Why It Matters: Following an overhaul of the state’s regulatory processes by the Indiana General Assembly, the process through which harvest quotas are set in the Hoosier State has been significantly complicated. Rather than harvest quotas being set based on population data collected by the Indiana DNR, those quotas must now be set through a laborious and lengthy formal rulemaking process, which may be susceptible to misinformation by well-organized anti-hunting groups.
Highlights:
- An overhaul of the regulatory process has made the method for setting harvest quotas long-used by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) obsolete, and now requires that quotas are set through a lengthy, formal process by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC).
- This means that anti-hunting organizations can flood NRC meetings and spread misinformation about how wildlife populations ought to be managed, despite contradicting the science, and may be able to influence quota decisions.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and partners will continue to support science-based fish and wildlife management, but the Hoosier sporting community must leverage its voice as well.
During the 2023 legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation that overhauled the effectiveness of emergency rules promulgated by state agencies, including the Indiana DNR. Staffed with wildlife experts that collect extensive data to inform science-based decisions, the DNR has long relied on emergency rulemaking to set annual harvest quotas. However, under the new law, emergency rules expire after 180 days and cannot be repeatedly extended, meaning that the Indiana NRC must go through a laborious formal process to set annual quotas for each species, each year.
This opens the door for well-funded anti-hunting and animal rights organizations to flood NRC meetings and spread misinformation intended to undermine the DNR and NRC’s ability to actively manage wildlife populations, especially for predators and furbearers. Next month, the NRC could potentially hear testimony relating to the harvest quota for bobcats, following the passage of a bill requiring that a season be created for them, which CSF worked closely with Indiana Legislative Sportsmen Caucus members to pass and enact.
Rather than being driven solely by data collected by the DNR and the needs of the rapidly expanding bobcat population, the decision-making process will now be inevitably influenced by groups that portray themselves as having the best interest of wildlife without any science supporting their claims. Considering the coordination of anti-hunting groups in public forums like NRC meetings, and the deleterious impacts that their misinformation can have on both hunting and trapping opportunities for sportsmen and women and on the populations themselves, it is critical that sportsmen and women leverage their voice to support the work of state fish wildlife agencies. Although many hunters, trappers, and anglers prefer the solitude of the woods and waters, it is important to remember that without our voice, that solitude can be taken.
