June 29, 2007 - TOP STORIES
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New option for ATV riders in 2009
Search for drugs finds gross overlimit of fish in Waite Park
Partnership celebrates wolf recovery
White Bear Lake student finished fifth in national archery tournament
Number of anglers, hunters on decline in Minn., nationally
New option for ATV riders in 2009
For ATV riders, location matters
ST. PAUL (AP) – Minnesota’s ongoing battle over off-highway vehicle use took a new turn during the just-concluded legislative session that saw lawmakers enact differing standards based on geography.
Beginning in 2009, all-terrain vehicle riders in northern Minnesota will have an option that’s not available elsewhere. They’ll have access to local unmapped trails, often used to reach hunting and berry-picking areas. The machines still will be restricted to mapped trails and roads in central and southern Minnesota.
Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, fashioned the exemption for so-called “forest access routes” north of U.S. 2, where 74 percent of state forest land is located.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, northern counties and timber companies championed the approach.
Lake County land commissioner Tom Martinson emphasized that northern interests simply wanted to preserve long-standing access routes without encouraging more riding from outsiders.
“The people who live out in the woods, who don’t have special interests, that represents them,” he said.
It wasn’t Chaudhary’s preferred approach. The chairman of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee initially proposed a compromise that would have required riders to stay on mapped roads and trails in Minnesota’s 57 state forests once the DNR completed an evaluation of them.
That plan passed the Legislature, but was retracted weeks later. The alternate version got through and won Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s signature.
The problem now, some say, is that no one knows how many miles of these unmapped trails will be open to off-highway vehicle use in 2009.
“It’s a less legible way of opening everything under the sun to riding,” said Matt Norton, forestry and wildlife advocate for the St. Paul-based Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
Chaudhary doesn’t buy that argument and says the law’s potential effects are being exaggerated.
“Seventy to 80 percent of the trails that are going to be designated are going to be on a map and will be subject to a requirement you stay on that mapped trail,” Chaudhary said.
He chalked up the concern to lingering mistrust between off-highway vehicle users and critics who worry about a spider-web system of trails and greater environmental damage.
The DNR is about halfway through its evaluation of state forests and hopes to complete it late next year, said Ron Potter, the agency’s policy and program manager for trails and waterways.
Potter said the DNR will map some trails, close others because they can’t sustain summer vehicular use and leave less significant ones as undesignated forest access routes. Potter said one-third of the trails the department finds are typically being closed or left unmapped.
Potter said he doubts the forest access routes will be used much by recreational riders.
There are still two legislative sessions to fix problems before the 2009 law affecting northern Minnesota goes into effect.
“If we need to go back and tighten up definitions of forest access routes to greater reflect the intent, I don’t have a problem with that,” Chaudhary said. “We’ve got time to do that.”
Search for drugs finds gross overlimit of fish in Waite Park
Fines and restitution totals more than $6,000
A search for drugs recently uncovered a freezer full of illegal fish in a Waite Park residence.
On April 13, the Central Minnesota Drug Task Force executed a search warrant for drugs when they discovered the fish. A count by state conservation officers found Jackson Ho, 43, and Vinh Van Ho, 39, both of Waite Park, possessed a total 207 sunfish, ten crappies, and nine bass over the legal limit. Jackson Ho and Vinh Van Ho told conservation officers that neighbors had brought them the fish.
A check of the DNR database for game violations showed Vinh Van Ho had previously been convicted of seven different game violations including over limit of fish and fishing in a closed season. He had also been convicted four times for fishing without a license.
The Minnesota daily/possession limit for large and smallmouth bass is six; the daily/possession limit for crappies is ten; the daily/possession limit for sunfish is 20.
Jackson Ho and Vinh Van Ho face fines totaling $2,345 each, and restitution of $25 each for the crappies, $135 each for the bass and $517 each for the sunfish.
A trial date has not been set.
Partnership celebrates wolf recovery
USFWS Reports
State, tribal, federal and private partners who worked to recover the gray wolf in Minnesota and the Great Lakes gathered Monday to celebrate the turnover of management from federal hands to states and tribes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently removed the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes from the list of endangered and threatened species.
“Today, we celebrate the handing over of the reins of wolf management to state and tribal leaders, and to many, that is one of the most important benefits of recovery,” said Robyn Thorson, Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The citizens of Minnesota will now make the decisions that shape wolf management in their state.”
Thorson was joined by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Holsten in recognizing the historic conservation achievement and the new chapter in Minnesota wolf management.
“The recovery of the wolf in the Great Lakes States is a true conservation success story. As a result, we support the federal governments continuing efforts to delist the gray wolf from endangered species protection. We look forward to implementing our Minnesota Wolf Management Plan,” Holsten said.
Others marking the turnover included Jim Zorn, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission; Bill Paul, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Wildlife Services and member of the recovery team; and Mary Ortiz, International Wolf Center. Also attending were Vicki Tigwell, State Director for U.S. Senator Norm Coleman and Minnesota Senator Ellen Anderson.
Rebounding from a few hundred wolves in Minnesota in the 1970s when listed as endangered, the Great Lakes region’s gray wolf population now numbers nearly 4,000 and occupies portions of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Wolf numbers in the three states have exceeded the numerical recovery criteria established in the species’ recovery plan for several years. In Minnesota, the population is estimated at 3,020. The estimated wolf population in Wisconsin is 465, and about 434 wolves are believed to inhabit Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
In 2001, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources completed its comprehensive wolf management plan, which is based on the recommendations of a wolf management roundtable and on a state wolf management law passed in 2000. The plan includes provisions for population monitoring and management, management of problem wolves, management of wolf habitat and prey, enforcement of laws restricting take of wolves, public education, and increased staffing for wolf management and research.
The Service, as required under the Endangered Species Act, will monitor gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes area for the next 5 years under its recently released Gray Wolf Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan.
Information on the monitoring plan is available at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf
White Bear Lake student finished fifth in national archery tournament
Photo of winners in the June 29 issue!
DNR News
Minnesota’s fledgling school archery program took a big step forward on June 9, when three Minnesota teams competed in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) National Tournament at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
The program has spread to 42 states since its’ inception in 2002. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) enrolled in the program in 2004, and now has more than 150 schools and 60,000 participants annually.
Hilltop Primary School from the Mound Westonka district finished 13th overall among elementary schools. Jackson Middle School from Champlin finished 12th in the middle school division, and Osakis High School took the ninth spot among high schools.
“I was amazed by the number of parents and siblings who made the trip to Kentucky to cheer for their kids,” said Kraig Kiger, the DNR’s National Archery in the Schools Program coordinator, who added that the Minnesota teams represented the state well. “You can tell that archery is an activity that can bind families together, and that it is an important part of the lives of a lot of kids.”
White Bear Lake High School, which qualified for the national tournament by winning the state high school championship, was unable to send a full team because of a conflict with graduation. However, a number of individual White Bear Lake archers made the trip to compete, including the state high school girls champion Chantelle Skarda of Hugo.
Skarda, a ninth grader, shot a 285 out of a possible 300. That put her just three points behind the tournament winner Morgan Floyd of Richmond, Ky., and in fifth place overall.
Kiger said her performance is amazing when you consider she has only been shooting a bow since November. Her introduction to archery came through the school program, White Bear Lake’s after-school archery club and the out-of-school Bucks and Buckthorn Program.
“She is a talented shooter,” Kiger said. “But it goes to show you that archery is a sport that people can excel at with proper instruction and reliable equipment. I wonder how many more potential world class archers are out there that just haven’t tried archery yet.” Skarda credits her success to good coaching by White Bear Lake teacher Jack Wachlarowicz and the volunteer after-school program coach John Slate.
“My coaches have taught me a lot about archery,” Skarda said. “I am going to buy my own bow now so I can practice all summer.”
Skarda intends to continue shooting, with hopes of becoming the national champion in 2008. Her coaches have no doubt that she can accomplish that goal. Wachlarowicz said a perfect round of 300 is not out of reach for the young archer. “I am willing to bet you on that,” Wachlarowicz added.
The DNR is currently taking applications for Archery In School Equipment Grants. The one page application has an Oct. 31 deadline. Only school teachers or administrators may apply for the grants, but parents, archery clubs, hunting organizations and other individuals are encouraged to get involved and get the ball rolling in their school. Physical education and outdoor recreation classes are the primary venues. The cost of the equipment is approximately $2,900, but with a DNR grant the cost is reduced to $1,500. The majority of schools receive local sponsorships to cover the costs.
The application and brochure may be downloaded from the DNR Web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us. For more information, contact Kraig Kiger at (218) 327-0583, or kraig.kiger@dnr.state.mn.us
Number of anglers, hunters on decline in Minn., nationally
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota ranks No. 1 in the country in the number of anglers per capita, and ranks high in hunting, too, according to a new survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But the survey shows the overall number of sportsmen is dropping in Minnesota and nationwide.
Since 2001, the number of anglers nationally dropped 12 percent, from 34 million to 29.9 million, while the number of hunters dropped 4 percent, from 13 million to 12.5 million. In Minnesota, the number of anglers declined 11.7 percent, from 1.6 million to 1.4 million, and hunters dropped 9 percent, from 597,000 to 541,000.
But license sales data from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shows a hunter decline closer to the 4 percent national level, said Ryan Bronson, DNR hunter recruitment and retention supervisor.
Officials are concerned about the falling numbers because the sportsmen pay the bulk of the costs of fish and wildlife management through license fees and excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment. In Minnesota, they fund about 90 percent of the fisheries budget and 80 percent of the wildlife budget, Bronson said.
“Hunters and anglers are the heart and soul of the North American wildlife management model, and unfortunately now that model is broken,” he said. “The resources that hunters and anglers pay for benefits everyone in the state. But there’s a declining base of people paying the bills.”
Bronson said reasons for the decline include urbanization, cultural changes as youth take up other activities and parents have less time to take their children hunting or fishing, and the fact that the baby boomer generation is aging. Federal officials said higher gas prices and hurricanes also could be reasons for the decline.
The DNR started an Angler Legacy program this year to encourage anglers to introduce someone to fishing, and angler numbers appear to be higher this year, Bronson said. The DNR has increased youth hunting programs.
The report released June 18 is preliminary data from the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, a national survey done every five years since 1955.
© 2007 Outdoors Weekly Corporation