Last Chance to Give Your Input on the Rule to Kill Bobcats
This Thursday, August 27, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold its second and final public hearing on changes to the rule, 312 IAC 9, to allow more trapping and for the first time, hunting, of bobcats in Indiana.
The DNR’s Regulatory Analysis of the rule points to research from Purdue University primarily of suitable bobcat habitat in the state to support the rule’s proposed increase in the bobcats that can be killed annually in 40 Indiana counties from 250 to 400. The bobcat hunting and trapping season will last from November 8, 2026, through January 31, 2027 or close earlier if the 400-cat quota is met. The Analysis refers to more damages in livestock taken by bobcats but offers no costs or estimates of the livestock lost and acknowledges that farmers may take bobcats that threaten their livestock. The Analysis estimates that DNR will take in $184,500 from sales of bobcat hunting and trapping licenses while incurring only $596 in costs to administer the rule, and further that hunters and trappers will earn an estimated $15,200 from selling bobcat hides. Thus, rather than managing bobcat populations, the rule seems to be aimed at generating increased revenue for DNR’s Fish and Wildlife Fund.
Critics also note significant bobcat deaths on Indiana’s roads acknowledged by the Analysis and assert that there is a lack of in- depth population studies to justify the increase in the quota or any hunting and trapping season at all. The DNR’s Analysis fails to estimate the bobcat’s population in Indiana. Yet, using a Purdue population model, the Analysis predicts that even with the highest survival rate of bobcat kittens (35%), an annual harvest rate of 400 animals added to continued high road deaths, will drive down the state’s bobcat population over time, (see Figure 7 at: https://iar.iga.in.gov/register/20260415-IR-312260098RAA).
The hearing will take place from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the Roosevelt Room at the Fort Harrison Inn, 5830 N. Post Road, Fort Ben State Park in Indianapolis. Those who can’t attend in person can watch or participate in the hearing live by clicking this Microsoft Teams link. The public can also submit written comments by the end of Thursday online to DNR at this same link or by mailing them to:
Natural Resources Commission C/O Indiana DNR Legal Division 402 W. Washington St., Room W-261 Indianapolis, IN 46204
Bobcats like this one in the Hoosier National Forest are well established only in southern Indiana. Photo credit: IFA.
A High-Quality Wetland Could be on the Chopping Block in Indianapolis
Also on Thursday, the Marion County Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC) will hold a hearing on zoning Petition 2026-MOD-003 to fill in a wetland on 10 acres of vacant land for a large truck repair and sales plaza near I-65 on Indianapolis’ southside. The wetland, located at 8600 Combs Road in Franklin Township, is part of a wildlife mecca that extends into adjacent property and forest to the south.
The grassroots group, Wetlands Not Warehouses and Hoosier Environmental Council have fought off previous zoning proposals and been working to save this 45-acre ecosystem of natural habitat as a park. The storm water storage value of this wetland and the adjacent forest in the headwaters of the Pleasant Run watershed is immense and protects hundreds of downstream homes. Beyond greatly increasing runoff onto downstream properties, filling in this wetland will likely have a major adverse impact on the hydrology of the remaining wetland and forest in the adjacent property and substantially degrade the natural value of the remaining area for a park.
To save this wetland, please attend the MDC hearing on August 27 to voice your opposition to Petition 2026-MOD-003. Wetland advocates are urging folks to sign up to provide oral testimony, and/or wear red and bring a small sign (2 by 3 feet or smaller, hand held, no poles). The hearing will be held at the City-County Building, Public Assembly Room, 2nd Floor, 200 E. Washington Street, Indianapolis, starting at 1:00 pm.
The great egret (upper left), redheaded woodpecker (upper right) and bald eagle (below) are just some of the wildlife dependent upon the Combs Road wetland that will be destroyed if Petition 2026-MOD-003 is approved. Photos by Robin Heldman, Wetlands Not Warehouses.
Massive Salvage Logging is to Begin in Morgan-Monroe State Forest
On August 4, 2026, IFA submitted comments on a massive salvage logging operation proposed on 56 tracts comprising 2,860 acres of Morgan-Monroe State Forest that were damaged by the June 17, 2026 tornado. While IFA believes that salvaging damaged or downed trees that block trails or threaten public safety is needed, more than 850 acres of this salvage is proposed to be clear-cut with the remaining area subjected to logging that is not well defined and all to be done by private timber buyers. Widespread prescribed burning, also not delineated, is to follow. More controls are needed. Some areas should be left alone for nature to restore through natural succession. To read IFA’s comments, click here.
IFA Submits Detailed Comments on the Mountain Tea State Forest Public Access Improvement Project
On August 17, IFA submitted comments on this project also called the “Pumpkin Ridge Road Project.” Instead of a paved highway to the tranquil Mountain Tea State Forest, the state should simply improve the gravel road that is already there and provide trail access from Salt Creek Road that borders the other side of this State Forest. A healthy dose of common sense will save Indiana a lot of funds, avoid tearing up a lot of forest, and conserve Mountain Tea for public enjoyment as a State Wild Area. Some of the saved funds could then be used to construct the Tecumseh Trail’s railroad crossing at Indian Hill thereby extending the Knobstone Trail eventually from New Albany to Martinsville. To read IFA’s comments on the Pumpkin Ridge Road Project click here.