In a move that no doubt reverberated through Indiana political and conservation camps, the Indiana Wildlife Federation has named former Ind. Dept. of Natural Resources Dir. John Goss as its new executive director.

At the same time, the IWL announced the hiring of former DNR Dir. Of Fish & Wildlife Gary Doxtater as Director of Sponsorship and Membership for the conservation group.

Both are “retired” from the DNR. Goss was “disappeared” as director shortly after Gov. Mitch Daniels took office last year. I say he was disappeared, because his departure from head of the state’s largest agency was not announced or noted by the Governor or the agency.

Goss’s hiring in particular answers the question all interested conservationists were asking: Who do you get to follow Paula Yeager? Yeager proved both dedicated and fearless in the five-year fight she waged against canned hunting during her time as IWF executive director.

Goss’ name and resume qualify him. We are going to find out about the dedication and fearless part in the year ahead as more skirmishes on the canned hunting/game farming front are expected.

The federation now has two men on board who know just about everything there is to know about the Ind. DNR, and their status throughout the state cannot be questioned.

It will be hard for the game farmers to label Goss and Doxtater as “radicals” like they did with Yeager and other conservation group leaders. .

In the IWL’s official press release, Goss said: “Conservation is in my blood and the Wildlife Federation is an historic grassroots organization with a great future. I hope to continue the effective advocacy for wildlife resources in the tradition of Paula Yeager.”

Doxtater has been a member of the IWL since 1962, and there is no question where his dedication to fish and wildlife.

Although the IWL has seldom sought news headlines, its prolonged battle against canned hunting and game farming in Indiana changed that. For most Hoosier hunters and anglers, the federation is the conservation group that speaks for them.

With Goss now officially the top gun “good guy” in Indiana conservation circles, it will be a tough adjustment for cynical outdoor writers like me. I will have to keep reminding myself that Goss wears a white hat all the time now and is not the state’s top gun bureaucrat.

The Indiana Wildlife Federation started as the Indiana Conservation Council in 1938. There are currently 42 local Conservation Clubs and over 2,000 members statewide. The IWF has actively supported the ban on hunting deer behind high fences, and advocates backyard, schoolyard, and agricultural wildlife habitat development in addition to wetland protection. The IWF is the state affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.