An Ax to Grind Hobby Makes Its Way to Central Indiana
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2020 AN AX TO GRIND Hobby makes its way to central Indiana PROPERTY PROFILE: Austin Bottoms Conservation Area WHAT’S NEW? Mountain Tea State Forest - BOAT LOANS - Apply online, over the phone or at any branch... Whatever floats your boat. View rates, calculate payments and apply online, anytime at: www.iucu.orgwww.iucu.org We started a credit union and created a community. Federally insured by NCUA 812-855-7823 • iucu.org DJ-35053253 2 SOUTHSIDE OUTDOORS | 2020 DNR PROPERTY PROFILE Southside Outdoors is published annually by the Daily Austin Bottoms Journal. All content © 2020 Daily Conservation Area Journal. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For advertising content, contact the Daily Journal advertising department at 317- 736-2730. Southside Outdoors c/o Daily Journal 30 S. Water St. Suite A Franklin, IN 46131 ON THE COVER: Johnson County Axe Throwing CONTENTS Property profile: 3 Austin Bottoms Conservation Muskatatuck RIVer | Photo courtesY of DNR Area DESCRIPTION eagles, broad-winged hawks, woodcock, The area spans more than 26,000 acres wood thrush, hooded warblers, Kentucky Ax throwing along the Muscatatuck River. It is warblers, blue jays and cardinals. These 6 hits the spot bounded by the intersection of the bottomland hardwoods also provide Muscatatuck with Interstate 65 and State excellent habitat for many mammals, Road 31 on the east side and flows west- such as white-tailed deer, bobcat, rac- Collect seeds, ward to Jackson-Washington State coon, skunk, fox, beaver, otter, mink, 14 get paid opossum, gray squirrel, fox squirrel and Forest on the west side. The area flying squirrel. stretches across Scott, Jackson and Outdoors Washington counties. HISTORY The Healthy Rivers INitiative, the largest 16 briefs Approximately 2,355 acres are now open land conservation initiative to be under- for use. It consists of a variety of habitat taken in Indiana, was announced in June types, dominated by bottomland forests 2010. It includes a partnership of Mountain Tea and wetlands. The bottomland forest 20 Forest opens resource agencies and organizations consists of species such as maples, oaks, who are working with willing landowners sweetgum, river birch, sycamore and to permanently protect more than beech. Many birds use bottomland hard- 43,000 acres along the Wabash River wood forests, such as wild turkey, yel- and Sugar Creek in west-central Indiana, low- and black-crowned night herons, and more than 26,000 acres of the wood ducks, red-headed woodpeckers, Muscatatuck River bottomlands in south- screech owls, great horned owls, bald east Indiana. 2020 | SOUTHSIDE OUTDOORS 3 DNR PROPERTY PROFILE AUstin BOTTOMS CONSERvatiON AREA AUSTIN BOTTOMS Crothersville CONSERVATION AREA CR 600 S W Main St. This program receives federal aid in fish and/or wildlife restoration. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national 65 origin, age, sex or disability. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity or facility, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, DC 20240. CR 700 E 700 CR SCOTT COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY SCOTT SCOTT SCOTT JACKSON COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY JACKSON JACKSON JACKSON S Bethany Rd. Rd. Bethany S CR 700 S CR 700 S 39 CR 200 E CR 600 E 600 CR CR 550 E 550 CR CR 775 S W1 E 700 CR CR 800 S CR 800 S .31 r r E 850 CR e e iv v R i C4 R tuck a k at C1 c c s u u t a M t a c CR 950 E 950 CR CR 1025 S 1025 CR s E Fleenor Rd. W3 u M W2 E M o u E 825 CR n t Bridge Rd. Waskom E den R d . 256 256 256 Austin C3 C7 CR 300 N E Mount Eden Rd. C2 C6 39 LEGEND C5 Road um N Garriott Rd. N P pk Boundary in C County line e n C8 te Water r W E1 Stucker Fork FW area es t Rd Thomastown Bottoms NP Frontage Rd. E. Power Line Rd. Wetland North CR 150 N Parking Rd. Boatman S Boat ramp Franklin Bottoms Rd. .31 West unit name W− 39 W Thomastown Rd. Moonglo Rd. Central unit name SCOTT COUNTY COUNTY SCOTT SCOTT C− COUNTY SCOTT WASHINGTON COUNTY COUNTY WASHINGTON WASHINGTON E East unit name COUNTY WASHINGTON − 65 No bonus anterless W Mill Rd. harvest allowed E. Pull Tight Rd. CR 125 W 125 CR CR 500 W E. Little York Rd. Finley Firehouse Rd. CR 50 N 0 1 2 CR 25 E 25 CR N Short Cut Rd. N Scifers Rd. Approximate Scale in Miles E. Little York Rd. To 56 09/2016 ACTIVITIES on the area. Gathering berries, nuts and mushrooms is allowed. Spring mushroom hunting is Fishing Youth can hunt during the special youth restricted to after noon during the Sage’s Ferry Public Access Site is on the seasons throughout the year. Muscatatuck River off of State Road 39. spring turkey season. All hunting seasons and bag limits There is no shooting range. No camping Shoreline fishing is allowed. apply. and no swimming allowed. All size and bag limits apply. Portions of Austin Bottoms NEIGHBORING LAND Conservation Area do allow the use of Hunting • Stucker Fork Fish & Wildlife Area bonus antlerless licenses. The area is mainly bottomland hard- offers 1,528 acres of bottomland forest woods interspersed with wetlands. Trapping for hunting. It is north of Scottsburg on Hunting is available for deer, turkey, There is a draw for trapping. Call Finley-Firehouse Road and squirrel and waterfowl. Furbearers are Crosley FWA (812) 346-5596 for regu- Thomastown Road. also abundant throughout the area. lations. Limited opportunities are available for • Crosley Fish & Wildlife Area offers rabbit, quail and woodcock. OTHER ACTIVITIES 4,228 acres of rolling hills and ponds for The area is a great place to view a wide hunting and fishing. It is located south Tree stands are allowed to be up over- variety of birds and waterfowl. River of North Vernon on State Road 3. night between Sept. 1 and Jan. 10. otters, beavers, deer and other mam- • Clifty Falls State Park offers camping, mals are also common. There are no draws for reserved hunt- picnicking, playgrounds and Clifty Inn. It ing. No office sign-in is required to scout, is located near Madison, with entrances No check-in is required to hunt or fish fish, hike or wildlife watch. off State Roads 62 and 56. 4 SOUTHSIDE OUTDOORS | 2020 - YOUR HOMETOWN - JOHN DEERE DEALER 102 DEERE PARK DR. MOORESVILLE, IN 46158 OR SHOP ONLINE AT ReynoldsFarmEquipment.com DJ-35053326 2020 | SOUTHSIDE OUTDOORS 5 THEY have SOME CHOPS « Ax throwing finds its target audience in central Indiana Story BY Greg Seiter | Photos by MarK Freeland Widely recognized as one of ax-throwing bars and local tour- to compete against one another to mankind’s oldest tools, the ax naments to regional competitive earn “best lumberjack” bragging has been used for many purposes leagues and international cham- rights. But the activity didn’t be- throughout history but primar- pionships, axes are now carefully gin to gain widespread popularity ily for chopping wood. Today, embraced by business profession- until Backyard Axe Throwing however, axes are also known as als and outdoor enthusiasts alike. League Founder and CEO Matt recreational sporting equipment. Technically, as a sport ax Wilson opened what is thought The popularity of ax throwing throwing is believed to have orig- to have been the first ax-throwing is on the rise, both domestically inated in the 1940s when those bar in North America — a To- and internationally. In fact, from working in lumber camps began ronto establishment — in 2011. Eventually, the sport made its way to central Indiana. “At first, I started going to a throwing place in downtown Indianapolis, but I had to drive all the way down there every time and parking was expensive, so I decided to bring the idea closer to home,” said Chris Engel, owner of Johnson County Axe Throwing in Whiteland. “I also wanted to make it more of a family thing.” Engel opened Johnson County Axe Throwing, on U.S. 31 just south of Greenwood, on Labor Day in 2019, the same year that Hoosier Brewing Co. in Old Towne Greenwood rolled out its Tap and Axe concept. Chris Engel, OWner of Johnson “When we started gearing up COUnty AXE ThroWing in Whiteland. for the opening, we wanted to combine an activity with our 6 SOUTHSIDE OUTDOORS | 2020 Story BY Greg Seiter | Photos by MarK Freeland 2020 Dealers Choice Award FARM DAVE’S SERVICE LLC 50 N. Eisenhower Dr., Edinburgh, IN 812-526-5504 www.davesfarmservice.com 2020 | SOUTHSIDE OUTDOORS 7 DJ-35053727 shot,” he said. “His throw didn’t go very far, but he had a blast. “The average age we see is probably from the mid-20s to the mid-40s, but we have several families come out, too,” Engel added. “We also see a lot of couples.” Perhaps more so than anything else, Engel enjoys the camaraderie that seems to naturally exist within what he describes as the “ax-throwing community.” “I throw against some of the top- ranked guys in the world up on the north side, and they’re not afraid to talk to and help you,” Engel said. “They want the sport to grow.” It apparently is.