Administrative Rule (Regulation) Changes
DEER HUNTING RULE CHANGES
The Natural Resources Commission gave final adoption to the changes to the deer hunting rules in September of 2011. The objective of the proposals is to focus deer herd reduction in a strategically targeted manner to more adequately balance ecological, recreational and economic needs of the citizens of Indiana.
Click here for Deer Rule Proposals Fact Sheet.
Below is a summary of the changes to the deer hunting rules:
Summary of Deer Rule Changes
Definitions
- Moves the definition of crossbow to the definitions section, instead of defining it in 312 IAC 9-3-3
- Adds a definition of ground blind
General Requirements and Licenses
- Adds the new nonresident youth deer license types
- Adds license requirements for the new special antlerless season
- Adds the new deer license bundle for the special youth, archery, firearms, muzzleloader, and special antlerless seasons
- Requires a new crossbow license to take a deer with a crossbow during the archery season (the archery license would continue to allow an individual to hunt deer during the archery season with a long bow or compound bow)
- Requires a new urban deer zone license to take a deer in an urban deer zone during the urban deer season when taking additional deer towards the urban deer zone bag limit
- Requires hunter orange for youth hunters during the youth special deer season and during the new antlerless only season; hunter orange is already required for all deer hunters during the firearms and muzzleloader seasons
- Requires at least 144 square inches of hunter orange material that is visible from any direction on a ground blind used while deer hunting during a season when a hunter is already required to wear hunter orange
- Requires the owner’s name and address on ground blinds used on department properties
- Clarifies tagging requirements for harvested deer
- Adds a definition of the new deer license bundle that would allow 1 antlered deer and 2 antlerless deer to be taken during the special youth, archery, firearms, muzzleloader, and special antlerless seasons combined (at a reduced price)
Hunting Equipment
- Allows a crossbow to be used by any hunter during the archery season with a special crossbow license (unless the person has a resident youth consolidated hunting license, a comprehensive lifetime hunting license, or is exempt from needing a license)
- Allows any hunter to use a crossbow in an urban deer zone during the urban deer season
- Allows a rifle cartridge to have a maximum case length of 1.8 inches instead of 1.625 inches
Seasons and Bag Limits
- Allows youth hunters to take the number of antlerless deer allowed in each county during the special youth deer season (in addition to one antlered deer)
- Changes the archery season to a single season that runs from October 1 through the first Sunday in January
- Extends the urban deer season through January 31 of the following year
- Requires hunters to take at least one antlerless deer prior to taking an antlered deer in an urban deer zone during the urban deer season
- Expands the urban deer zones in Lake and Porter counties to all of those counties
- Adds a special antlerless deer only firearms season in counties with an antlerless quota of 4 or more deer from December 26 through the first Sunday in January of the following year. The hunter may take the number of antlerless deer in each county allowed under the bonus county quota.
- Proposed Deer Season Chart
Military Reserves and National Wildlife Refuges
- Opens the firearms season on designated military reserves and national wildlife refuges on October 1 instead of November 1
- Adds the new nonresident youth deer hunting license types
Click here to view the final rule language.
The Natural Resources Commission gave the rule package final adoption at their meeting on September 20, 2011. These rule changes will be in effect for the 2012 deer seasons.
If you sign up for Wild Bulletin, a free e-mail service from DNR, or check our website periodically, you will find updates as we move through the rule process. Click here to sign up for Wild Bulletin.
SMALLMOUTH BASS PROPOSED RULE CHANGES
The DNR proposed changes that will replace the minimum size limit of twelve inches for black bass taken from rivers or streams with a requirement that black bass taken from rivers and streams must be less than 12 inches long or more than 15 inches long, with not more than 2 being greater than 15 inches long. The bag limit of five (5) in aggregate per day will remain the same. The DNR believes that this proposed slot limit will afford increased protection for smallmouth bass populations and may increase the quality of smallmouth bass fishing opportunities in certain streams.
View the proposed rule language
The public comment period is now closed. All comments sent to the Natural Resources Commission regarding these rule changes will be provided to Commission members and Department of Natural Resources staff and will be publicly disclosed and searchable on the internet and in a paper docket as part of the final report. The Natural Resources Commission will have an opportunity to review all of the public comments before making a final decision at a meeting next year.
POSSESSION LIMIT RULE PACKAGE
The Divisions of Law Enforcement and Fish and Wildlife have proposed amendments to several rules in 312 IAC 9 to clarify that harvested wild animals that are processed and retained at the individual’s primary residence are no longer considered part of the possession limit for that wild animal. For example, carcasses of squirrels that are skinned and located in the individual’s freezer at their primary residence would no longer be considered to be part of that individual’s possession limit for squirrels.
Currently, there are different interpretations about whether or not the possession limit of a wild animal applies to packaged meat or filets wrapped and located in a person’s freezer in his/her home. The Division of Law Enforcement established a committee to review this issue and develop recommendations. Officers have also reviewed other state’s laws relative to possession limits, and several other states either already have or are in the process of changing their laws to clarify when the possession limit applies.
Therefore, the DNR has proposed to exempt wild animals (including fish) that have been processed, as defined in 312 IAC 9-1-12.6, and stored at the individual’s primary residence, as defined in 312 IAC 9-1-12.5, from the possession limit for that species of animal. Provisions are also made in 312 IAC 9-2-8 to allow an individual to carry harvested animals for another person while in the field or transporting from the field and to authorize the gifting of carcasses of wild animals from the hunter to another individual. The DNR has also modified the definition of “possession” in 312 IAC 9-1-12 to deal with various interpretations of “possession” of both live and dead animals.
The changes to 312 IAC 9-5-6 governing the collection and possession of reptiles and amphibians are needed to clarify the daily bag limit and possession limits for these species. This rule currently states that a person can take and possess no more than 4 of most species of reptiles and amphibians, but it does not specify live or dead and does not establish a taking period (season) for species other than bullfrogs and green frogs. Therefore, the DNR is proposing a 365-day taking period (season) to match the license year (a hunting or fishing license is required to take them from the wild) and make the limit 4 per year (April 1 through March 31 of the following year).
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