Jack Spaulding
Outdoors Writer

Heading outdoors? There's now an app for that!

I remember my first multi-function cell phone given to me by my employer. Within only a few days, I was able to make calls, receive text messages, and take pictures of the inside of my pocket.

When in camera mode, the phone made the sound of a shutter and the film auto-wind of a 35mm camera. It was an unmistakable sound starting with a very distinct click followed by “ZZZZRVT.”

My phone had a habit of going into camera mode by itself at the most inopportune times. While walking, sitting or sometimes just standing still, people could sometimes hear a very disturbing sound come from my pants pocket. This made for some very interesting formal meetings, and raised eyebrows on more than one occasion in a crowded elevator.

Phones have come a long way since my pocket clicker. Now we have all the benefits of a computer and a telephone at our fingertips.

In support of the evolving technology, Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources is offering a new “app” for the outdoor lover. Owners of the iPhone who also enjoy a wide variety of DNR properties now have information at their fingertips. The application can be downloaded at no cost to the user at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/indiana-dnr/id395591679?mt=8.

The DNR iPhone app provides virtually all the information needed when planning an outdoor activity at one of the sites. DNR properties include 24 state parks, eight reservoirs, fish and wildlife areas, forests, historic sites, state park inns and nature preserves.

“Indiana has a great wealth of natural and cultural resources, and we are always looking for new ways to connect Hoosiers to those resources,” said Dan Bortner, director of the DNR Division of State Parks and Reservoirs. “We’re glad to be a part of DNR’s efforts to use today’s technology.”

The Indiana DNR iPhone application features:
• Location mapping for state parks, where to hunt or fish, and additional properties of interest
• Distances to park or fishing/hunting areas in relation to the user’s current location
• Fees and regulations for all state properties and outdoor recreation sites
• Links to camping or state park inn reservation sites
• Links to fishing or hunting license purchasing sites
• Reserved hunt registration
• Nature brochures and Indiana fishing species guide
• RSS feeds of Indiana DNR news
• Links to Indiana DNR websites
DNR Director of Communications Phil Bloom said the new app is one more example of the many options of staying informed about DNR activities.

“We live in an increasingly mobile society in which people have a variety of ways to gather the information they need,” he said. “This continues DNR’s effort to stay connected with our customers and for our customers to stay connected to us.”

The application was developed by the DNR Web team in the Division of Communications and Indiana Interactive. They welcome user feedback about the app, which should be sent to dnrwebmaster@dnr.IN.gov. Applications for Blackberry and Android phones are under development.

Yes, technology is moving rapidly. Almost every emerging phone system now allows individuals to shoot movie clips. My company is going to provide a new phone with all the bells and whistles. With the new phone, I’ll have the apps and all the new stuff. I just hope the movie camera function doesn’t make a whirling sound.

Remember wildlife at tax time

Income tax time gives everyone a chance to support the DNR’s Wildlife Diversity Program, which depends on donations to the DNR’s Nongame Fund. The program is responsible for the conservation and management of more than 750 species of Indiana’s nongame, endangered and threatened wildlife.

On your tax form, you can donate all or a portion of your state tax return by marking the appropriate box on your printed Indiana tax form or when you file electronically. On the printed form, look for the bald eagle logo, which represents one of the program’s biggest successes. For details about the program’s other triumphs and plans, view the DNR’s Wildlife Diversity Annual Report, now available at endangeredwildlife.IN.gov. The site also includes information on direct-donation options.

Each project helps manage one or more of Indiana’s native species. Examples include Eastern box turtles, crawfish frogs, hellbender salamanders, lake sturgeon, and redside dace, which are tiny brightly colored, eye-catching and vulnerable fish.

In addition to donations, the WDP receives reimbursements for expenditures through the State Wildlife Grants program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

till next time,








Jack Spaulding is a state outdoors writer and a consumer of RushShelby Energy from Milroy. Readers with questions or comments can write to him in care of Electric Consumer, P.O. Box 24517, Indianapolis, IN 46224; or e-mail jackspaulding@hughes.net.

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