February 8, 2002

Dear Presidents and Secretaries of Field Trial and Hunting Test Clubs in Indiana:

The American Kennel Club remains extremely concerned about the severe restrictions being placed on field trials in the state of Indiana. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) issued a Corrective Action Implementation Plan in December in response to the USFWS’s audit of state wildlife areas that are managed with Federal Aid (Pittman-Robertson) funds.  It will take significant pressure by Indiana field trial clubs to counteract this latest round of outrageous limitations.

The Implementation Plan establishes new rules for field trials: activities are limited to February 1 through April 15; a maximum of ten days during that period is allowed; only one trial/test is allowed per day; no trial can last more than two days; participants, judges, and observers are restricted to walking; field trial/test activities can occupy no more than 100 acres designated by property manager; no vegetation management; the department will not provide any buildings, equipment, supplies, fixtures, etc. to accommodate field trial activities; and numerous other restrictions.  In short, beginning with the Spring 2002 season, it is impossible for field trials to continue in their current form on state lands that receive federal Pittman-Robertson funds.

USFWS offered an extension to IDNR, but the state turned it down and moved forward with this Plan.  IDNR assured field trialers and USFWS that the state would find alternate sites not managed with Pittman-Robertson funds that would be acceptable for field trials.  Unfortunately, only one site, Interlake, was offered and it is wholly unsuitable.  IDNR wants to wash their hands of this whole issue, but we must bring them back to the negotiating table.

The best way to get the attention of a state agency is through your state legislature.  Every member of every club should contact his representative and senator immediately to make them aware of this issue.    Ask your state legislators to hold IDNR to their commitment.

Remind your legislator that hunting with the aid of trained dogs is one of man’s oldest forms of hunting and continues to be one of the most popular means of doing so.  Field trials, hunting tests, and similar performance tests provide a practical way of demonstrating a dog’s ability to perform the functions for which it was bred.  They also serve as an incentive to improve the standards for hunting with dogs, and are important and popular outdoor hunting experiences in their own right.
 
Tell your senator and representative that Indiana field trials have a rich history passed down through several generations.  Across America people recognize that Indiana has some of the finest field trials in the country.  They must be allowed to continue, and it’s up to the IDNR to provide suitable grounds to make that happen.

 Call your representative and senator today.  Ask them to compel IDNR to sit back down with field trialers.

Representative __________________
Indiana House of Representatives
200 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2786
(317) 232-9600
(800) 382-9842 Senator __________________
Indiana State Senate
200 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2785
(317) 232-9400
(800) 382-9467

Please share this information with your fellow field trialers and urge them to contact their state legislators today.  Only through significant grassroots efforts will we convince IDNR to re-open the discussion.

In addition, AKC has written the newly confirmed USFWS director in Washington to illustrate the gross inaccuracies of the Indiana audit that caused clubs to lose Pittman-Robertson lands.  We will continue to work for fair treatment of performance events in Indiana and throughout the country.

Sincerely,
 
 

Stephanie Ortel