Tri-State Outdoor News

No, I am not talking about what the preacher was saying last Sunday. What I am telling you about is an Off-Road park located in Huntsville, Tennessee – the Brimstone Recreation Area.

Brimstone is a privately owned off-road playground sitting on approximately 20,000 acres in northeastern Tennessee with 400 miles of mostly challenging trails. That’s the “fire” part of it – the terrain will set your soul on fire. For almost 2 years I have been chomping at the bit to make the trip to Brimstone. I had ridden on both sides of this area in the past at Windrock to the south and Royal Blue to the north. But Brimstone’s forte is catering to the side-by-side crowd, so when I was making the trip it was going to be with my Teryx or not at all. More »

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The 2009 spring trout fishing season in Illinois will begin at 5 a.m. on Saturday, April 4, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Director Marc Miller announced today.

The IDNR stocks more than 60,000 rainbow trout each spring in bodies of water where trout fishing is permitted during the spring season. The Illinois catchable trout program is made possible through the sale of inland trout stamps to those anglers who participate.

Inland trout stamps are available for $6.50 each at DNR Direct license and permit vendors, IDNR offices in Springfield, Chicago, Sterling, Bartlett, Clinton, Alton, and Benton. They may also be purchased with a credit card through the IDNR web site at http://dnr.state.il.us or by phone at 1-888-6PERMIT (1-888-673-7648). More »

Beall Woods State Park in Illinois will be hosting Woodland Wildflower Hikes on Saturdays, April 4 and 11 at 9 a.m., Sunday, April 12 at 1:30 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 18 at 8a.m.

Discover the beauty of woodland wildflowers as they spring up from the forest floor. The Site Interpreter will lead participants on a 1 to 2 mile hike along the trails of the Nature Preserve. This is a wonderful opportunity to capture the presence of spring with your camera. Hikes will begin and end at the Visitors’ Center. More »

SUMNER, IL – Repairs have been made to the spillway and spillway gate at Red Hills State Park in time for spring rains to begin refilling the lake at the Lawrence County site, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Marc Miller announced today. Water was drained from the lake last fall to assess damage to the spillway and allow for the repair project to proceed.

“Depending on the weather this spring, we hope the lake water level will be restored quickly at Red Hills, in time for visitors to enjoy activities on and around the lake as soon as possible,” Miller said.

A water leak through the concrete near the spillway tower at the 40-acre lake was discovered late last summer. Concerned that the damage that resulted in the water leak could become worse, engineers recommended that the lake be drained and repairs be made as soon as possible. More »

Families, veterans and military enthusiasts alike are all invited to attend World War II Days, to be held at Fort Harrison State Park on May 16th and 17th from 10a to 4p at the new Visitor’s Center.

Featured events over the weekend include weapons demonstrations, a simulated grenade toss for kids, an indoor display honoring Veterans, and a tactical battle re-enactment on Saturday at 2:00p.m. In case of inclement weather, some small activities may be moved inside the new park Visitor Center. Food will be available on site for purchase through The Garrison. The program is open to the public; everyone is welcome to attend.

Fort Harrison State Park was once the home of Fort Benjamin Harrison, a major US Army installation from 1904 to 1995. During WWII, Fort Harrison had several specialized training schools for the US Army including a Baker’s and Cooks’ School, the beginning of the Army Finance Center, a Chaplain’s School, several base hospitals, and a POW camp that once held German and Italian prisoners. Fort Harrison was turned over to the Department of Natural Resources for a State Park through the National Park Service in 1996, creating Fort Harrison State Park. More »

Women with an interest in learning outdoors skills take note: Registration is underway for the Indiana Department of Natural Resource’s 2009 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop.

BOW offers women a relaxed, non-competitive environment conducive for learning outdoor skills in a workshop is designed just for women.

The workshop will be held May 1-3, at Ross Camp in West Lafayette. The cost for the workshop, including four classes, lodging and meals, is $175.

The workshop is limited to 150 women. Registration is already half full for this popular program. Register online at www.bow.IN.gov or by calling Danielle Shrake at (317) 232- 4194.

The Wyandotte Cave complex will be closed to commercial tours during the 2009 recreation season for maintenance and repairs.

O’Bannon Woods State Park, which manages the facility, has called for the temporary closure to work on the cave lighting system and plan improvements to the visitors center, restrooms, picnic areas and grounds.

“We have closed Big Wyandotte Cave for several years during the fall, winter and spring to protect hibernating, federally endangered Indiana bats,” said Ginger Murphy, assistant director for stewardship. “That leaves a very short window of time in the summer for maintenance. It’s a tough decision, but closing this season allows us to develop the best overall plan for future management.” More »

There will be a Hoosier Riverwatch Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring “Basic” Training on May 16 at Hazelton Community Center from 8:30 am to 4 pm, EST.

Hoosier River Watch introduces citizens and educators to water quality monitoring utilizing hands-on habitat, chemical, and biological assessment methods. Participants gain experience and skills in the use of chemical monitoring kits and aquatic insect collection and identification. The sessions are held both inside and outdoors. After completion of this training, participants become “Certified Volunteer Monitors” and are qualified to submit data to the statewide volunteer stream monitoring database. Any interested adult is welcome to attend, and once certified, may teach students how to monitor.

Teachers and Educators: Hoosier Riverwatch topics and activities are correlated to Indiana’s Academic Standards for Science and you may also receive CRUs for attending a workshop! More »

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources will be conducting Go FishIN and Project WET training on April 25, 2009 at Fort Harrison State Park, Indianapolis, IN Complete Go FishIN and Project WET in just one day and receive curriculum guides from each program.

Go FishIN is designed for adults to teach young people about Indiana’s aquatic resources. Through the program educators promote respect in Indiana’s youth for the environment. It teaches about fish and fishing and the unique aquatic ecosystems in Indiana.

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is an interdisciplinary, water science and education program. Workshops are hands-on and designed to train educators in activities that cover many water related topics. Materials are balanced, non-biased, supplementary and enhance student learning in all subjects and skill areas.

This workshop is free but pre-registration is required. Please bring your own lunch. For more information or to register, contact the Natural Resources Education Center at (317)562-1338 or nrec@dnr.in.gov.

Brown County State Park and the T.C. Steele State Historic Site, near Nashville, Ind., will be hosting its 24th Annual Wildflower Foray on April 24, 25 and 26.

Experience the sights, sounds and tastes of spring in the forests of southern Indiana. The event includes Wildflower and bird walks plus programs on night birds, nature crafts, history, nature photography and a Lake Monroe boat trip.

For a complete listing of all 26 activities and details on how to get registered visit the Foray’s web site at www.tcsteele.org/links.asp.