Sugar Ridge & Bluegrass losing Nate Levitte as Property Mgr

[URL]http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/feb/20/sugar-ridge-blue-grass-lose-top-manager-to-fwa/[/URL]

Nate will be leaving this area to go to Northern Indiana to manage another of Indiana's Fish and Wildlife Areas. We will miss him for sure.

We are very lucky to have had Nate at Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area as he did a lot for use.

Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Areas usage by large bass boats has increased due to the fact that Nate allows people to use their boats on these waters and to proceed with using their gas engines as long as they went at idle speed only. I think as a rule that most of the good folks that utilize these waters have complied with the no wake idle speed rules and that's a great thing.

Before Nate allowed the use of gasoline engines on Bluegrass you had to use your trolling motor or paddle around the lake to move your boat. That kept a lot of the Ranger and Titon fiberglass boats off the waters as if the wind was blowing it was too hard to move around on the water with just a trolling motor. While a few brave souls ventured out with just trolling motors it was mostly those in small aluminum john boats or canoes.

So lets hope that Nate's successor will continue with Nate's policy of allowing gas motors on these lakes.

Many of the other properties don't allow gas motors on their smaller pits. And Hovey's lake does not allow the use of gasoline motors over 10 hp.

Allowing boats to use larger HP gas motors at idle speed is a good rule IMHO. It's just common sense. Something that Nate had in large quantities. I think that everyone liked Nate. I know that I did. He was easy to talk to and fun to be around.

I wish him well and hope his future is bright with IDNR up North. He will be missed.

I recently sent the Dnr a question about the 10 hp limit and this is what i received in response.

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You have raised a very interesting question. I'm afraid I don't know why the 9.9 hp restriction was placed on some of the lakes located on Fish and Wildlife properties. I have spoken with several people, some in the Division of Water and others in the Division of Fish and Wildlife to determine why these lakes are regulated in this manner. Evidently this decision was made prior to most of us holding the positions we have now.



That being said, we are looking at changing this restriction to a more appropriate method of controlling the boat traffic.There is discussion underway now that I believe will correct this issue and allow more sportsmen to enjoy these lakes.



I would like to thank you for bringing this to our attention, keeping regulations current in a continuing process and sometimes issues like this may fall through the cracks. Thanks again,



Major Felix Hensley

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I even brought up Bluegrass as an example and hopefully we will see more lakes change to a ruling that will allow more people to enjoy the lakes.

Maybe who ever takes it over will finally get a few small floating docks put in!

[QUOTE=JustinM;442434]Maybe who ever takes it over will finally get a few small floating docks put in![/QUOTE]

I sure hope so. What we need it more money for the IDNR budget. They get shortchanged by the legislature.

I'd like to know where all the money goes that comes into Indiana from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses. Also the money that the Feds send to IN due to the Pitman Robertson Act. I fear that IDNR is not getting the funds they need.

I'd love to see some floating docks where you could launch your boat from. They can't be that expensive to build or maintain for six months of the year. As the water level is not rising or falling at these pits like they would at a flood control reservoir.

I'd like to see some company in the area sponsor some boat docks. They could put a plaque on the boat dock with the company name on it. IE sell advertising to help sponsor the boat docks.

They could also built fishing piers next to the boat launch ramps. It would be nice to have something like that to fish at night.