Enforcement of New Policy to Begin in July at All Indiana FWA Properties

A couple of months ago, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources made the announcement of a new policy that would be impacting visitors to the 23 Fish and Wildlife Areas (FWA) across the state and they now say that enforcement will begin starting in July.

This includes the Evansville-area's own Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area. The new policy that is now in effect is really rather simple - visitors to any Indiana FWA must first stop at a designated location on the property to sign in and acquire a permit that must then be kept with them while on the FWA property. Once a visitor is ready to leave the state-owned property, the permit must then be returned to the designated box at the sign-in location. According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources,

All visitors must obtain a one-day access permit before entering the field, regardless of their activity. Visitors must keep their one-day access permit on them while visiting and must complete and return their permit to a self-service booth, drop-box, or the office before leaving

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For Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area, the sign-in location is located just off Boonville-New Harmony Road at Parking Lot #16, adjacent to the South Blue Grass Pit, according to the Friends of Blue Grass FWA Facebook page. They also say on the page that the enforcement by the Department of Natural Resources is expected to begin in July.

While the purpose of the one-day permits are not exactly clear, if you do plan to spend any time at Blue Grass FWA or any of the other 22 FWA properties across the Hoosier State, you'll want to make sure that take the time to stop and get one, whether you're hiking, fishing, boating or just out to photograph nature. The one-day permits don't cost anything but they may save you some money in the event that an Indiana Conservation Officer stops and asks to see yours.