“I have read many definitions of what is a conservationist, and written not a few myself, but I suspect that the best one is written not with a pen, but with an axe. It is a matter of what a man thinks about while chopping, or while deciding what to chop. A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke he is writing his signature on the face of his land.” (Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac) In the past, we have written about the importance of science-based forest ...

New Public Land Acquisition a Win for Us All! As you’ve probably already heard, Indiana DNR recently acquired 4,000 acres in Sullivan County. In a world where so much conservation news is about the loss of habitat, access, and opportunity, this is fantastic news! The new conservation area, Busseron Creek Fish & Wildlife Area (FWA), will be familiar to some Hoosier hunters and anglers. The property, once leased by the DNR, used to be known at Minnehaha FWA. In 2016, the leasing arrangement ...

A Brief History of White-tailed Deer in Indiana “It’s hard to treat natural resources casually when you know that generations have fought for them” (Jim Posewitz) Introduction In November 2021, Indiana resident Dustin Huff shot a 212 inch buck on a 185-acre Indiana farm, destroying the previous state record, and sitting comfortably in position as the second biggest typical whitetail of all time. As many a Hoosier hunter can attest, this behemoth is not necessarily representative of the deer ...

  The Indiana Chapter of BHA hosted their 4th annual Rendezvous at Rockville Lake Park Campground this last weekend. The event was a massive success and rollicking good time!Three dozen people descended on the Rockville Lake Park property Friday afternoon and kicked things off with cold beverages around the campfire, stories of success and near misses on big game public land hunts, and some folks enjoyed late night catfishing.      Saturday began with a stewardship event, including trail ...

On Saturday, July 13th and Sunday, July 14th, the Indiana chapter put in some serious work at the Willow Slough FWA, a 10,000 acre property near Morocco, Indiana. This property borders Illinois, so it was fitting that we had two members from the Illinois chapter join us. The property manager, Mike Schoof, is in the process of changing the boundaries of the waterfowl resting area in order to create better conditions for migratory birds. We helped out by removing signs from areas of the ...