Indiana’s Natural Resources Commission has opened a public comment period for proposed changes to the state’s river otter trapping rules before its members vote on their final adoption.
If adopted, the changes would take effect this November in time for the river otter trapping season.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources is proposing to open regulated otter trapping statewide but keep all other otter trapping regulations the same, like statewide quota, bag limits, reporting and tagging.
“We take the responsibility of balancing differing views regarding wildlife seriously and are thoughtful about making small, incremental changes to river otter rules,” said eriann Albers, Indiana DNR’s furbearer and turkey program leader. “Indiana DNR is confident the changes will not negatively impact river otter populations, which staff will continue to monitor.
“The changes will allow people to handle emerging human-wildlife conflicts regarding river otters in counties that have not been open to river otter trapping in the past and simplify otter regulations.”
Public comments may be submitted online at IN.gov/nrc/rules/rulemaking-docket by locating the “Submit Comments Here” link in the Rulemaking Docket for the River Otter Trapping Rule. Comments also may be mailed to Natural Resources Commission, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Ave., Room N103, Indianapolis.
The deadline for submitting public comments is April 11. A public hearing also will be held from 4 and 8 p.m. April 11 in the Roosevelt Ballroom at Fort Harrison State Park Inn at 5830 N. Post Road in Indianapolis; you can attend in person or online anytime during that timeframe. To attend online, starting at 4 p.m. April 11 go to Microsoft Teams and enter meeting ID: 225 955 437 243 and passcode: xGYyKo.
For information on the proposed rule changes, visit wildlife.IN.gov/rule-regulation-changes.
Questions about the proposed river otter rule changes should be directed to Geriann Albers at 812-822-3304 or [email protected].
A total of 303 river otters were released in southern northern and southern Indiana including between 1995 and 1999. Twenty-five of those otters were released in January of 1995 at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge just east of Seymour.
The reintroduction went so well that the river otter was removed from the state-endangered list in 2005. River otter reports have been documented in most counties in Indiana and river otter will likely be statewide, though in some places at low densities in the next several years. Each year, DNR staff collect samples from river otter carcasses for population monitoring.
