House joins Rep. Steven R. Stemler in honoring Indiana outdoors legend Ron Magill

INDIANAPOLIS – Members of the Indiana House today joined State Representative Steven R. Stemler (D-Jeffersonville) in honoring Ron Magill, who served both Crawford and Dubois Counties as a conservation officer for nearly 40 years and was fondly referred to as an Indiana outdoors legend.

Magill, who passed away earlier this year, also was known as a community activist dedicated to helping children in the area he served.

He retired in 2000 after 37 years of service with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). He joined the DNR as a conservation officer for Crawford County in November 1963, and later gained patrol duties for Dubois County.

“In his time, Ron Magill became well-known as a friend of our natural resources and the wildlife that inhabited the great outdoors in Southern Indiana,” Stemler said. “He was one of a group of professionals who were instrumental in the reintroduction of wild turkeys into Indiana. He helped secure many of the original release sites for the turkeys, then pioneered the trap and transplant program.”

After his retirement, Magill continued his community service by partnering with golfing legend Fuzzy Zoeller and Indiana Conservation Officer Dennis Tally on a program to raise funds for local Crawford County schools.

“More than a decade later, the funds raised through this program have been used to provide supplies and to purchase playground equipment,” Stemler said. “I should also mention that many children in the English area remember Ron for playing Santa Claus for a number of years.

“Ron Magill was a man who loved the outdoors,” Stemler continued. “He enjoyed hunting, especially wild turkey, fishing, gardening, and woodworking. Ron Magill was a man who we can all look up to, a man who stood for Hoosier values and a lifetime of serving others.”