Indiana provides BeachAlert and guidance on ill deer and chronic wasting disease

Before you go to the beach or try to help an ailing deer in Indiana, check with the state. Here's an alert and some guidance that we shared in this week's Outdoor Adventures column.

BeachAlert

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has updated and reissued its BeachAlert app that advises you on bacteria levels at more than 35 public beaches, both along Lake Michigan and inland. It’s a convenient way to check on the latest advisories and closures. BeachAlert can be accessed on a mobile device or computer at https://portal.idem.in.gov/BeachAlert/.

Ill and orphaned deer

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is restricting anyone from moving orphaned, sick or injured deer out of LaGrange County, along with Steuben, Noble and DeKalb counties. That is considered an area that has chronic wasting disease, which is a fatal neurological disease for white-tailed deer.

Only one case of CWD was found in LaGrange earlier this year; the other counties are included because they’re close by, the DNR reports. The DNR advises letting nature take its course with weak or wayward deer or, if you have the deer, to give it only to a DNR-permitted wild animal rehabilitator in that four-county area (learn more at on.IN.gov/wildliferehab). Injured and sick wildlife can be reported at on.IN.gov/sickwildlife .

April 2024: Indiana's first case of chronic wasting disease found in LaGrange County deer

In the first few weeks of life, fawns often hide by themselves, motionless, to avoid predators, state biologist Joe Caudell advises, adding: “If you find a fawn alone, remember this, and help keep wildlife wild by letting it be, giving it space, and leaving the area. Its mother is likely nearby.”

Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com .

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana provides BeachAlert and guidance on ill deer and chronic wasting disease