March 16, 2007 - TOP 5 STORIES
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Red Lake regs could be relaxed
State assumes responsibility for gray wolf management
Overnight class teaches campers to sruvive winter elements
Youth Hunt Club of Minnesota honors Richard Hoyt
Two or One? Law proposed to allow anglers to use two lines
Red Lake regs could be relaxed
DNR announces final walleye harvest numbers for Upper Red Lake
DNR News
Walleye regulations on state waters of Red Lake could be relaxed in July as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced that this year’s walleye harvest is well within the safe harvest level.
Nonband anglers harvested 124,000 pounds of walleye during open water and winter seasons this year, well within the safe harvest level of 168,000 pounds. Since walleye fishing resumed in May 2006 after a seven-year closure, special regulations have been in place to comply with a joint harvest agreement between the Red Lake Band and the DNR.
“We’re very pleased that our conservative approach in this first year of angling was successful in managing angler harvest within the safe harvest level, said Gary Barnard, DNR Bemidji area fisheries supervisor. “This presents an opportunity to consider relaxed regulations during next summer’s open water season.”
A citizen advisory group recommended that, if possible, harvest should be allocated equally between winter and open-water angling seasons, or 84,000 pounds per season.
Summer harvest estimates were near 54,000 pounds, with the majority of the harvest occurring in May and June. Fishing pressure and catch rates declined dramatically in July and for the remainder of the open-water season, a common trend on many Minnesota walleye fisheries. Total fishing pressure for the open-water season was estimated at just below 200,000 angler hours.
“We had some concerns going into the winter season since Upper Red Lake has a history of high winter pressure and winter catch rates typically do not decline as in the summer fishery,” said Barnard.
Winter angling pressure was considerably higher than the summer period, ending up at nearly 700,000 angler-hours. Longer average trip lengths contributed to an exceptionally high pressure estimate - due largely to the popularity of overnight sleeper houses. Still, total winter harvest was contained at approximately 70,000 pounds, within the established safe harvest level.
There is no doubt that without the two-fish daily bag limit and the 17- to 26-inch protected slot, winter harvest would have greatly exceeded the safe harvest level, possibly forcing a mid-season closure, Barnard said.
Rules are currently in place to allow a change to a four-fish daily bag limit on July 14, if total winter harvest plus May-June harvest are less than 134,000 pounds. If that change occurs, the limit would automatically revert back to two fish on Dec. 1, 2007, for the following winter season.
State assumes responsibility for gray wolf management
DNR News
Minnesota’s wolf population has been officially removed from the federal endangered species list and, starting March 12, will be managed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Federal rules removing the Great Lakes population of wolves from the endangered species list took effect in Wisconsin and Michigan as well. Wolves will be managed in Minnesota by state statute, rule and under a wolf management plan.
“The recovery of the gray wolf in Minnesota and its removal from the protections of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is a remarkable success story,” said Dave Schad, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division director. “In Minnesota, we’ve been planning for the return of the wolf to state management for more than a decade. We’re well prepared to assume full management responsibility.”
The state wolf plan is designed to protect wolves and monitor their population while giving owners of livestock and domestic pets more protection from wolf depredation. It splits the state into two management zones with more protective regulations in the northern third, considered the wolf’s core range.
The plan establishes a minimum population of 1,600 wolves to ensure the long-term survival of the wolf in Minnesota. The state’s wolf population, estimated at fewer than 750 animals in the 1950s, has grown to its current estimate of 3,020. There will be no public hunting or trapping seasons on wolves for at least five years. The endangered species act requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor wolves in Minnesota for five years after delisting to ensure that recovery continues.
Similar to federal regulations, the state plan allows anyone to take a wolf to defend human life. Any wolves taken must be reported to a DNR conservation officer within 48 hours, and evidence must be protected.
Unlike federal regulations, state regulations allow harassment of wolves that are within 500 yards of people, buildings, livestock or domestic pets to discourage wolves from contacting people and domestic animals. Wolves cannot be attracted or searched out for purposes of harassment, and cannot be physically harmed.
The long-standing wolf depredation control program, managed by U.S, Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services in Grand Rapids, will continue uninterrupted by the legal changes, said Mike DonCarlos, DNR wildlife research and policy manager. “Control of depredating wolves in Minnesota has been and will continue to be the key to public tolerance of a thriving wolf population on the landscape.”
In addition to the continuing federal wolf depredation programs, the state wolf plan has new provisions for taking wolves that are posing risks to livestock and domestic pets. Owners of livestock, guard animals, or domestic animals may shoot or destroy wolves that pose an immediate threat to their animals, on property they own or lease in accordance with local statutes. “Immediate threat” means the observed behavior of a gray wolf in the act of stalking, attacking, or killing livestock, a guard animal, or a domestic pet under the supervision of the owner. Additionally, the owner of a domestic pet may shoot or destroy a gray wolf posing an immediate threat on any property, as long as the owner is supervising the pet. In all cases, a person shooting or destroying a gray wolf under these provisions must protect all evidence, and report the taking to a DNR conservation officer within 48 hours. The wolf carcass will be surrendered to the conservation officer.
In the southern two-thirds of the state (Zone B), a person may shoot a gray wolf at any time to protect livestock, domestic animals or pets on land they own, lease, or manage. The circumstance of “immediate threat” does not apply. A DNR conservation officer must be notified within 48 hours, and the wolf carcass will be surrendered to the conservation officer. Also in this area, a person may employ a state certified predator controller to trap wolves on or within one mile of land they own, lease, or manage.
“The major change with state management is the empowerment of individual people to directly protect their animals from wolf depredation, subject to certain restrictions,” DonCarlos said. “Other changes will include the development of a state certified predator control program that will operate in addition to the continuing federal control program administered by USDA Wildlife Services.”
To fully implement the state wolf management plan, DNR will hire a wolf specialist to coordinate all wolf management activities, and public information and education. Additionally, Dr. John Erb, DNR wolf research biologist, will continue to address wolf research and population monitoring needs. Dr. Erb, who coordinates wolf population surveys, is currently conducting a pilot research study to develop an aerial wolf census.
“John is an exceptional wolf technical expert and research biologist,” DonCarlos said. “With the addition of a wolf specialist the DNR will have the staff necessary to fully implement the state plan, and ensure that wolves continue to thrive in Minnesota while minimizing the inevitable conflicts that arise between wolves, humans and livestock.”
The DNR will also designate conservation officers in the wolf range to ensure enforcement of provisions of the wolf plan.
Although by law, DNR became the legal authority for wolf management in Minnesota today, several wolf protection groups have filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the removal of federal protection. At this point, it is unknown if a lawsuit will be filed, and unknown what the ultimate outcome might be. However, DNR is obligated to implement state regulations in the meantime.
The complete wolf management plan, zone maps, population survey information as well as a question and answer fact is available online at www.dnr.state.mn.us.
Overnight class teaches campers to survive winter elements
By Drew Lyon
The Free Press
MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – City lights and passing cars are visible from Rasmussen Woods, but seven campers spent the night without many modern conveniences, not least of which was a warm bed.
“It’s a beautiful spot,” Roger Bergquist said of the 150-acre city park. “Folks that I bring in from out of town can’t believe this is in the middle of town. This is something that allows you to embrace the season that we spend such a great portion of our year in, so you’re not inside cursing the weather, you’re outside enjoying it and laughing at it.”
For the second year in a row, Bergquist instructed a group of campers, who paid $25 each, through an overnight stay in the woods as part of an Elks Nature Center-sponsored class intended to lure people from the snug comforts of home and instead immerse themselves in winter.
“This is something I love to do,” Bergquist said. “This seemed to fit as a natural outlet and a natural place to do it. It fits into what the Elks Center is doing here in the woods.”
Beth Beuch, enrichment specialist at the Elks Nature Center, said overnight winter camping presents unique challenges.
“You can sleep outside when (the temperature) is going to be in the single digits,” he said. “It’s amazing you can thrive in this weather, but winter camping teaches the whole tidy-camp discipline. If you leave items out and you get a 6-inch snow, they’re gone.”
The margin of error in winter camping is much slimmer than in warmer seasons, Bergquist said.
“This kind of weather is unforgiving, even in relatively mild temperatures of 10 degrees,” he said. “If you’re under-equipped or underfed, it’ll be a night of misery.”
The campers weren’t completely isolated; their cars and cell phones were nearby in case of emergency and a bathroom was available inside the Nature Center. Perhaps most importantly, the recent bitter cold relented, making conditions favorable for a reasonably accommodating night’s rest.
Don Gorny, an experienced camper in warmer conditions, said he had reservations about braving the elements but his wife, Sheila, who had camped before in the winter, wouldn’t accept his protests.
“I didn’t want to come out here,” he said. “But my wife just bought a new sleeping bag, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“You like to camp where bears can go through your screen tent,” joked Gorny’s friend, Don Waylett, who was camping with his wife, Lori.
After finding flat surfaces to pitch their tents, the campers snacked on cookies, sipped hot chocolate, sat around a fire and swapped camping stories under an overcast sky that dropped a light dusting of snow.
“Fires can do wonders for morale,” Bergquist said.
Although he said it’s important to eat plenty of protein and drink hot liquids, staying warm in below-freezing temperatures is primarily a test of mental fortitude.
“People are as happy as they make their minds up to be,” he said. “You can be miserable in any circumstances. A positive mental attitude is key. It’s mind over matter.”
After heading for their tents around 11 p.m. Friday, the campers rose shortly after dawn Saturday morning to a bright, inviting sun. Munching on cherry walnut couscous, they reflected on their night in the woods.
“This whole idea,” Bergquist said, “was to give folks a safe place to see if this is something they’ve always wanted to do.”
Crystal LaPorte, who camped with her sister Rachel Bassett, said her friends questioned her logic when she told them of her weekend plans.
“All my friends said I’m nuts for coming out here,” LaPorte said.
Youth Hunt Club of Minnesota honors Richard Hoyt
In the fall of 2006, Jason Bruestle sat quietly on his deer stand waiting for a Boone & Crockett buck. Earlier that year he had stalked moose in Ontario and hunted ducks with is old friend, Bill.
Andy Roscoe was still a duck and pheasant hunter, the thing his father, Gil, had always hoped he would be, but now he brings along his 8-year-old son. It slows his hunting down a little bit, but it makes it even more special in other ways.
David Choate lives in Philadelphia today, but he still travels back to the Midwest at least twice a year to spend time with his father hunting pheasants and maintaining a relationship that’s important to the both of them.
Mark Zywotko has traveled all over the world hunting. Bird shooting is one of his passions and in August he went to Argentina for ducks and doves. One afternoon he shot over 1,500 rounds and declared it “the best day of my life”. He went with three good friends, Bruce, Mark and Bill. They shared common experiences, great food, and good wine. In the process they were reminded how they became good friends in the first place … the great outdoors that served as the Master of Ceremonies.
Hundreds of other young people are graduates of the Minnesota Youth Hunt Club and its summer camp program. These guys happen to be from the camps of 1985 and 1986, and they are still actively using the skills they learned in those sessions over 20 years ago.
Dr. Andy Miller has since won numerous State Championships and placements at the U.S. OPEN Pheasant Championship in tournament hunting. He’s become an excellent dog trainer and, most importantly, he still spends numerous days in the field with his father.
Erik Abbott has bow hunted successfully all over the Midwest. He and his father work and hunt together and they, too, are graduates of the Youth Hunting Camp of 1985.
When Richard Hoyt realized in 1993 what an impact the Youth Hunt Camp had made on his son and, more importantly, on their relationship together, Richard decided he wanted to institutionalize and insure the existence of the camp. At that time he incorporated the Youth Hunt Club of Minnesota as a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation, in concert with the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club in Prior Lake, MN. From that important start the Club would grow and run summer sessions of one week for boys and girls 12-16 years old that gave the young people a chance to shoot shotguns, rifles and pistols every day. Most importantly, it included time for instruction and practice. With the knowledge and the practice came confidence and with confidence comes the willingness to try, improve and succeed.
“One of the most important aspects of the camp,” according to Richard Hoyt “is one learns respect for animals, for each other and for the great outdoors.” The kind of respect that Jason Bruestle showed a wounded black bear that he tracked for miles to relieve its suffering … that Andy Miller demonstrated when he was hunting with his father after knee surgery and made sure he adjusted the pace … that Mark Zywotko demonstrated as he raised tens of thousands of dollars for conservation causes. Skills, experience, knowledge and respect are some of the most important outcomes of the Youth Hunt Camp program.
The week includes lots of shooting, swamp walking, tree climbing, dog handling, canoeing, decoy setting, botanical identification, bird identification, an actual hunt, bird cleaning, cooking, fire building and other essentials. The young people stay at the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club and are counseled, instructed and led by trained professionals, experts and the Youth Hunt Club counselors who have frequently been through the program themselves.
Sessions will be held in the summer of 2007 during the weeks of June 10-15, June 17-22, July 15-20 and July 22-27, and the sessions are available at this time for $995.00. There are scholarships available for the Camp offered by the Minnesota Youth Hunt Club. To receive a scholarship the applicant must submit an essay explaining why they would like to attend the camp.
On the 21st of March 2007, Richard Hoyt will be honored for a Lifetime Achievement Award for founding the Youth Hunt Club of Minnesota. The award ceremony will follow a European shoot held at the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club. The price for the shoot and banquet is $375, for the banquet only the price is $100. The shoot will be 2,000 birds, pheasants and pigeons combined. The proceeds go to the Youth Hunt club for camp scholarships. As Richard Hoyt says, “The camp teaches you to hunt … and so much more.”
For more information visit www.horseandhunt.com
Two or One? Bill introduced to allow anglers to use two lines
A bill recently proposed by Rep. Bud Heidgerken, R-Freeport, Minn., to allow anglers to use two lines and two hooks at the same time in Minnesota is causing some controversy
OPINION
By Tom Neustrom
Professional Guide (30 years)
Holy Cow! I can’t believe what is going on in the Legislature and Senate of Minnesota concerning a Bill that has been introduced concerning a change from the customary use of one line while fishing open water in Minnesota, to the use of two lines. What is wrong with people? Most anglers have trouble controlling one line let alone two, and believe me it is a little more complex with the fallout if such a Bill passes.
There have been constant articles written about Minnesota being the only State in the surrounding ones that allows only one line in the open water season. Critics have made comments such as “North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, and other States allow two lines and have for decades, and they seem to be doing very well.” Or, “We need uniformity, and it’s too confusing to anglers to travel from State to State and have to worry about how many lines they can use and it would simplify matters.” “We’ll can catch our limit faster, so we don’t have to spend as much time on the water.” These are just a few of the comments that I have been hearing and it worries me that more thought is not being accomplished before comments such as these, are made.
Let me give you some hard facts and comments that may upset some, but must not be taken lightly. For years, even as a kid, I went to Wisconsin whenever the chance was there. I could never then, and even now, wonder why they let you use more than one line, because you were too busy using just that one anyway. For what ever reason the fishing, especially for walleyes declined and to this day has never come close to the walleye fishing that has been available in Minnesota. Every year we see more and more anglers from Wisconsin coming to Minnesota during the open water period, and when asked why they come here, when there is plenty of walleye waters in Wisconsin, their answer is, “Sure we have walleye water in Wisconsin, but the water doesn’t contain walleyes.” I have more and more customers from Wisconsin every season and the reason is the quality of the fishing that exists in Minnesota. Just remember also that the Dakotas and Wisconsin has been two lines for as far back as one can remember. Going to those destinations has absolutely nothing to do with Minnesota allowing only one line.
Let me wet your whistle with this one! When it comes to harvest rates of walleyes on lakes that have a “Harvest Quota” and a “Protected Slot,” does anyone realize that mortality figures into the overall harvest as well? When the DNR evaluates a lake during and after the season, it takes into account what kind of harvest is occurring on that particular body of water in terms of walleyes caught, kept, and the ones that were caught, released and died due to deeply hooked ones or mishandled. Sure that is an equation that doesn’t always give the right overall numbers, but moreover than not, the equation has it’s use to determine safe harvest levels. Example, if the safe or allowable harvest of walleyes on a body of water was established to be 150,000 pounds, and with fish kept by anglers and the mortality rate of walleyes that allegedly died due to deeply hooked fish, or walleyes caught and released from deep water in the heat of the Summer, and the total equated to over the safe allowable harvest for that particular body of water, the DNR could and will shut that body of water down for the season, at the point the harvest level was reached or acceded. Can Mille Lacs or Red Lake for example be able to withstand a closure such as that? I doubt it, nor other waters for that matter.
Just imagine a launch on Mille Lacs Lake with ten customers fishing not one line, but two lines each, times ten anglers, which equals 20 lines in the water bobber fishing on the reefs, or a pontoon boat on Red Lake with 8-10 people on board fishing two lines apiece. Not only are they going to catch more fish, but they also will kill more fish because of hooking mortality. Do we honestly need this? Why do we want to continue to give the Anti’s more ammunition to attempt to eliminate the sport that we love to enjoy so much? Everyone is complaining that we have too many regulations now and the DNR is making it tougher. Well, trust me. You haven’t seen anything yet if this dumber than dumb Bill passes. I feel that the introduction of this Bill is all about the selfishness of a few anglers and the big picture is not looked upon. Many of the State’s Legislators and Senators, need to look at the long range effects that this Two Line Bill will have.
Being part of the State Walleye Advisory Committee gives me an opportunity to fight for better walleye fishing in the State by asking for more walleyes to be stocked in key areas and make the overall walleye fishing better for years to come. With the increased stocking programs that we are working towards and the future goals that we are trying to attain, I look at this as a setback if legislation is passed in favor of two lines.
Just remember this Two Line Bill is not just about walleye fishing, but about other species as well. The mortality and over harvest can take place on quality fisheries that contain trophy bass, northern pike, bluegills and crappies. We have existed quite comfortably with the use of one line in the open water season, and with the potential of over harvest and the long range effects that it poses, can we realistically take a chance?
Please feel free to comment either way concerning this article. This is my opinion personally and I will continue to make every effort to maintain quality fishing in Minnesota and contribute, in a positive way, to the overall future of fishing.
Please note: Views expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of Outdoors Weekly or its staff.
© 2007 Outdoors Weekly Corporation