Wildlife Diversity staff members have seen many changes and challenges and accomplished a lot over the years. Although the work has been long and difficult, the rewards far outweigh the hardships. The journey started in 1973 and has continued to the present.
- 1973 – State Legislature passed the Indiana Nongame and Endangered Species Act.
- 1981 – Creation of a state income tax check off and the hiring of the first nongame biologist marked the beginning of the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program (NEWP).
- 1987 – NEWP became eligible for federal matching funds to support federal endangered species projects.
- 2003 – NEWP was renamed Wildlife Diversity Section.
- 2014 – Wildlife Diversity and Wildlife Research biologists combined to form Wildlife Science Unit.
Work completed by the Wildlife Diversity section
Species that have been studied and surveyed.
Amphibians
- Crawfish frog
- Hellbender
- Green salamander
- Mole salamander
- Northern red salamander
Birds
Fish
Invertebrates
Mammals
Freshwater Mussels
- Statewide surveys for all mussels have been conducted for 20 years.
Reptiles
- Alligator snapping turtle
- Blanding’s turtle
- Eastern box turtle
- Eastern massasauga
- Eastern box turtle
- Ornate box turtle
- Spotted turtle
- Timber rattlesnake
Species that have been listed as state endangered.
Amphibians
Birds
- Black rail
- Common moorhen
- Least bittern
- Trumpeter swan
- Virginia rail
Fish
- Bantam sunfish
- Channel darter
- Greater redhorse
- North brook lamprey
- Pallid shiner
Mammals
- Franklin’s ground squirrel
- Swamp rabbit
Mussels
- Rayed bean
- Round hickorynut
Reptiles
- Alligator snapping turtle
- Blanding’s turtle
- Ornate box turtle
- Timber rattlesnake
Species that have been removed from the state endangered list.
Amphibians
Birds
- Bachman’s sparrow
- Bald eagle
- Bewick’s wren
- Great egret
- Peregrine falcon
- Sandhill crane
Fish
- Bluebreast darter
- Blue sucker
- Harlequin darter
- Northern studfish
- Popeye shiner (extirpated from Indiana)
- River redhorse
- Southern cavefish (extirpated from Indiana)
- Spotted darter
- Spottail darter
- Tippecanoe darter
Mammals
Restoration projects that have helped return certain species to the state.
- Bald eagles – Started in 1985. By 2007, bald eagles were de-listed as federal endangered and de-listed as state endangered in 2008. By 2014, nesting had been confirmed in 77 counties.
- Osprey – Started in 2006. The recovery goal of 50 or more osprey pairs were reported each year from 2012-2014.
- Peregrine falcons – Started in 1991. Peregrine falcons were de-listed as federal endangered 1999 and de-listed as state endangered in 2013. In 2014, 16 nesting attempts were documented.
- River otters – Started in 1995. By 2013, river otters were confirmed in 70 Indiana counties.
Augmentation projects that aide in a species’ distribution and/or genetic diversity.
- Allegheny woodrat – To improve genetic diversity, Allegheny woodrats were translocated from Kentucky and Tennessee to Indiana in 2007 and 2008 and a captive-breeding project was started in 2009.
- Eastern hellbender – Individuals were relocated within the same river system to encourage natural reproduction. Wild-born hellbenders are being raised in captivity then released to their original waters.
- Redside dace – Introduced into a second stream in Wabash County.
- Snuffbox – Mussel larvae from female snuffbox in the Salamonie River are being translocated to portions of the Tippecanoe River, where populations have drastically declined.
Habitat that was acquired with the help of the Indiana Nongame Fund.
- In 1986, Backwaters Marsh (Pisgah Marsh), a 130-acre wetland/upland oak community in Kosciusko County, became the first property purchased with nongame funds. Another 541 acres have been added with three additional purchases.
- Funds were used to acquire a 35-acre heron rookery in St. Joseph County in 1987.
- 82 acres around Little Chapman Lake in Kosciusko County was purchased.
- Swamper Bend, 108 acres of bottomland hardwoods in Knox County, was acquired in 1999.
- In 2000, funds helped purchase land within the Manitou Island Wetland Conservation Area in Fulton County.
- $5,000 was contributed toward purchase of 234-acre McCloud Nature Park on Upper Big Walnut Creek in Hendricks County.
- In 2003, 840-acre Tern Bar Slough was purchased in Gibson County.
- Property that includes Ashcraft Cave was acquired.
- Money was donated to help purchase of two tracts totaling 343 acres within the Hardin Ridge Nature Preserve in Floyd County.
- Funds helped purchase 40 acres for a conservation easement near Harrison Springs in Harrison County.
- Approximately $1.9 million in State Wildlife Grant funds and matching funds was contributed toward the purchase of 8,000-acre Goose Pond in 2005.
Donate to the Indiana Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund