Outdoors Weekly News Archive

March 23, 2007 - TOP STORIES
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Trumpeter swans die from lead poisoning near Annandale

NWTF dollars provide more hunting opportunities

Sharpshooters continue taking deer
Federal sharpshooters have killed about 225 whitetails so far in an effort to control bovine TB outbreak

SKIME, Minn. (AP) – Federal sharpshooters have killed about 225 whitetails in the last three weeks in an effort to measure and control an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in the area.
It will take about three months to find out whether the tissue from any of the deer tested positive for TB, said Michelle Powell, wildlife health program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
“Heaven forbid if it ends up being an epidemic of TB up here,” said Conway Marvin, who owns land near Skime. “It will impact our economy. Thousands of jobs up here depend on that time of year.”
Seven wild deer – two during the 2005 hunting season and five during last fall’s season – were found to be infected with the disease. Officials believe it came into the state through cattle, and contact between cattle and deer can spread it to the deer population.
Seven cattle herds in the area were “depopulated” because infected animals were found.
Powell said the sharpshooters with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services took a break last week to “re-bait” their shooting sights. They’ll resume shooting this week.
They’ve been hunting day and night, shooting deer of all ages and genders with silencers and infrared night-vision equipment.
Their target area includes a six-mile radius of Skime, just north of the intersection of Roseau, Marshall and Beltrami counties, where TB first was found in a cattle herd in early 2005.
The sharpshooters must have permission from landowners. Some landowners, like Marvin, haven’t given permission and will seek permits to shoot deer on their land, Powell said.
Marvin and his brothers own about 2,600 acres of wildlife habitat near Skime and they’ve developed the parcels for their enjoyment.
“It’s our land, and we have developed it, and plowed and disced it and watched the deer grow, and we think it’s a right we want to exercise,” he said.
Marvin, who owns a sporting goods store near Warroad, said northern Minnesota would be hurt economically if the TB outbreak isn’t stopped.
He wants government agencies to take a multi-pronged approach to stop the disease from spreading – including subsidizing high fences to separate cattle from deer, or conducting extra shooting.
“We can’t just shoot all the deer and expect it to go away, and we can’t remove all the cattle and expect it to go away,” he said. “We don’t think the other prongs are moving very fast.”
Powell said as of Monday, March 12 the sharpshooters killed 96 adult females and 11 adult males; 23 yearling females and 19 yearling males; 35 female fawns and 40 male fawns.
Even if a deer is infected, the meat is safe to eat with proper cooking. So far, all the meat has gone to local people who signed up for it.

Dollar-a-deer license surcharge stays on course
ST. PAUL (AP) – Despite resistance from a powerful hunters’ group, a bill that would tack an extra dollar cost onto deer hunting licenses remained on track last week in the Minnesota House.
The Environmental and Natural Resources Committee approved the surcharge on a 10-5 vote. The money it would raise each year – almost $500,000 – would repay meat processors who turn donated deer into venison for food shelves.
R. Jane Brown, executive director of the Second Harvest Heartland food bank, said finding enough butchered venison is a continual challenge.
“Deer meat is highly desirable because it is abundant and nutritious and high in protein, which is in short supply among donated food products,” Brown said in an e-mail to lawmakers.
Several Republicans spoke and voted against it, saying the program should be voluntary for hunters. They also argued that it stretches hunting ethics because hunters are taught to shoot only what they know will get used.
The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association isn’t on board because of the surcharge, said Tom Keliher, an association lobbyist. But Keliher said the group already runs its own hunt-for-the-hungry programs.
The measure’s sponsor, DFL Rep. Rick Hansen of South St. Paul, said similar programs have proven successful in Wisconsin and Iowa. He hopes people who might otherwise skip the annual hunt would decide to take a deer if they know it would help feed the poor.
Companion legislation has cleared one Senate committee (as of press time).

Trumpeter swans die from lead poisoning near Annandale

DNR News
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has determined that a die-off of about 15 trumpeter swans at the north end of Clearwater Lake near Annandale during February was caused by lead poisoning from old shotgun pellets.
The swans had ingested the pellets while feeding in a shallow open-water channel between Clearwater Lake and Grass Lake. The rush-lined portion of northern Clearwater Lake has long been a popular duck hunting area. Many decades of duck hunting has apparently left a significant concentration of lead shotgun pellets on the lake bottom in the channel where the swans were wintering.
Although a few swans had wintered in this area previously, DNR Conservation Officer Brian Mies said this year he counted up to 48 swans using the channel. After receiving reports of sick and dying swans, he picked up three dead swans to determine the cause of death. Two swans had lead shotgun pellets in their gizzards and other symptoms of lead poisoning. The analysis of the third swan has not yet been completed.
With the current return of warm weather, trumpeter swans have begun dispersing from their wintering sites. Only one swan was seen at the Clearwater Lake/Grass Lake bridge on March 8. In future years, this location will need to be checked in early winter to actively discourage swans from wintering there, according to Carrol Henderson, DNR Nongame Wildlife Program supervisor.
Since 1987, all waterfowl hunting in Minnesota requires the use of nontoxic shotgun pellets to avoid the poisoning of ducks, geese, swans, loons and other wildlife. However, old deposits of lead on the bottom of lakes and marshes may continue to pose a threat to the state’s waterfowl and waterbirds in some areas for many years to come, according to the DNR.
Minnesota’s trumpeter swan population is currently estimated at more than 200 nesting pairs and 2,200 birds. Trumpeter swans are listed as a state threatened species.

NWTF dollars provide more hunting opportunities
Two major land purchases in Yellow Medicine County, Minn., will add 285 acres of wildlife habitat to the list of state-owned properties

NWTF Reports
Minnesota’s National Wild Turkey Federation volunteers have spent more than $340,000 to purchase land in the North Star State helping add nearly 3,500 acres of public hunting land.
Two major land purchases in Yellow Medicine County, Minn., will add 285 acres of wildlife habitat to the list of state-owned properties. In all, NWTF volunteers are combining nearly $10,000 with dollars from other sportsmen’s groups to increase hunting opportunities.
“The NWTF’s Minnesota State Chapter puts a lot of emphasis on improving hunting opportunities in the state,” said Dave Neu, NWTF regional biologist in Minnesota. “As the population continues to grow and houses encroach on rural lands, access for hunters decreases. The NWTF’s volunteers are working hard to curtail that problem.”
The first land purchase totals 153 acres and the Federation’s Minnesota State Chapter contributed more than $4,700 and partnered with Pheasants Forever, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and several local sportsmen’s clubs. The second purchase should be complete in 2007, and totals 132 acres. The NWTF’s Minnesota State Chapter has committed $5,000 to that purchase.
In addition to helping purchase land to improve hunting access, the 100 NWTF chapters in Minnesota conduct numerous other projects that benefit Minnesota residents.
Throughout the past decade, NWTF’s Minnesota chapters have donated nearly 4,400 domestic frozen turkeys to families in need through the Turkey Hunters Care program, contributed $35,000 to the National Archery in Schools Program and provided more than $100,000 worth of scholarships to high school seniors.
“The NWTF is more than a conservation organization,” said Rob Keck, NWTF CEO. “It’s a group of people who care about their country, state and local communities and who give back to those communities. The Minnesota chapters are excellent examples of the best of the NWTF.”
The Minnesota chapters also conduct outreach events designed to introduce women, youth and people with disabilities to conservation, hunting and the outdoors. The events provide outdoor activities such as shooting, archery, fishing and hunting, from expert instructors in a safe, controlled environment.
For more information about the NWTF or its Minnesota chapters call (800) THE-NWTF.

Fischers win Minnesota Trap Attack
The Minnesota Trap Attack was held Feb 25 in Chisago, MN on Lakes Chisago and South Lindstrom
1st place team: Tom and Ryan Fischer
2nd place team: Scottie Sonsalla and Patrick Sobata
3rd place team: Joe Pikulski and Myron Gilbert

LINDSTROM, Minn. - Blizzard conditions couldn’t stop 106 hardcore anglers from competing in the Ice Team 2007 tour finale on Chisago and South Lindstrom lakes Feb. 25. “These are ice fishermen,” Ice Team Captain Dave Genz reported from the blustery battlefield. “They’re not going to let a little snow keep them off the water.”
When the five-hour event ended, two of Ice Team’s perennial top guns claimed their first-ever Trap Attack victory. Tom and Ryan Fischer brought 7.22 pounds of central-Minnesota crappies and sunfish to the scale, dominating the competition by a healthy margin in this closely fought game of ounces.
“Guys were using fruit scales to sort fish by grams, and the Fischers beat the closest team by almost a pound!” Genz exclaimed.
After finishing second at the North American Ice Fishing Championship in 2005, eighth in 2006, and scoring a number of top-five places at Trap Attacks over the years, the win was especially sweet.
“It’s kind of nice to get first for a change,” grinned Tom Fischer of Hatley, Wisconsin, after hearing their weight was going to put them in the winners’ circle.
He credited serious prefishing for allowing them to locate a fertile weed edge where they sorted through well over 100 fish to put together their tournament-winning limit of eight crappies and eight sunfish.
“We got here Wednesday,” said Tom, explaining they used underwater cameras to scout potential hotspots. Like other top teams, the Fischers quickly discovered a link between green weeds and schools of hungry panfish.
“A big thing the teams discovered was the curly-leaf pondweed has started growing early this winter,” said Genz, noting that the shallow-water green-up has drawn ‘gills and crappies out of deeper water ahead of schedule.
“I’m sure it’s due to the lack of snow on the ice prior to this weekend, and all the clear skies during the recent cold snap,” said Genz. “All that sunlight allowed the weeds to get started faster than during a normal winter.”
During prefishing, teams found fish in water as skinny as two to three feet. But on tournament day the action had moved out a bit, into the 10-foot range.
Indeed, the Fischers’ honeyhole was a transition area between taller, lush vegetation and a relatively short, flat weed mat in nine to 11 feet of water. “The fish were cruising that edge,” said Tom. “Once you got past the weeds, the fish disappeared.”
To no one’s surprise, the Fischers’ go-to weapons were colorful little horizontal-hanging jigs that Tom makes himself. Dubbed “Fischer Fry,” they sport intricate paint jobs. “My best patterns were perch, orange-and-yellow glitter, and black with gold glitter,” said Ryan, who hails from Norrie, Wisconsin, and happens to be Tom’s nephew.
Tom tipped with Lindy Munchies Tiny Tails and a pair of spikes to attract bluegills. Ryan went the meatless route, fishing straight plastics for crappies.
Both anglers fished the classic, old-school line-watching technique known as tight-lining. “I use high-vis gold Stren line, with a 2-foot leader of clear Berkley Trilene,” Tom explained.
As most ice fans know, tight-lining involves jigging up and down while watching for subtle line movements to betray a strike. If the line buckles on the down-stroke or tightens on the uptake, you set the hook.
The fish weren’t necessarily tight to the weeds. “I caught them throughout the water column, all the way up to the bottom of the ice,” said Ryan.
As it turned out, reaching their fishing spot on the south end of Chisago Lake tournament morning was harder than getting the fish to bite. “It was tough getting out there,” said Ryan. “We almost got stuck busting through one big drift, but when we got there it was worth it, because we had the area pretty much to ourselves.”
The Fischers’ victory was worth a cool $3,533. Patrick Sobota and Scottie Sonsalla finished in second place with a 16-fish limit weighing 6.34 pounds, good for $1,767. Joe Pikulski and Myron Gilbert placed third with 6.3 pounds to cash a $707 check. In all, the top 20 teams shared the $8,833 payout.
As it turned out, the 23 points Pikulski and Gilbert earned for finishing third pushed them over the top in the race for Ice Team’s coveted and hotly contested Team of the Year honors.
“This morning there were five teams in the race for Team of the year, so we knew we needed a good tournament,” said an elated Gilbert after the weigh-in.
Having found only small bluegills during practice, he and Pikulski turned their attention to the two lakes’ burly pumpkinseeds. “They were running a little heavier than the bluegills so we targeted them instead,” said Gilbert.
The move paid off. Running and gunning in their trademark hole-hopping fashion, the two men used aggressive search tactics to find and catch the most belligerent ‘seeds—which quickly charged their fast-moving jigs. “If we didn’t mark a fish on our Vexilars within 30 seconds to a minute, we’d move on to the next hole,” said Gilbert.
Such mobility meant burning two tanks of gas augering countless holes in search of the next aggressive fish, but it was a small price to pay for such high honors in the world of ice fishing.
Both Pikulski and Gilbert are from Brooklyn, Michigan, and the fact that so many Wolverines place high at Ice Team events has not escaped Dave Genz.
“It’s pretty impressive when you look at all the Michigan guys who do so well at these events,” said Genz. “I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that their waters are cleaner and clearer, which forces them to refine their techniques more than anglers who are used to fishing stained or cloudy water.”
The Minnesota Trap Attack marked the end of Ice Team’s 2007 tour, which included stops at Silver Lake, New York; Wamplers Lake, Michigan; and Redstone Lake, Wisconsin. Two events – one in Michigan, the other in Illinois – were cancelled due to poor ice conditions.
The top 20 teams at each 2007 trap attack event qualified for the Ice Team Championship next December in Minnesota.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Ice Team is a consortium of industry leaders working together to promote the sport and educate anglers of all skill levels.
For details on the Trap Attacks, Ice Team or tournament sponsors, visit www.iceteam.com

MinnAqua hooks kids
The hope that more young people will learn to discover the fun, adventure and personal fulfillment to be had in the outdoors can be found in the growing number of programs designed to give kids a hands-on nature experience. One such successful and popular program is called MinnAqua.

By Tom Conroy
DNR Information Officer
I stepped outside the other morning and heard a cardinal sing. At the same time, two kids were walking by on their way to school. I was sure they could hear the bird. And just as sure it didn’t matter to them.
A singing bird breaking the long, cold silence of winter can be pretty humdrum stuff in the hard-wired world of present-day youth.
A co-worker recently told of an experience a teacher friend of hers had with a group of middle school kids from a Twin Cities suburb. The teacher had taken the kids on a nature hike and at one point asked them to sit down so she could talk to them. They objected. Didn’t the teacher know that the ground is dirty? And there might even be a few icky bugs crawling around down there!
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,
with a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swinging hot spot.”
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?”
‘Big Yellow Taxi’ by Joni Mitchell
The paving of paradise has been going on for a long time and is not apt to stop anytime soon. And, unless the outdoors becomes more important in the lives of today’s young people, it could very well speed up. There is, however, hope.
The hope that more young people will learn to discover the fun, adventure and personal fulfillment to be had in the outdoors can be found in the growing number of programs designed to give kids a hands-on nature experience. One such successful and popular program is called MinnAqua.
An angling and aquatic education program offered through the DNR, MinnAqua events quickly fill with eager youngsters, according to Kathy Beaulieu, MinnAqua Education Specialist for Southern Minnesota at New Ulm.
“Since the program began in 1990, thousands of kids have been introduced to the fun of fishing while at the same time learning about the environment,” Beaulieu said. “We tailor the events so that they’re entertaining, active, and hands-on. The kids love it.”
Beaulieu said MinnAqua offers two basic types of programs. One is a five-hour clinic that teaches kids about fish and fishing, equipment, regulations and management, along with the importance of a healthy aquatic habitat. Fishing is usually provided either from shore or a fishing pier.
If a group does not have a full five hours to spend, a shorter special event program covering a few of the above topics can be scheduled. For either clinics or events, sponsoring groups can choose from a list of hands-on activities. “Anyone can sponsor an event or clinic,” Beaulieu stated.
Groups or individuals interested in sponsoring an event are asked to take care of advertising and registration, provide one adult for every five youngsters, and bring the worms! MinnAqua staff will meet the group at the selected fishing hole, bring all the equipment, and teach all of the activities.
Also, Beaulieu added, student internships are available in Bemidji, Duluth, Brainerd, Morris, St. Paul, New Ulm, and Rochester. College students, especially those enrolled in a natural resources or education program who might like to help connect youth with nature should call one of the MinnAqua contacts listed below.
There is another lyric in Mitchell’s song, one that most of us would consider a preposterous possibility: “They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum. And they charged all the people a dollar and a half just to see ‘em.”
Preposterous notion, yes. But one with a message nevertheless.

To schedule a clinic or event, or to learn about MinnAqua’s Take-A-Kid-Fishing events in June, call the MinnAqua contact person nearest you.
Kathy Beaulieu, New Ulm (507-359-6049)
Nadine Martini, Brainerd (218-828-6044)
Roland Sigurdson, Twin Cities area (612-625-1291 or 651-582-8417)
Katie Kipka, Statewide coordinator (651-259-5217).