Fishers, Indy to target Geist duck hunters. Tuesday vote authorizes police to respond

Fishers and Indianapolis are quacking down on scofflaw duck hunters at Geist Reservoir.

The cities have entered an agreement with Citizens Energy to enforce its prohibition against hunting at the reservoir, which the utility company owns.

The Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety passed a resolution Tuesday authorizing the police to kick hunters off Geist property and enforce their continued banishment.

Fishers city attorney Chris Greisl said rogue duck hunters have been a problem for years but nabbing them has been a “jurisdictional nightmare” because Geist overlaps several cities, including Indianapolis.

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Citizens spokesman Dan Considine said it was time to “reassert the policy,” because the area is growing denser with homes and the danger of someone getting hit with a shotgun blast has increased.

“It’s a public safety issue,” he said. “We are being called by neighborhood associations who report seeing and hearing hunting on the reservoir. It’s not like when Geist was built in the 1940s and there were no houses around.”

There are more than 6,000 homes around the 1,900-acre reservoir, which spans Hamilton, Marion and Hancock counties and provides drinking water for the Indianapolis area.

Considine said there have been no reports of injuries but there has been reports of buckshot hitting houses.

He said some people who hunt there might assume hunting is legal because enforcement has been scant. Citizens plans an educational campaign timed to the start of duck hunting season Sept. 10 that will include posting more signs and notices on social media.

The campaign will include a reminder that hunting is also banned at Morse Reservoir in Northern Hamilton County, which Citizens also owns.

Violations of the hunting rule amount to a trespassing charge and Citizens can prohibit people who are caught from coming back on the property.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fishers, Indy to target illegal Geist duck hunters after board vote