June 1, 2007 - TOP STORIES
Subscribe and get the full week of news delivered to your mailbox every week!
BWCA outfitters open for business
DNR uses motion-activated cameras to spot illegal activity
State officials warn motorists against transporting firewood
Fall pheasant hunting depends on a combo of factors
Bobcat said to be likely attacker of Creighton professor
BWCA outfitters open for business
Outfitters fear wildfire along Gunflint will decrease tourism
ALONG THE GUNFLINT TRAIL, Minn. (AP) – Two weeks after a wildfire began along the Gunflint Trail, outfitters and lodge owners want visitors to know that the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is still as beautiful as ever – and it’s worth the trip.
“We still have the Boundary Waters,” said Ted Young, who co-owns Boundary County Trekking and the Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B with his wife, Barbara. “We still have the beautiful lakes. And even where it’s burned, it’s not all burned.”
The fire, which has been contained on the U.S. side of the border Canadian border, forced the evacuation of businesses toward the end of the trail. The fire started May 5 – just as lodge owners were gearing up for the fishing opener and the start of the summer tourist season. Now, those businesses are battling a perception that the fire has destroyed the beauty of the wilderness.
Mike Prom, who owns Voyageur Canoe Outfitters with his wife, Sue, said: “If you had a map of the Boundary Waters on an 8-1/2-by-11 sheet of paper, this fire would be the size of a quarter.”
But a small number of customers are canceling summer trips – partly because of what might be called the “Yellowstone phenomenon.” In 1988, a fire raged through Yellowstone National Park and news crews from around the world told the story of the blaze, showing pictures of the fire itself. They gave little attention to what the fire left untouched. For years, visitors expecting to see a charred landscape were surprised at how the park looked.
In the same way, most of the recent news pictures from the Gunflint Trail have shown plumes of smoke and burned land. Large patches of blackened landscape are visible in many places along the last 30 miles of the 57-mile-long trail.
But just as the fire consumed only 140 of the nearly 900 buildings within its perimeter, it only burned portions of the land.
“Within the fire, it’s green in spots, brown in spots and black in spots,” said Prom, an assistant chief of the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department. “It’s a mosaic.”
Debbie Mark, owner of Seagull Outfitters, said she scrambled to get out of the fire’s way, and learned that outdoor sprinkler systems and volunteer firefighters saved all but one of her buildings. Now, she’s trying to get her business back up and running.
One obstacle: normal phone service hasn’t been restored. Customers who call will get a message asking them to contact her through e-mail.
She and other outfitters also are paying close attention to the status of entry points into the BWCA. As the fire raged, the Superior National Forest closed most of the entry points in the Gunflint District, essentially shutting off access to the BWCA from the Gunflint Trail.
Many of the points are reopening, and Prom said canoeists can still expect a rich adventure.
“If they’re truly looking for a wilderness experience, they’ll have it,” Prom said. “Will all the places they’re familiar with look the same? No.
“On some routes, they’ll have to canoe a mile or two through the fire area. But then they’ll round a corner, and it’ll look just like they remembered it.”
Voyageur and other outfitters are designing special trips for people who want to study the role of wind and fire in the boreal forest’s cycle of life.
Such trips will be a way to educate visitors, and will help outfitters adapt to their own changing business landscape, Prom said.
“Change is scary, but we’re independent up here, and we like a challenge,” Prom said.
DNR uses motion-activated cameras to spot illegal activity
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – In recent years, hunters and wildlife experts have placed small motion-activated cameras in the woods to take pictures of deer, bears, wolves or other animals.
Now, those cameras are being used by the state Department of Natural Resources to catch all-terrain vehicle users who may be engaged in illegal activity that can damage habitat, cause erosion and disturb wildlife – particularly in state wildlife management areas.
“It’s not something we’d use widely,” said Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife management section chief. “But where we don’t really have other alternatives, it’s another tool in the tool box.”
The cameras are currently being used on wildlife management areas in northwestern Minnesota, where illegal ATV activity has been a problem. ATV use is prohibited on most wildlife management areas in the state.
“These areas were established for a specific purpose: For wildlife habitat, wildlife production and hunting and fishing enjoyment,” said Simon. But some ATV drivers ignore the laws.
“It’s very tough catching those people in the act,” said Donovan Pietruszewski, DNR area wildlife manager in Karlstad. “We don’t have a WMA up here without signs of illegal cross-country ATV travel. It’s a huge issue here.”
Conservation officers have used DNR airplanes to spot offenders. Last year, the DNR used digital trail cameras – and conservation officer Pat Znajda of Karlstad used them to cite two ATV operators. One paid his fine.
The other, Richard M. Bailey, 66, of Mound, received two citations for driving his ATV in June and August in the Beaches Lake Wildlife Management Area near Karlstad. He pleaded not guilty and claimed entrapment and invasion of privacy. He also argued the cameras were unconstitutional.
Last month, Kittson County District Court Judge Donna Dixon ruled that Bailey violated the law, that he had no expectation of privacy on land owned by the state, that there was no entrapment and that use of the cameras wasn’t unconstitutional. He was ordered to pay $364 in fines, fees and surcharges.
The state Supreme Court has ruled that the city of Minneapolis couldn’t issue citations to vehicles that were photographed running red lights, but the trail camera case is different, Simon said.
The Minneapolis cameras snapped photos only of the vehicles and their license plates, not the drivers, so there was no way to prove who was driving the car. The DNR’s trail cameras capture photos of the ATV operators themselves.
“Now that the courts have ruled in our favor, they could be used elsewhere ... where we have trouble spots,” Simon said.
State officials warn motorists against transporting firewood
Next year, campers who bring wood will face a $100 fine
ST. PAUL (AP) – People heading out to Minnesota’s lakes and woods this summer will encounter billboards saying “Pack marshmallows, not firewood.”
It’s part of a campaign to prevent spread of the emerald ash borer, which has killed 20 million ash trees in the lower Midwest and southern Ontario since it was discovered near Detroit five years ago.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is putting up the billboards and has set up an informational Web site, www.saveourash.net.
As part of the effort, the state is prohibiting campers from bringing firewood into state parks and other state lands.
The emerald ash borer, which destroys every type of ash tree, is considered potentially more destructive than the elm bark beetle. About 7 percent of all trees in Minnesota, and 10 percent of all hardwoods in the state, are ash.
“The simple message is: ‘Don’t bring firewood from home,’ “ said Chuck Kartak, deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources division of parks and recreation.
Campers in state parks and on other state lands who do bring wood will be asked to exchange it on site and the state will burn the wood. Next year, campers who bring wood will face a $100 fine.
The department also is certifying firewood sellers whose wood has been harvested within Minnesota.
While the new restrictions don’t affect campers in private campgrounds, cabins or homes, officials hope the message spreads. The Agriculture Department is also posting informational signs on ash trees in the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes area, around the State Capitol and in Duluth and Rochester.
Similar efforts are under way in eight other states.
The emerald ash borer hasn’t been found yet in Wisconsin or Minnesota and probably wouldn’t arrive for decades unless it hitches a ride on infected firewood traveling from the quarantined states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland.
Val Cervenka, forest entomologist for the DNR, said she believes the bug’s arrival in Minnesota is “inevitable.”
But Cervenka and other state officials said at a news conference Tuesday that they hope the firewood restrictions and other measures buy enough time for scientists and foresters to develop effective weapons against the ash borer.
Fall pheasant hunting depends on a combo of factors
Nesting habitat and weather factors significantly influence fall pheasant populations
Pheasants Forever Reports
ST. PAUL - Pheasants Forever’s (PF) national headquarters receives plenty of phone calls this time of year, the question being - “What’s the hunting season going to be like this fall?” The answer to that question depends heavily upon what happens the next two months.
Pheasants need mild weather conditions
By the month of May, hen pheasants have laid their eggs and have entered the peak incubation stage of nesting. Incubation takes approximately 23 days, and peak hatch will occur in early to mid June.
It is during this time period that pheasants need cooperation from Mother Nature. The amount of moisture can greatly determine nesting success.
Moisture is essential in that it spurs vegetation growth, creating nesting cover and attracting insects for new broods to feed on. However, heavy rains, or gully washers, can wash out nests before eggs hatch or wash away the young pheasants before they can escape the rising water. “Rain is good, but excessive rains can be harmful,” said Rick Young, PF’s Vice President of Field Operations, “We don’t want those two, three or four inch precipitation events.”
As the nesting season progresses into June and chicks hatch, mild weather is key for pheasants. Chicks become susceptible to exposure in elements that are too cool or too wet, and periods of extended drought can adversely affect cover quality, in turn making insects and food less available to broods. “Mild climate conditions in the first part of June give hens a good chance for a successful nest,” Young said.
What you can do about nesting cover
Nesting cover is the single most important limiting factor for pheasant populations. Fortunately, it is a factor that we can directly impact with proper land management. One nesting cover creation tool is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which provides large blocks of grasslands – good pheasant nesting cover. Hen pheasants seek out the mixtures of grasses and forbs provided by CRP for nesting because the diverse vegetation reduces the density of the grasses, making it easier for the chicks to move around. CRP also provides concealment from predators as well as abundant insects for newly hatched chicks.
“CRP is the most successful conservation program in U.S. history and annually produces 13.5 million pheasants given average weather conditions,” said Dave Nomsen, PF’s Vice President of Government Affairs, “Reauthorization of the program through the 2007 Federal Farm Bill is crucial to maintaining strong populations of pheasants, quail, ducks, and variety other wildlife.”
Pheasants Forever supports the reauthorization of the program and an expansion in overall CRP acreage to 45 million acres. Pheasants Forever also supports an increase in the Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) to 2 million acres per year. Similar to CRP, the GRP restores grasslands and conserves prairie, critical to pheasant production.
Like CRP and GRP, roadside areas are also important grassland habitat, with up to five acres of potential nesting cover along each mile of rural Midwestern roads. In some areas, 40% of pheasants in the fall population are produced in roadsides. Mowing hayfields and grassy areas in June and July results in severe nest losses, and chick and hen mortality.
“Mowing of any type of cover should be delayed until after the nesting season has concluded in the middle of July, and preferably until August,” Young said, “Even with approaching mowers, tractors and machinery, pheasants are hesitant to leave their nests.”
Delayed mowing and spot mowing or spraying in roadsides will not only help accomplish weed control, but will do so at less cost. Hens then nest undisturbed while roadsides achieve their maximum wildlife potential.
What’s the hunting season going to be like this fall?
Much more will be known about the 2007 pheasant hunting outlook in a few months following the nesting season. Many states conduct pheasant roadside survey counts in August and those are the best tools at gauging what pheasant populations will be like in the fall.
The bottom line is good nesting habitat, combined with mild spring weather conditions, are the necessary conditions needed to create more pheasants. If they occur, hunters can be cautiously optimistic about the 2007 pheasant hunting season. You can influence your future autumn hunting success by contacting your elected officials and asking them to support strong conservation policy in the 2007 Federal Farm Bill.
Bobcat said to be likely attacker of Creighton professor
BAGLEY, Minn. (AP) – A Department of Natural Resources officer said there's a good chance that a bobcat was behind the attack on a sleeping camper in Itasca State Park.
Jon Kenning said he was attacked while sleeping in a tent early May 24. Kenning, a professor at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., who was leading students on a biology field course, suffered facial cuts.
“If indeed it was a bobcat, it would have been as surprised as the camper when it realized that its prey was a human,” DNR Communications Director Mark LaBarbera said. “Bobcats generally avoid all human contact.”
DNR Parks Director Courtland Nelson said, “In my 21 years of Senior Parks Administration, I have never had an incident where a state park camper was hurt by an animal. It would be an oddity.”
The 28-year-old male individual was treated and released from an area hospital. Investigation continues while Park officials set a live trap to remove the animal from the park.
© 2007 Outdoors Weekly Corporation