Programs & Activities
Programs & Activities
Hoosier River Watch
Hoosier Riverwatch is a state-sponsored water quality monitoring initiative. The program was started in 1994 to increase public awareness of water quality issues and concerns by training volunteers to monitor stream water quality. Hoosier Riverwatch collaborates with agencies and volunteers to:
Provide education and training on watersheds and the relationship between land use and water quality.
Increase public involvement in water quality issues.
Promote responsible stewardship of water resources.
Provide water quality information to citizens and government officials working to protect Indiana’s rivers and streams.
Hoosier Riverwatch is sponsored by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Division of Fish and Wildlife. Funding is provided in part by the Federal Sport Fish Restoration Fund.
The Diana Chapter tries to hold at least (4) River Watch testing/sampling days each year. Check our calendar page for the current schedule and please feel free to drop in and lend a hand.
Adopt a River
Hoosier Riverwatch is seeking community groups, youth groups, businesses, schools, families, and environmental organizations like our Diana Chapter to participate in the Adopt-A-River program. Volunteer groups who commit to cleaning at least a ½ mile stream segment twice per year for two years will be recognized with a large, colorful sign erected along a highway nearest the "adopted" site. For a complete list of guidelines, download the AAR Application. In general, the following guidelines apply:
Volunteer groups may participate in the program. A group is identified as two or more people. At least a ½ mile segment of a flowing waterway (river, stream, creek, ditch) must be adopted. Cleanups must be held at least twice per year (with at least four months between each), with at least a two-year commitment. Private property and public access rights along waterways must be observed. Liability waivers must be signed by each volunteer. The adopting group must sign a Statement of Nondiscrimination.
Hoosier Rierwatch reserves the right to determine the eligibility of streams (or sections of streams) for consideration in the AAR program.
The Diana Chapter typically holds our "River Clean-ups" during our River Watch testing, since we are already on the water. It is amazing what we find during the clean-ups. Boats have returned at the club completely full to the gunnels with trash.
Hunter Education Classes
Let the Diana Chapter help you fulfill the Indiana requirements for Hunters Safety. Heck, we even provide lunch and ammo! How could it get any better?
What You'll Learn:
Learn about hunter responsibility and ethics
Discover how firearms work and learn about firearm safety
Improve your wildlife identification, game care, survival and first aid skills
Develop firearm handling skills and hunting techniques
Increase awareness about wildlife conservation and management
Receive your official Indiana Hunter Education Certificate.
Hunter education is not just for kids and not just for hunters. The program is for all folks who enjoy the outdoors and have an interest in conservation.
The course can also be an excellent refresher for veteran hunters.
Trap shoots
These are very informal, relaxed shooting with friends and family. Sure, we keep score but who's really counting anyway? Keep an eye out for scheduled dates on the "Calendar" page.
R3 Program:
According to recent conservative estimates, there are about 13.7 million hunters and more than 40 million shooting sports participants in the United States.
Their combined activities support more than 1.5 million jobs and produce nearly $110 billion in economic impact annually. Hunters and recreational shooters have generated more than $10.5 billion for the conservation of wildlife and their habitats (see Hunters Fund Conservation and Recreation article). Indiana alone has received over $178 million in federal assistance for wildlife conservation.
However, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service records, national participation in hunting declined 18 percent since it peaked in 1982.
Present trends suggest that the decline will continue while the average age of Hoosier hunters increases. With many baby boomers aging out of hunting participation, the need to engage a new segment of the population is increasingly important in order to sustain future wildlife conservation activities.
To counter the decline, Indiana is part of a national movement to reverse the trend. It’s called Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3).
R3 experts are working to identify the complexity of the challenge, hoping to stabilize and increase hunting and shooting sports participants. R3 efforts focused on hunting are needed now more than ever to ensure the hunting heritage of Hoosiers remains relevant.
In Indiana, the hunting, trapping, and shooting sports R3 program is administered by the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Hoosier Outdoor Heritage (HOH) program. The goal of HOH is to teach people how to hunt, trap, and enjoy the shooting sports in a safe and secure manner. HOH puts on 40-60 events and workshops per year. Events range from single-day events to multi-day workshops. Single-day events, like family dove hunts, pair participants new to hunting with seasoned mentors and provide high quality hunting opportunities. Multi-day workshops, like the Learn to Hunt Deer workshop, provide participants all the knowledge, experience, and practice to try deer hunting for the first time.
For more information on HOH and its events, visit www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2701.htm. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer hunting, trapping, or shooting sports mentor, contact the HOH Coordinator by email at Learn2Hunt@dnr.in.gov.
These events are typically held in cooperation with our local, State Fish & Wildlife Areas and are focused on getting the young people we put through our Hunter Safety Courses back out into the field. Check the "Photo's" pages for photos of our Youth Dove Hunts and Rabbit Hunts. Educating children and adults on firearms safety through the Hunter Education Classes is really ony the first step. Getting the graduates out into the field and having them practice what we've preached is where the "rubber meets the road" so to speak. With experienced mentors by their sides to make sure everyone stays safe, no body goes home without a smile ..... but everyone makes it home! That's what safety is all about.
Save Our Streams (SOS)
SOS is a national watershed education and outreach program. Since 1969, we have cleaned-up stream corridors, monitored stream health, and restored degraded stream banks.
The Diana Chapter participates in the Hoosier River Watch program but many chapters, especially those outside of Indiana, choose to take advantage of the SOS program.
For more information on Save Our Streams take a look at leagues website and consider getting involved!