i just got the agenda for the fish and wildlife conservation committee meeting. field trials are on the agenda. is there any points that you ardent field trialers would like brought up.

glen lange from fish and wildlife will lead the discusion and im already aware that he is attempting to tie pittman-roberts into the reasoning for wanting to close 100% of state ground to dog running/training for three to five months a year. on the surface it would appear that , though ill concieved as it stands, giving the wildlife a break during nesting and rearing times is good sound game management . it only takes a moment to see that there is an anti-dog sentiment brewing in the ranks of dnr. and no matter how they word their rules on opening state ground to field trialing again if three to five months is totally closed and the rest of the year is strictly regulated not much has been gained. secondly it is the contention of most of the beaglers i have talked with that there are those among us who do not have acesss to private ground , therefore some limited use of state ground ( specified dog running areas ) for them to train/run their dogs year round is also a sound and needed management practice.

with the fact that field trialing is on the agenda. i would appreciate any comments or suggestions you field trialers may have. you have always been good at lending your thoughts where needed, and i sure would like to hear then now.

jackrabbit

[Beagle]

Sounds like a way to get us out for 3-5 months then more and more.
If our dogs arn`t there the predators will move in and do more damage than our dogs. I run all kinds of gov. ground every year and very seldom have a dog kill arabbit or anything else. So what is their problem. There are a lot of people that would like to see us quit completly. why should we.
Beagle

[Don Leckrone]

The truth to the IDNR is, it is nothing more then prejudice towards hounds,the DNR dont want them on the property, and the dnr dont actually know enough about hounds to be making decissions on what is best while training dogs.
Some more truth is on dnr propertyies there is enough wildlife resting areas( no hunting) and safety grounds(no hunting) for wildlife to be resting,.
if the dnr was realy interested in seeing what type of pressure the beagles do to an area , then why havent they visited a fenced in enclosure, for example the Elkhart beagle club , manages there property,that is fenced in and the beagles are ran on rabbits all the time and the rabbits still populate right along with the rest of the wildlife that is in the enclosure. But like I said Elkhart beagle clug manages there property with wildlife in mind. Not Prejudice attitude of I dont like hearing your coyote pack running a coyote, or rabbit ,or treeing a coon. People that are in charge of Indiana dnr will not take our outdoor sports away all at once it will be whittled away little at a time, all in the name of its best for the wildlife.

[Jim Stinnett]

I am interested in any meetings that the DNR has on running beagles in the off season. I am against any closing of sate land to beaglers. Please email me any details. Thanks Jim Stinnett bbbeagles@netnitco.net

[otisdog]

I would like to here more about why. We all know it is just an excuse to stop us from running our dogs. 15 years my dogs has not harmed a baby.
Besides if we take the running dogs out the predators will move in and do more damage. They understand one side of the story. thank you Beagle

[jackrabbit]

don hit this thing right on the head really guys. dnr doesnt want to have dogs on the land.

two years ago the upper wabash valley reservoir managers tried to take us out from feb 28 to oct 1 and they were stopped. then edwards and white tried to get the "small game management area" started. again they were stopped. but the next time they did everything quietly and got the approval without john davis hearing the whole story. we got some relief on it , but it was to late to completely stop it. now they want to close all dog running for three to five months.

WHY....? they will tell you its to give the small game and upland birds a chance to reproduce without being disturbed. WHATS REALLY GOING ON...? pittman-roberts had such an outcry about field trials that they redefined their position and it opened pittman-roberts funded land to field trials again. ( field trials that dont include horse riding judges that is, meaning birddog trials) indiana is the last state to give it back. and they are being real selfish about it. just a few properties and a few acres. but the gist of the thing is that the property managers are positioning themselves to exclude the property they managed from becoming field trial friendly.


bob Kane in ohio feels that closing the ground during that period is sound game management and tells me i am the worst kind of person to defend hunter rights.( but dont forget that bob is a bird man and the quail numbers are down, not because of dogs, but because of lack of habitat.) our contention is that even good solid game management must be tempered by the needs of the hunters footing the bill for the land. the research ive been doing indicates that the quiet time for the animals is not at all needed. even if it were, there should be sufficient land left open year round to work and train the dogs that make our sport. salamonie is 8500 acres. a 1000 of those acres should be open all the time for dog running/training....... end of discussion...lol.

its become apparent that dnr wants to keep the dogs off the land. its important that you call or contact dnr to express your disgust. john davis number is 317-232-4025 and hes looking forward to your call....lol.

yes i will keep everyone posted on whats transpiring as i find out myself.

jackrabbit

[Stone Cold Beagles]

Jack

You might want to ask them exactly where the money comes from to fund state owned and managed ground. I would hate to think that a particular group of people in the state of Indiana would be denied the use of state ground ( that they pay for non the less ) because of the outdoor activites they enjoy, while others are welcomed. Separation by segregation and predjudice acts have been deemed illegal by the state, I would hope that in some way this would apply here. Were counting on you Jack.

[jackrabbit]

chris. ive had this discussion already with several differant levels of dnr. they point out that while money for most fish and wildlife areas come from state dnr coffers (they have a difficult denying this, since most of them have large signs that read this property was purchased and maintained by the efforts of the hunter, fisherman, and trapper,) and are real quick to attempt to claim that since reservoir areas are not owned by the state, merely leased from the corp of engineers that no state dnr money is used. the funds come from federal assistance. and they begin to mumble and stutter when asked what non-tax funds they have. federal tax dollars, whether its pittman-roberts or where it comes from is nothing more than the feds taking our tax money and redistributing it on some sort of state by state ratio. and in the case of land funded by pittman-roberts. its 75% our reallocated tax dollars and 25% state funding. i will re-ask the question to see if i get a "new" answer.

by the way folks pittman-roberts is an act that adds a 14% federal tax on every gun, bow, box of ammo, and many other huntng/fishing sport purchases. it then funds state conservation programs on a 75% /25% basis. the amount reallocated back to the states is determined not on the amount each state contributes , but by the number of licenses sold. so no matter how they present it.... it is your tax dollars being used.

wouldnt it be cute to see the dnr employees at the front of wal-mart selling baked goods to raise money to pay their salary.....?

jackrabbit

[mariner]

I'm from the east coast Canada, we have not been able to run dogs from April through to July. This meant trials had to start in March right after hare season, sounds not too bad except driving was hazardous,weather unpredictable, and a 6 foot high fence has 4 feet of snow in it.Some trials were cancelled, probably got lower enrties, and I haven't been to one yet, I have to go to work Monday morning, as alot of beaglers don't.
I agree with what you are saying here, our situation probably arose from guys running thier dogs to close to the public,causing them to report to the dnr and thus the dnr finding this one way to keep some peace.Please keep out of the publics eyes and ears and you will have less problems.Going to the public hearings etc. is you're best bet with as much support as possible as the anti's seem to always be there.
Mariner

[jackrabbit]

at the last fwcc meeting indiana dnr did refer to the group as a hook and bullet group and wondered if they should invite audiban or other non-game groups to attend...... wonder if it will be peta, alf, or the humain society....lol. sands strange, but ive heard rumors that dnr, the wildlife federation and the sportsmans roundtable were at a meeting high fence hunting and peta members were there. seems like real strange bed fellows. i hope it isnt true