August 31, 2007 - TOP STORIES
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Flooding shuts down No. 2 campground
Rochester Game Refuge open for early-season goose hunting
Minnesotan’s love affair with boats is changing, data show
High water casts suspicion on illegal netting activity
Retired conservation officer paddles off into the sunset
Flooding shuts down No. 2 campground
Minnesota’s No. 2 campground won’t open for months, hatcheries ruined
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By Chris Niskanen, St. Paul Pioneer Press
ST. PAUL (AP) – When it comes to nature tourism in southeastern Minnesota, the region’s bucolic rivers and streams giveth and they taketh away.
Two major river systems – the Whitewater and Root – turned into torrents of destruction during Sunday’s (Aug. 18) flooding, severely damaging popular camping, bicycling and fishing areas and facilities.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials were still surveying the damage, but one of the state park system’s jewels – Whitewater State Park near Elba – was heavily damaged and won’t reopen for months, they said.
The Middle Branch of the Whitewater River, which runs through the park, roared out of its banks early Sunday morning, wiping out three bridges and damaging campgrounds, restrooms, a group dining hall and the septic and water systems. About 500 campers were evacuated Saturday night, but a dozen campers were stranded at a primitive campsite overnight. They were evacuated the next morning.
“Luckily, our flood alarm system was activated, and no one was hurt,” said Chuck Kartak, deputy director of the DNR’s Division of Parks and Recreation. “But significant damage was done to the infrastructure, and the damage will be over $1 million, for sure.”
The 2,700-acre park ranks No. 2 in overnight camping visitors among 72 state parks and recreation areas, drawing about 300,000 people annually. Hundreds of campers with reservations are getting refunds, Kartak said.
Elsewhere, swollen rivers carved out new channels, ripped up trails and killed countless wild and hatchery trout.
Between Lanesboro and Houston, the Root River State Trail – one of the state’s most popular bicycling routes – was heavily damaged. About 400 feet of the paved trail washed away near Lanesboro, and four to five miles remain under water, said Forrest Boe, DNR Division of Trails and Waterways director. Deep mud covered parts of the 42-mile-long trail.
“It’s safe to say it will take over $1 million to repair,” Boe said.
Most hiking, bicycling and off-road trails are closed in southeast Minnesota until further notice. Boe advised canoeists and kayakers to stay away from swollen waterways.
“It’s very dangerous to be on the water because these rivers are still at flood stage,” he said.
Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery near Altura, an important trout-rearing facility, sustained heavy damage. Many of the hatchery’s 300,000 young trout died when the Middle Branch of the Whitewater River swept through the facility. Lake, brook and rainbow trout were killed, as well as a hybrid trout called splake. The fish were destined for dozens of lakes and river around the state, including Lake Superior.
“I don’t have an estimate, but there were significant losses,” said Darryl Bathel, DNR coldwater production supervisor.
Officials hope a prized strain of lake trout, used to restock Lake Superior for the past two decades, survived at Crystal Springs, but many young were killed.
“We spent the entire 1980s developing that strain of Isle Royale lake trout,” Bathel said. “Some fish are left in the raceway, but we don’t know how many.”
Two other DNR regional hatcheries, Lanesboro and Peterson, escaped major damage.
An unknown number of wild trout were killed by floodwaters, said Dirk Peterson, regional fisheries supervisor. The area’s unique, coldwater streams are the most popular trout fisheries in the state, and a pulse of warm, sediment-laden rainwater is deadly to trout.
While trout are, to a degree, adapted to survive small floods, “this is a localized flood of historic proportions,” Peterson said. There could be long-term negative impacts on spawning areas, he said.
Fisheries crews were assessing damage, but “when you move an entire (river) channel, that’s not a good thing,” Peterson said.
The DNR Web site has updates on the status of southeastern Minnesota state parks, state forest campgrounds, and state trails. The site also provides current climatological information. Go to www.mndnr.gov and click on the “Flooding Closures” button on the DNR home page. Information is also available from the DNR Information Center at (651) 296-6157 or toll free 1-888-MINNDNR (646-6367).
Rochester Game Refuge open for early-season goose hunting
DNR News
In an effort to control a growing population of urban geese, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has for the first time opened the Rochester Game Refuge during the early goose season Sept.1-22.
This refuge was not listed in the table of refuges open for goose hunting in the waterfowl regulations booklet, but is open for taking Canada geese during the early goose season only. The daily bag limit is two Canada geese and the possession limit is four.
Hunters are encouraged to research refuge boundaries carefully and attain permission before hunting, since much of the refuge is privately owned or within city limits, where firearms restrictions apply. Restrictions on hunting within 100 yards of surface water also apply, as they do across southeast Minnesota during the September goose season.
“Hunting is the DNR’s primary tool for managing game populations within sustainable levels,” said Don Nelson, DNR area wildlife manager. “By providing this opportunity, we’re targeting Canada geese that reside year round in Rochester to alleviate problems associated with the birds.”
First established in 1926, the 42,000-acre refuge has played a key role in the recovery of the Giant Canada Goose, a sub-species that was thought to be extinct until 1962, when biologists discovered a remnant flock over-wintering in the Rochester area. Today, Canada geese are ubiquitous throughout the city and, at their current population level, are a nuisance to homeowners and those who use parks and walking paths.
A special $4 permit, in addition to applicable waterfowl licenses and stamps, is required to hunt Canada geese during the special September and December seasons. All persons except residents under age 18 or age 65 and older or those hunting on their own land, are required to have the special permit when participating in the September or December hunt.
Special goose permits are available at all of the 1,800 locations across Minnesota where hunting and fishing licenses are sold. There is no deadline for purchasing a permit. More details about waterfowl hunting and licenses are available in the 2007 Waterfowl Regulations Handbook, available at license agents now or online at www.mndnr.gov
REFUGE BOUNDARY MODIFICATIONS
The DNR is modifying the Rochester Game Refuge boundary to accommodate a desire by Olmsted County to acquire land in the Gordy Yeager Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in order to develop an energy park utilizing steam and electricity generated by burning solid waste.
While discussions between county and state regarding any land transfer are only at a preliminary phase, agency officials said they want to start preparing for the possibility. To that end, the DNR has extended the Rochester Game Refuge eastward to include the 208-acre Haverhill WMA, where food plots would be planted to replace the ones at Gordy Yeager WMA, which would gradually be phased out. A similar amount of acreage between Olmsted County Road 11 and U.S. Highway 63 will be dropped from the refuge.
The Haverhill WMA will be closed to entry from Sept. 1 through March 1 to limit disturbance, thereby further encouraging Canada geese to modify their feeding patterns outside of the Gordy Yeager WMA.
“Limiting public access to the Haverhill WMA, particularly during hunting season, is not a step the DNR takes lightly,” Nelson said. “However, we feel that it is a necessary if we are going to successfully change the feeding pattern of Rochester’s Canada goose flock.”
The DNR is currently seeking additional WMA acreage in the southeast to replace hunting opportunities lost at the Haverhill WMA.
Minnesotan’s love affair with boats is changing, data show
The Land of 10,000 Lakes is No. 1 in the nation in number of boats per capita
MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) – The lake, rippled by a warm south breeze, shimmers in the morning sun like cut glass. Jack Honmyhr noses the bow of his 25-foot cruiser into the bay, then nudges the chrome throttle lever forward.
With a throaty roar, the V-8 Chrysler engine below deck comes alive, churning up a wake of frothy white water. Waves slap the white fiberglass hull, rhythmically rocking the boat. It’s another fine morning on Lake Minnetonka.
“I’m in love with the water,” Honmyhr, 60, said the other day above the din of the engine. “I’ve loved it since I was 5 or 6. There’s just something about it. ... I think in my previous life I was a sea captain – or maybe a pirate.”
Honmyhr – a Minneapolis resident who swapped a duplex for his 1980 Trojan cruiser 20 years ago – is a postal worker by night, captain of his boat by day. “I’m out here almost every day,” he said.
He represents Minnesotan’s affinity for boats – and water.
Call it an addiction. An indulgence. Even a seduction. Boaters themselves have a difficult time describing the mesmerizing attraction of the water. It’s often many things: The loon calling at dusk. The waves lapping the shoreline. The fish tugging the line. The cool swim. The camaraderie with friends or family.
Whatever, for many it is like the mythical Greek Siren’s call: irresistible.
The Land of 10,000 Lakes is No. 1 in the nation in number of boats per capita. The number of boats as a percentage of the population – about 16 per 100 residents – likely has never been higher. And residents rank boating as their No. 2 favorite outdoor recreation, far ahead of such activities as biking, camping, golfing and hunting and behind only walking/hiking.
From basic canoes to lavish yachts and every floating craft in between, more than 853,000 boats were registered here last year – one for every six men, women and children.
And though we have only 5 million residents, the state ranks No. 4 in total number of boats, behind only far more populous Florida, California and Michigan.
Boats are an integral part of Minnesota’s culture, heritage and identity. Its first inhabitants traveled by birch bark canoes; its first white settlers arrived in boats. It has a storied history of boat builders, fishing tackle makers, lake cabin lore. Heck, water skiing was invented here.
“It’s just a way of life for us,” said Dave Perkins, 65, a lifelong boater, angler and former owner of the Minneapolis Boat Show and Northwest Sportshow who lives in Eden Prairie.
Of course, it’s also become big business. Boating – and all that goes with it, including fishing, resorts and travel – is a major component of the $10 billion state tourism industry. Minnesotans spent $500 million for power boats, trailers and accessories last year.
But Minnesotans’ love affair with boats has changed dramatically in recent years. Those who plied the state’s waters just 20 or 30 years ago would barely recognize the boating world today. Fueled by population growth, technological advancements in boats, motors and the vehicles that tow them, a wealthier middle class and a desire for things bigger and better, boating has been transformed.
The experience of White Bear Lake’s Dave Witte, 49, underscores the dramatic shift toward bigger and better boats. An avid angler, Witte, at age 17, had the classic red 14-foot Lund with a 25-horsepower Mercury outboard.
“My favorite lake was Mille Lacs, and I’d use landmarks to find the fishing spots,” he recalled.
Recently, 30 years and a half-dozen boats later, Witte bought the boat of his dreams: an 18.5-foot Ranger Reata, a fiberglass boat with a 150-horsepower Yamaha four-stroke motor, two depth finders, two GPS devices and an electric trolling motor. Cost: nearly $40,000.
He’s also very mobile, another trend of today’s boat owners.
“I fish the whole state, especially north – Lake of the Woods, Winnie (Winnibigoshish), Mille Lacs, Gull, Pelican,” Witte said. “I get a kick out of traveling around.”
He spent three weeks of vacation this spring on the water, fishing. His wife and son sometimes join him, but his 70-year-old mother, Betty, is a constant fishing companion.
“Fishing has always been part of my life; it’s in my blood,” Witte said. “When I’m on the water, my mind is totally released. You’re in another state of mind.”
Independence’s Kate Stenso Miller, 48, has traveled on Lake of the Woods with boats and motors since she was a youngster. And she’s boated and camped in Voyageurs National Park.
But these days, Miller is one of the growing number of kayak paddlers. She and her husband bought $1,300 plastic kayaks last year. And last month, they paddled them and camped for six days in Voyageurs.
“It’s just a quieter, fun way to travel,” she said. “We saw so much more than we’ve ever seen before. I like that you’re close to the water.”
Stenso Miller, an outdoor recreation specialist at Three Rivers Park District, teaches introductory kayaking courses, which these days are always full. One of the attractions is that, unlike most canoes, you don’t need a partner.
Still, despite the growth of kayaks, Minnesota remains canoe country. There are about 146,000 canoes – more than five times the number of kayaks.
Woodbury’s Joe Reischel, 53, paddles his 17-foot Old Town canoe every other weekend, often on the Namekagon River in Wisconsin or the St. Croix River. He leads canoe and kayak trips to those waters for the River Ramblers Canoe/Kayak Club.
“I’ve been paddling since I was a kid,” he said recently. “It helps me forget about work. I enjoy nature, it’s healthy, it’s easy on the environment ... there’s lots of good things about it.”
Scott Clausen and his family are at the other end of the boating spectrum.
The 47-year-old Maple Grove resident has had boats most of his life, starting with 17-foot runabouts. Five years ago, he bought a dandy – a 1995 40-foot Cruisers – the family’s home on the water.
It has air conditioning, a galley with stove and microwave, running water – even a TV and DVD for his 17- and 13-year-old daughters. And it has twin 454-horsepower engines to cruise Lake Minnetonka, where he berths it.
“The name of the boat is Quality Time,” Clausen said. “We’re always looking for quality time with the family. We spend a lot of time on it. The reason I like boating is it’s a time to enjoy family and friends.”
Often, Clausen and four or five friends anchor their boats together in one of Minnetonka’s bays and socialize or enjoy swimming or water sports.
“It’s a floating fun barge,” he said. “The whole scene becomes your social life.”
Yes, buying and maintaining a 40-foot luxury boat is expensive, Clausen said. “But so is owning a cabin,” he added. “And I don’t have to drive for hours to get there. I can be on Lake Minnetonka in 15 minutes from my home.”
The $4-per-gallon gas at marinas these days isn’t a huge problem, either, he said, because he doesn’t motor far in his boat.
Clausen echoed the thoughts of many Minnesota boaters, whether captains of small boats or large:
“As long as I’m on the water, I’m happy.”
Call it a sea change. Among them:
• Boat numbers – up 30 percent in the past 20 years – have climbed steadily with the state’s population. But that growth has leveled off in recent years, and state officials wonder if the number of boats is about to plateau.
• The basic 14-foot aluminum fishing boat with a small outboard – once ubiquitous – has disappeared. Boats – and the motors that power them – have grown ever larger. The average boat length was 15 feet in 1986, 18 feet by 2005. The average horsepower was 35 in 1986, and 100 in 2005, according to Department of Natural Resources surveys.
• As incomes have risen, people are spending more for boats. Nationwide, the average boat-motor-trailer package cost $26,000 last year. “Americans are a lot wealthier now; they can afford more,” said Tim Kelly, a DNR research analyst. “They want a more substantial boat.”
• People have the money to buy boats, but they apparently have less time to use them. DNR boating-use surveys show that though there are more boats in the state than ever, they are being used less. “We suspect people have the means to purchase them, but they just don’t have the time to use them,” Kelly said.
• While fishing was – and remains for many – a driving force in boating, that, too, has changed. In 1986, 71 percent of boaters in a west-central Minnesota survey reported fishing was their primary activity; that number fell to 47 percent in 2005. That trend appears to be a statewide phenomenon, Kelly said. “More are engaged in pleasure boating and fewer are fishing,” he said. “The decrease in fishing has been pretty dramatic.”
• Pontoon boats are hot. They represented 6 percent of the boats in the west-central region in 1986 but climbed to 19 percent in 2005 – a trend likely occurring statewide, Kelly said. They are especially popular with lakeshore owners. “It’s probably the most social craft you can buy,” Kelly said. “You can take out a reasonably sized group, have lunch, stop and swim.”
• Two very disparate watercraft – personal watercraft and kayaks – once were virtually nonexistent on state waters but now are commonplace. While their overall numbers aren’t large, both have grown dramatically over just the past 15 years. Last year there were nearly 26,000 kayaks, an 891 percent increase from 1991. And there were 46,000 personal watercraft, up 512 percent from 1991.
High water casts suspicion on illegal netting activity
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DNR News
Early on July 23, Kevin Cook, a DNR Fisheries specialist at the Crystal Springs trout hatchery near Rochester, noticed a van and group of men near the south branch of the Whitewater River. Recent rains have made the river difficult to fish. Cook contacted Rochester Conservation Officer Mitch Boyum.
“About 200 hundred yards from the road I observed four men standing on the bank of the stream,” Boyum said. “None of them held or possessed a fishing pole. I watched a large net being cast into the stream by one man while three others assisted in pulling in the net and taking fish out. I watched them do this approximately six times.”
Boyum asked Conservation Officer Tom Hemker of Winona to assist.
At about noon, Boyum noticed two of the men walking on the trail toward their vehicle, one carrying a bucket covered with a shirt.
“I approached them and announced myself as a conservation officer and asked to see fishing licenses,” Boyum said. “When the man set the bucket down, part of the shirt moved and I could see the bucket was full of fish. I could only see brown trout. I told them to walk to their vehicle and remain with officer Hemker.”
Boyum observed the two other men standing in the stream holding the net.
“As I approached them, they saw me and dropped the net and started to walk away. I announced myself as a conservation officer and told them to stay there, but they kept walking out of sight into the woods,” Boyum said. “I cut through the woods and found both of them hiding in tall grass. When I asked them where the net was, they said they did not know and that it was in the stream somewhere.
After the subjects were cited, Boyum returned to the area, searched the bottom of the stream with a pole and located the net. It was then taken as evidence, along with 79 brown trout.
Cited with an over-limit of trout were Carlos M. Bonete, 21, Angel Cardenas, 44, and Carlos Chalco, 47, all of Minneapolis, and Oscar Morocho, 30, Milwaukee, Wis.
The possession limit for stream trout from April 14-Sept. 4 in Olmsted County is five combined (not more than one over 16 inches). Each man faces a fine/restitution of at least $1,000. They were also cited for illegal use/possession of a net to take trout. Bonete was also found to have an active warrant, and was placed under arrest by the Winona County Sheriff’s Department and transported to jail. A court date for the fishing violations is set for Aug. 31 in Olmsted County District Court.
“We always say the public is a valuable asset in deterring poaching, but in this instance it was a fellow DNR employee,” Boyum said. “My advice is if anyone sees anything suspicious to give us a call or call the Turn-In-Poachers hotline at 1-800-652-9093.”
Retired conservation officer paddles off into the sunset
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DNR News
What does a conservation officer do when he hangs up his badge after 25 years? In Jeff Thielen’s case, paddle the Mississippi River.
Thielen, 52, joined the river at its source at Lake Itasca in the Minnesota northwoods shortly after retiring on June 26.
“I have no particular reason to do this other than I now have the time to do so,” Thielen said. “I also thought it a fitting way to culminate my career.”
The Little Falls native will travel the 2,300 miles of the world’s fourth largest river by canoe, ending in the Gulf of Mexico in early September. Initially he averaged about 35-40 miles a day on the water, but with the current reaching around 6 miles per hour on the southern stretch of the river he has been averaging 50 miles a day. At last report he was about to enter Arkansas.
Along the way he said he’s meeting “friendly people” who have congratulated him on his retirement, and envying the time he now has to take such an adventure.
Thielen’s been camping and sleeping in a tent, staying on sandbars, campgrounds, marinas, backyards, and even a dock during the trip. The most luxurious place he’s stayed was a camper Conservation Officer Brent Speldrich of McGregor set up near Palisade, Minn. Patty Thielen says it’s the only time her husband has been in air-conditioning during the trip. Many days the heat index was 105 degrees.
“Jeff traveled during some of the hottest weather in the country,” Patty Thielen said. “It was tough on him, but people have been very generous. He had a boater come up to him one morning and offer him blueberry muffins and ice cold orange juice. Jeff really appreciated that.”
Patty paddled with her husband for five days, starting in Bemidji and going to a little town called Jacobson. Other than that his only constant companionship has been “Nelson” and “Uncle Joe.”
In the movie “Castaway,” Tom Hanks survived a plane crash and swam to a deserted island and opened all the Fed Ex packages that washed ashore.
One of the packages contained a Wilson volleyball. Craving companionship, Hanks painted a face on it and called it “Wilson.” As a retirement gift, the DNR staff at Nelson Hall at Camp Ripley bought Thielen a basketball, signed it and named it “Nelson” after the friendly ghost claimed to live in the building. “Uncle Joe” is another story.
“Jeff is carrying a vial with him that contains the ashes of Conservation Officer Tracy Hanson’s uncle,” said Captain Mike Hammer, a friend and former coworker of Thielen. “Her ‘Uncle Joe’ always wanted to paddle the Mississippi River, but apparently never had the opportunity to do so while he was alive. When Jeff reaches the gulf he’ll release the ashes into the ocean.”
Though companions they may be, Thielen said he would not choose to make another solo journey; however, he has been keeping a diary of his trip.
“He is very faithful about writing in it each day,” Patty Thielen said. “I also gave him a digital waterproof camera so he could take pictures of his trip, but he’s had little time to do so. But I know Jeff will come back with many new experiences to share.”
“I’ve met a lot of really nice people along the way,” Thielen said, “but have not noticed as many young people enjoying the river as I thought I would. What I have also noticed is a lot of all-terrain vehicles parked at the homes, cabins and resorts along the river. I hope my trip can get a few more people on the water either canoeing or kayaking.”
Patty Thielen said after a lifetime of giving to others her husband’s trip is well deserved.
“I am glad he is finally getting to do some of the things he has always wanted to do,” Patty Thielen said. “Jeff likes to do things in a big way. I know he will be happy to say that he has paddled the entire Mississippi River. How many people can say they did that when they retired?”
© 2007 Outdoors Weekly Corporation