Got Nature? Blog

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.  Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Indiana 4-H, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”

The full publication is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods. Threats to species health as well as also insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided through additional resources as well as the Hardwoods of the Central Midwest exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.

This week, we meet the persimmon or Diospyros virginiana, one of Indiana’s fruit producing trees.

The alternately held leaves of persimmon are oval shaped with smooth margins, with no lobes or teeth. The thick dark green leaves turn yellow or reddish-purple in the fall. The buds are dark colored, while leaf stems are light brown.

The bark resembles alligator hide with deep broken ridges, often with an orange coloring between the ridges.

The fruit, a pumpkin orange colored fleshy plum-like fruit, is a standout characteristic and is favored by both wildlife and humans. Once it ripens and falls from the tree, persimmon is soft and sweet. If picked from the tree, this fruit can be green, very hard, gummy in texture and acidic. The seed count in persimmon is variable with some seedless varieties and some with as many as 10 seeds.

Persimmon trees, which grow 35 to 60 feet tall, are native to southern Indiana but can be found planted across the state. This species grows best in full sun and in moist, well-drained soils, but are tolerant of alkaline soil, clay, dry sites, and occasional drought. The natural range of the persimmon is the lower Midwest and southeastern United States reaching up into southern Illinois.

For full article with additional photos view: Intro to Trees of Indiana: Persimmon, Forestry and Natural Resources’ News.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Other Resources:
Hardwoods of the Central Midwest: Persimmon
ID That Tree: Persimmon
Morton Arboretum: Persimmon
Persimmons, The Education Store
Persimmon, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue Fort Wayne
The Woody Plant Seed Manual, U.S. Forest Service
Fifty Trees of the Midwest app for the iPhone, The Education Store
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube playlist
Woodland Management Moment , Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube playlist

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

---

Do you want to learn how to manage and keep your woodlands healthy and prosperous? Want to learn how to start and where to get help? These spring workshops and courses from Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources will offer the chance to reach your goals. Discussions will include tree identification, forest history and ecology, forest management planning, considerations for selling timber, forest economics and taxation, herbicides, errosion control and wildlife habitat management. Ask the experts as these courses are taught by experienced foresters, wildlife biologists and natural resource professionals.

February 14th – April 4th, 6-9 pm, with the tour 9am-12pm
Forest Management for the Private Woodland Owner Washington County Workshop, 8 Tuesday evenings and a field tour
Registration Deadline is February 7th

March 8th – April 26th, 6-8pm, with the tour 9am-12pm
Forest Management for the Priviate Woodland Owner Morgan County Workshop, 8 evening sessions and 2 field tours
Registration Deadline is February 28th

March 9th – April 20th, 6:30-7:30pm
Forest Management For the Private Woodland Owner Virtual Workshop, view 2 to 3 videos for pre-recorded presentations and then register for live online courses.
Registration deadline is February 8th

Registration deadlines are approaching quickly, so be sure to register soon!

Resources
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)
Conservation Tree Planting, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Webinar
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners, Purdue Extension – FNR playlist
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension – FNR playlist
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Resources and Assistance Available for Planting Hardwood Seedlings, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Ron Rathfon, Reginal Forester SIPAC
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

---

Wild Bulletin, IN DNR Fish and Wildlife: Bobcats, the only resident native wild cat in Indiana, are common in southern and parts of central Indiana, and increasing in northern Indiana. They are rarely seen because of their ability to blend into their surroundings and move silently.

Bobcats have been reported from almost every Indiana county but are most common in southern and west-central Indiana. A study conducted by the DNR in south-central Indiana revealed that bobcats are capable of dispersing up to 100 miles from where they were born. The DNR collects reports of bobcat sightings, trail-camera photos, and mortalities. Bobcat reports are also collected through the annual Archer’s Index, in which volunteer deer bow hunters report the number of hours they hunted and the species they saw while hunting. Snapshot Indiana, a citizen-science trail-camera survey, also helps document bobcat presence in some areas.

Bobcats prefer forested areas that have brushy areas, fields, or clear cuts that are beginning to regrow mixed in. Female bobcat home ranges may vary from 6–12 square miles, and male bobcat home ranges may vary from 30–75 square miles. Bobcats are primarily nocturnal, hunting and moving during early-morning and late-evening hours; however, seeing a bobcat during the day is not cause for concern.

To identify and learn more about Bobcat, please visit the Bobcat basics: Indiana’s Only Native Wild Cat.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources
A Template for Your Wildlife Habitat Management Plan, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer, The Education Store
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension – FNR playlist
Wildlife Habitat Hint, Purdue Extension – FNR playlist
Ask an Expert: Wildlife Food Plots, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube channel

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

---

Wild Bulletin, IN DNR Fish and Wildlife: Indiana DNR’s Sick or Dead Wildlife Reporting System collects information about wildlife that appear sick or appear to have died without an apparent cause. Please do not use this form to report animals that have died of an apparent cause, such as predation, roadkill, or window collisions. Occasionally, biologists may use the information to collect samples. Reports may not be immediately reviewed by a biologist. Reports are added to a database that tracks trends over time and helps detect disease outbreaks.

The Sick or Dead Wildlife Report is not intended to collect information on wildlife that die while in the care of a wildlife rehabilitator or as the result of nuisance wildlife animal control services. Wildlife rehabilitators and wildlife control operators record those deaths of wildlife through separate reporting requirements. To report the Sick or Dead, please visit the Sick or Dead Wildlife Reporting.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment – Wildlife Responses to Timber Harvesting, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Invasive plants: impact on environment and people, The Education Store
Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer, The Education Store
Breeding Birds and Forest Management: the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region, The Education Store
Managing Woodlands for Birds Video, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Subscribe: Deer, Forest Management, Invasive Species and many other videos, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

---

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.  Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Indiana 4-H, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”

The full publication is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods. Threats to species health as well as also insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided through additional resources as well as the Hardwoods of the Central Midwest exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.

This week, we meet the Osage Orange or Maclura pomifera, also known as the hedge apple. While this species is not native to Indiana, it is found throughout the state, where it was planted for fence rows and fence post plantings due to its decay resistant wood.

The leaves of Osage orange are oval shaped with pointed tips held alternately on slender twigs. The dark, glossy green leaves have smooth margins and no lobes. The twigs will often have sharp thorns more than half an inch long that are found where the leaves emerge and where the buds are located.

The bark of this species has a light gray surface with an orange undercoloring, which is distinctly furrowed and has a somewhat fibrous appearance. Osage orange is often multi-stemmed and spreads out over a large area.

The fruit of Osage orange, produced by female trees, also is a key identifying characteristic, as it resembles a large yellow-green-colored bumpy orange or a bumpy green apple. The fruit is four to six inch in diameter and has many folds, bumps and crevices, which has led to the description of it looking like a brain. Osage oranges have a sticky, milky sap on the inside.

Osage orange trees, which grow to 20 to 40 feet tall, are found in moist, well-drained soils, but are tolerant of alkaline soil, clay, dry sites, occasional drought and flooding. The natural range of the Osage orange is Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and the region surrounding the Ozark mountains, although it has been planted in nearly every one of the lower 48 states.

For full article with additional photos view: Intro to Trees of Indiana: Osage Orange, Forestry and Natural Resources’ News.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Other Resources:
Fruit Like a Brain and Wood Like Steel – Got Nature article
You Say Hedge-Apple, I Say Osage Orange!, Indiana Yard and Garden – Purdue Consumer Horticulture.
Osage Orange, The Wood Database
Hardwoods of the Central Midwest: Osage orange
ID That Tree: Osage orange
Morton Arboretum: Osage orange
The Woody Plant Seed Manual, U.S. Forest Service
Fifty Trees of the Midwest app for the iPhone, The Education Store
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube playlist
Woodland Management Moment , Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube playlist

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

---

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.  Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Indiana 4-H, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”

The full publication is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods. Threats to species health as well as also insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided through additional resources as well as the Hardwoods of the Central Midwest exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.

This week, we take a look at the ninth and final of our featured oak varieties in Indiana, the Shingle Oak or Quercus imbricaria.

The leaves of shingle oak are oblong and have entire leaf margins, without lobes or teeth, unlike all other Indiana oaks. This species also retains its shiny, bristle-tipped leaves further into the winter than other oaks. The leaves turn from a dark green in the summer to yellow and brown in the fall.

The bark is dark gray and blocky, with long running ridges. Shingle oak tends to keep its lower dead limbs attached to the tree.

The fruit is a small, rounded acorn with a thin cap that covers a third to half of the acorn. The acorns turn dark in color before losing their caps, although some may drop off the tree with their caps in tact.

Shingle oaks, which grow to 50 to 60 feet tall and are found in moist, well-drained soil along streams and on hillsides, but can occasionally be found on dry sites. The natural range of the shingle oak is the midwestern United States, including the Appalachian mountain region, Ohio, and the central Mississippi River valley.

The Morton Arboretum states that shingle oak is fairly salt tolerant and tolerant of black walnut toxicity, and despite the fact that it has a taproot, this species can be easier to transplant than some other oaks.

Shingle oak, however, can be plagued with pests such as scale insects and two-lined chestnut borer. As with other oaks, the shingle oak should be pruned in the dormant season to avoid attracting beetles that may carry oak wilt, which can be a potential disease problem.

Shingle oaks get their name, because traditionally the species was sectioned out and made into wood shingles.

For full article with additional photos view: Intro to Trees of Indiana: Shingle Oak, Forestry and Natural Resources’ News.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Other Resources:
ID That Tree: Shingle Oak
ID That Tree: Red Oak Group
Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Series: Red Oak Group
Morton Arboretum: Shingle Oak
Fifty Trees of the Midwest app for the iPhone, The Education Store
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube playlist
Woodland Management Moment , Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube playlist

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

---

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.  Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Indiana 4-H, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”

The full publication is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods. Threats to species health as well as also insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided through additional resources as well as the Hardwoods of the Central Midwest exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.

This week, we take a look at the eighth of our featured oak varieties in Indiana, the Pin Oak or Quercus palustris.

The leaves of pin oak are multi-lobed, with lobes coming out at nearly a 90-degree angle from the center of the leaves, and feature bristle tips like all members of the red/black oak family. On the pin oak, the alternately held leaves typically have less lobes than other members of the red/black oak group. In the fall, leaves change from medium green to a red to reddish brown color.

One key characteristic of pin oak are the branches, which angle downward especially on the lower part of the tree. The pin oak tends to keep its lower branches for a long period of time, which can create pin knots in the wood.

The trunk of pin oak is typically straight and single stemmed, while the bark is smooth and gray and may develop dark fissures with age.

The fruit is a rounded acorn with a relatively flat top with smooth scales, which covers only about one quarter of the nut.

Pin oaks, which grow to 60 to 70 feet tall and are relatively fast growing, are found mostly in moist to wet areas, such as streams, lakes and other wetlands, oftentimes in soils that have a medium to high acidity. Pin oaks also have been planted in many sites for landscape purposes.

The natural range of the pin oak is in bottomlands and imperfectly drained soils from New Jersey south to Virginia and west to Eastern Kansas and Oklahoma as well as south into North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas.

The Morton Arboretum states that pin oak suffers greatly from chlorosis or yellowing of the leaves in soils with high pH. As with other oaks, the pin oak should be pruned in the dormant season to avoid attracting beetles that may carry oak wilt, which can be a potential disease problem along with oak blister.

For full article with additional photos view: Intro to Trees of Indiana: Pin Oak, Forestry and Natural Resources’ News.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Other Resources:
ID That Tree: Pin Oak
ID That Tree: Red Oak Group
Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Series: Red Oak Group
Morton Arboretum: Pin Oak
Pin Oak, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue Fort Wayne
Fifty Trees of the Midwest app for the iPhone, The Education Store
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube playlist
Woodland Management Moment , Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube playlist

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

---

In 1978, Dan Cassens purchased a 10-acre plot of land close to the Purdue campus on which he planted a few Christmas trees as a side project. That plot of land developed into a family Christmas tree farm that Cassens and his wife Vicki have run for more than 40 years.

As the years passed, Dan, now a professor emeritus in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources after retiring in 2017 following a more than 40-year career at Purdue, enlisted the help of students within the department for both seasonal work and longer-term work on the farm and within his small lumber business.

What started as a few extra hands around the tree farm has turned into a hands-on learning opportunity for more than 20 FNR students each year, teaching workers skills from cutting and handling trees to customer service.

“I don’t remember how it got started; I guess I needed somebody to help me and I probably knew a couple of students that were anxious to work,” Cassens said. “I don’t know how many years it has been going on now, but it keeps getting bigger. Last year at Christmas time we had 20 some students helping us part time with the trees. It’s a good group because they have hard, physical work to do, but then they’ve also got time to sit and talk too.”

The work begins in October to prepare the tree farm for its opening on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, a date determined by customer demand over the years. Cassens Tree Farm has both choose-and-cut and pre-cut trees in species ranging from Canaan fir, Fraser fir and Concolor (White) fir to Scotch pine and white pine and Norway spruce. Once cut, trees have to be shook to remove dead needles, have a fresh cut on the butt of the tree to ensure they stand straight on a tree stand, and many get baled or wrapped, which condenses a tree, making it easier to handle and preventing damage to limbs that may occur in transit.

Cassens does not have prerequisite skills for students who work on the farm, save a willingness to work hard, although there are plenty of jobs on the tree farm that require specialized skills.

“We can use anybody that wants to work hard and has time available,” Cassens said. “We try to find out what their abilities are, because we do need people that can drive trucks and use chainsaws. Chainsaw experience is absolutely critical in part of the operation, but other than that, anybody can work in the barn. It doesn’t require much skill, just hard work. It’s hard to get it all sorted out with 20 students with different hours that they can work and different abilities, but we try to find out their abilities and schedules and try to get them placed. Once we get it going, it’s good.”

Daniel Warner, a 2011 alumnus in wood products manufacturing technology, said Cassens was very understanding when it came to lack of knowledge and miscues.

“My first day helping with the tree farm, I didn’t even know why we were planting these little pine trees (I was thinking lumber not Christmas),” Warner recalled. “I was also recruited for the mortar removal on several tons of vintage bricks. On one hatchet wielding, mortar removing day, I managed to get my truck stuck in Dan’s yard in the mud. Needless to say, the fact that we are still good friends shows that there was a great deal of forgiveness.”

Many of the students who work at Cassens farm are juniors or seniors, but some come back two or three years in a row once a part of the workforce, and often bring friends along to join the crew.

2018 forestry alumnus Ed Oehlman helped at Cassens Trees for five years, beginning the spring of his freshman year.

“I met Dan my freshman year at Purdue and that spring he invited me out to the farm to help him plant Christmas trees and that started my adventure,” Oehlman said. “I got the pleasure of seeing the whole process, from helping him plant trees, spending many hours mowing, sheering trees, spraying and treating trees, and lasting helping sell trees. Selling Christmas Trees is to this day one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. You couldn’t work for better people than Dan and Vicki. The days could be long and active, especially Thanksgiving weekend, but they always made sure you were taken care with little snacks or pizza, sometimes even home made soup. It made the time go by so quick, you’d just get started and before you knew it we were shutting up shop. The best was the fun little gamble we did at the end of the day to guess how many trees we had sold that day, which always made work fun! Working with and for Dan was a great learning experience, and not just about wood/lumber or Christmas trees. I learned so many great life and business skills!”

Charlie Warner, 2021 forestry alumnus and current master’s degree student, worked at Cassens Farm for three and a half years as an undergraduate student and has helped out five seasons overall after being introduced to Cassens and the job his freshman year thanks to Damon McGuckin (sustainable biomaterials 2018) and Oehlman.

“Both Ed and Damon worked for Dan at the tree farm throughout their time at Purdue and told me about him and how he was as both a boss and a professor,” Warner said. “Unfortunately, Dan retired from teaching before I had a chance to take his classes but I made up for it when I started working for him. I started working on the tree farm helping Dan with various jobs, whether it was sawing lumber with his Wood-Mizer, loading and unloading his dry kilns where he dried lumber, cutting down trees and bucking the logs to get them ready for the sawmill and many other jobs and mechanical work around the farm. I learned so much from my few years working for Dan. In fact, he was one of the strongest voices urging me to continue my studies and work towards a master’s degree. Not only did Dan teach me everything there is to know about the wood products industry and more, but he also taught me how to communicate with industry employers. He gave me the skills to make myself extremely marketable to a few of my internship opportunities. Furthermore, he taught me many life lessons.”

Full article > > >

Additional Resources

Root Rot in Landscape Plants, The Education Store
Ask The Expert: Tree Inspection, Purdue Extension- FNR YouTube Channel
Ask The Expert: Tree Selection and Planting, Purdue Extension- FNR YouTube Channel
Surface Root Syndrome, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
The Nature of Teaching: Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees, The Education Store
Construction and Trees: Guidelines for Protection, The Education Store
ID That Tree: Northern Red Oak
ID That Tree: Red Oak Group
Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Series: Red Oak Group
Morton Arboretum: Northern Red Oak
Red Oak, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Fort Wayne Purdue
Fifty Trees of the Midwest app for the iPhone, The Education Store
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube playlist
Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube playlist

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

---

Wild Bulletin, IN DNR Fish and Wildlife: In September, DNR biologists found two species of salamander, the long-tailed salamander, and the southern two-lined salamander, in Knox County, marking the first time since the 1800s that either has been documented along the lower Wabash River.

While both species are more widespread in other parts of southern Indiana, the small, rocky streams they inhabit are less common along the lower Wabash. Following this discovery, additional surveys conducted in parts of Knox, Posey, and Sullivan counties revealed more populations of southern two-lined salamanders; however, Knox County contains the only known location of a long-tailed salamander population in the region.

Salamanders and other amphibian surveys conducted by DNR biologists are supported by the Nongame Wildlife Fund. Contributions to this fund support a variety of rare and endangered wildlife.

Please visit Nongame and Endangered Wildlife to determine animals that are listed by the Indiana DNR as endangered or special concerns.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources:
I found this in my barn. Is it a Hellbender?, Purdue Extension
Question: Which salamander is this?, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Is it a Hellbender or a Mudpuppy?, Got Nature? Blog
Amphibians: Frogs, Toads, and Salamanders, Purdue Nature of Teaching
A Moment in the Wild, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Help the Hellbender, Playlist & Website
The Nature of Teaching: Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Hellbenders Rock!, The Education Store
Help the Hellbender, North America’s Giant Salamander, The Education Store

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

---

Wild Bulletin, IN DNR Fish and Wildlife: Indiana hunters multiplied by all their harvest equals a lot of data. Keep track of DNR’s current harvest data and comparisons to previous seasons with our handy dashboard, which is updated daily throughout deer season. While the green bars indicate the season-to-date comparison to previous seasons, the blue bars illustrate the previous season counts after the current date. The numbers at the top show the harvest season totals.

DNR’s online game check-in system was first offered in 2012 and made the primary system in 2015. The preliminary data reported on this page from this system are updated once per day during deer hunting seasons. To view the data collected, please view the Indiana Deer Harvest data.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources:
Indiana Hunting & Trapping Guide, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IN DNR), Fish & Wildlife
Indiana 2022-2023 Hunting & Trapping Season (pdf) list, IN DNR, Fish & Wildlife
Indiana DNR Shares 2022-2023 Hunting Season, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources
Wildlife Habitat Hint: Trail Camera Tips and Tricks, Got Nature? Blog
Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 1, Field Dressing, Video, Purdue Extension Youtube channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 2, Hanging & Skinning, Video
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 3, Deboning, Video
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 4, Cutting, Grinding & Packaging, Video
How to Score Your White-tailed Deer, video, The Education Store
White-Tailed Deer Post Harvest Collection, video, The Education Store
Age Determination in White-tailed Deer, video, The Education Store
Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer, The Education Store
Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer, The Education Store

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

---