Indiana DNR News Release, 2-16-2010

If Canada geese have become a problem on your property, attend one of six seminars being presented in March by the Department of Natural Resources' Urban Wildlife Project

The seminars will cover various aspects of Canada goose management, including relevant laws, basic biology, and methods to control goose damage. A demonstration on the proper techniques for egg and nest destruction will follow. Adhering to proper techniques is vital—if eggs are broken or completely removed from nests, the females will just lay another clutch of eggs.

The population of Canada geese in the Mississippi Flyway exceeds 1.5 million birds. Destroying eggs and nests in urban areas is helpful in controlling these numbers in areas where hunting cannot, which can reduce conflicts with people and Canada geese. Federal rules allow landowners properly registered with the Fish and Wildlife Service to complete Canada goose egg and nest destruction on their own property. Registrants must provide a summary report of their Canada goose nest destruction activities to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Oct. 31. Failure to report can result in privileges being revoked for the forthcoming year.

All seminars run from 9:30 a.m. to approximately noon. All interested landowners, managers of corporate campuses, golf course or park employees, and the general public are invited. Seminars will take place on the following dates and locations:

• March 8: Community Center in Clarksville
• March 10: Recreation Building 701 inside Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis
• March 11: Delaware County Fairground’s Heartland Hall in Muncie.
• March 22: Salomon Farm Visitors Center in Fort Wayne
• March 23: Potato Creek State Park Nature Center near North Liberty
• March 24: Lake County Extension Service Office in Crown Point.

The classes are free, and no registration is required. For further information, call the DNR’s Urban Wildlife Biologist, (812) 334-1137 or e-mail swinks@dnr.IN.gov.

By Jed Pearson, DNR Biologist

As anglers catch more and more white bass at Lake Wawasee, biologists worry the feisty, silver-colored fish will not be good for Indiana’s largest lake. White bass, a fish found more often in southern Indiana reservoirs, continued to show up in angler catches this past winter, prompting concerns that they could have adverse effects on the lake’s ecology. Ice-fishermen reportedly caught several measuring over 17 inches long and weighing nearly three pounds.

Prior to 2003, there were no records that white bass were present in the lake, according to Jed Pearson, Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist. Since then they have been routinely caught by anglers and have shown up in fish population surveys.

Pearson doesn’t know how the white bass got into Wawasee originally but suspects some anglers may have caught them at other lakes and transported them to Wawasee. Catching fish from one lake and stocking them into another lake without a permit from the Division of Fish and Wildlife is illegal.

Pearson says white bass do not occur naturally in Indiana lakes located in the Lake Michigan watershed, including Wawasee, but they are present in several lakes that drain into the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers. “White bass are present in nearby Lake Tippecanoe and the Barbee Lakes, so someone may have caught them there and taken them to Wawasee,” says Pearson. “No permit was or would have been issued for the stocking them in Wawasee.”

“In lakes where white bass occur naturally, they feed mostly on gizzard shad,” said Pearson. “As a result, they have little impact on lake ecology where shad are present.” But Wawasee does not contain shad, so white bass there may feed on other sport fish in the lake.

Pearson is concerned that as white bass numbers increase, they may eat enough small perch, bluegills, crappies, largemouth bass, or other sport fish to affect overall fishing quality at Wawasee. “We’re not sure what the long-term consequences might be,” says Pearson. “It probably depends on what level of abundance the white bass ultimately achieve.”

The second annual Northern Indiana Lakes Festival will take place this year on Saturday, June 26 at Center Lake in Warsaw.  Last year's festival was a huge success with 1,000 children and adult visitors, 30+ lake-related business and education vendors, and a full day of family-friendly fun.  Find out more about what is in store at this year's Lake Festival at www.NorthernIndianaLakesFestival.org. 

We are currently seeking sponsors, exhibitors, and volunteers for this year's festival.  If you or your business would like to become a Lakes Friend sponsor of the festival, if you have a lake-related business and would like to exhibit at the festival, or if you just want to volunteer your time to help things run smoothly at the festival, please contact us!  E-mail KLASinfo@grace.edu or telwf@kconline.com for more information.

And don't forget to mark your calendars now to attend the 2010 Northern Indiana Lakes Festival - the premeire lake event in Northern Indiana!

Thank-you to Northern Indiana Lakes Magazine - our Lakes Visionary Sponsor of the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival.  Lakes Visionary sponsors contribute $3,000 more in cash, goods, or services to the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival.

Kosciusko Lakes and Streams (KLAS) and the Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation (TWF) are both expanding to offer new job opportunities within their organizations.  If you or someone you know is interested in joining us in our work, please check out the job announcements below and submit your application by the specified dates.

KLAS is a community water-quality program centered at Grace College which is focused on protecting and enhancing the quality of our local water resources through research, education, and collaboration.  KLAS is seeking an individual to fill the full-time position of Program Manager.  Applications are preferred by 3/31/2010 .  Click here for the full job announcement.

TWF is seeking a motivated, versatile, professional individual for a 2-year contract position as Watershed Coordinator to implement the Upper Tippecanoe River Watershed Management Plan. Deadline for applications is 3/12/2010 . Click here for the full job announcement.

Copyright (C) 2009 Grace College All rights reserved.                                                                         

Unsubscribe your email from this list.                                                                                                      Subscribe to this newsletter.