March 21, 2008 - TOP STORIES
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Some cabin taxes going up due to rule change
Man cited for shooting deer for coyote bait
Grants to help future of elk herd
DNR to buy 106 acres of rare wetland in Carver Co.
Minn. deer hunters donate 78,000 pounds of venison
Some cabin taxes going up due to rule change
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – That cabin in the northern Minnesota woods could be getting a lot more expensive for Minnesotans who lease the land under it from the government.
The state Revenue Department is pushing a policy that would change the way those cabins are taxed. St. Louis County lease holders got notices in the past few days.
The change requires county assessors to tax cabin owners both for the value of the structure and the land included in the lease, even though they don’t own the land.
Until now, in St. Louis and a few other northern counties, cabin owners on leased government land paid property tax only on the value of the structure.
St. Louis County Assessor Mel Hintz (HIGH-ntz) says taxes will rise by $50 a year for a small deer shack to more than $2,000 a year on a lakefront cabin.
Revenue Department officials say the tax rule has been on the books since 1958 and that a few counties have misinterpreted that rule for years.
Hintz says the change could effect more than 2,000 leaseholders in St. Louis, Koochiching, Lake and Carlton counties.
Man cited for shooting deer for coyote bait
DNR News
A Lake City man is facing $11,000 in fines and restitution, over three years in jail, loss of hunting privileges and loss of a firearm from a deer poaching incident in January.
State Conservation Officer Tyler Quandt of Red Wing received a complaint on January 29, 2008, that someone had illegally shot two deer in rural Goodhue County.
When the Officer arrived in the area he witnessed an ATV pulling a wagon, turn into a field driveway. The driver of the ATV, Michael D. Kutina, 20, of Lake City, then loaded two deer onto the wagon. Kutina then returned to the roadway followed by an SUV driven by a friend. The Officer followed the pair to a nearby residence where he initially interviewed Kutina.
“Mr. Kutina told me that the deer were road kills and he was picking them up to use as coyote bait, and that the driver of the SUV was only there to help load the deer into Kutina’s Jeep. I told him his story didn’t sound very believable to me,” Officer Quandt said. “After several more ‘versions’ of the story he admitted that he shot the deer himself.”
The driver of the SUV was interviewed by Conservation Officer Kevin Prodzinski of Zumbrota, but was not charged.
Assistant Goodhue County Attorney David Grove said Kutina is charged with three gross misdemeanor counts, including taking deer during closed season (2 counts) and transporting illegally taken big game, as well as a misdemeanor count of shooting big game from a road right of way. Grove said excluding court surcharges each gross misdemeanor has a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine, the misdemeanor carries a sentence of not more than 90 days in jail or fine of not more than $1,000, or both, as well as $500 restitution for each deer if Kutina is convicted. A trial date has not been set.
The Officers said lawful hunters in Minnesota do not look favorably on activity such as this. But with the distances involved, conservation officers have to rely on tips from law-abiding hunters to have a chance of catching poachers.
“We need the honest sportsmen and sportswomen to call us with more tips,” Quandt said.
“A conservation officer has only one set of eyes. I cover 650 square miles. If the public out here is concerned about natural resources, every person is another set of eyes that can help catch those violating the law.”
Anyone witnessing wildlife or fishing code violations is encouraged to contact the nearest conservation officer, law enforcement agency or the toll-free Turn-In-Poacher (TIP) hotline at 800-652-9093. Also, #TIP is available to most cell phone users in Minnesota.
Grants to help future of elk herd
RMEF announces grants for Minnesota Conservation Projects
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Reports
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, an international conservation organization with a focus on habitat protection and enhancement, has announced its 2008 project grants for Minnesota.
Grants will affect Beltrami, Kittson and Marshall counties.
“This is all about ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat in Minnesota,” said David Allen, Elk Foundation president and CEO. “Grants are based on revenues from Elk Foundation fundraising banquets in Minnesota, as well as worthy project proposals.”
For 2008, four grants totaling $21,586 will help fund the following Minnesota conservation projects, listed by county:
Kittson County
Establish two new forage openings, reseed two existing openings and enlarge an existing legume plot affecting 90 acres at Skull Lake, Beaches Lake and Caribou wildlife management areas to enhance elk habitat and alleviate depredation issues; treat brush and aspen encroachment on 380 acres at Caribou, Beaches Lake and East Park wildlife management areas.
Marshall County
Plant 79 acres of forage openings at Grygla and Wapiti wildlife management areas to enhance elk habitat and alleviate depredation issues (also affects Beltrami County); shear and mow 250 acres of brush at Grygla, Wapiti and Moose River wildlife management areas to return area to early stages of vegetative succession, provide a mosaic of habitat types, and prepare for prescribed fire treatment in the future (also affects Beltrami County).
Since 1984, the Elk Foundation and its partners have completed more than 70 conservation projects in Minnesota with a value of nearly $1.4 million. Partners for 2008 projects in Minnesota include the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and MDHA North Red River Chapter.
To help protect wild elk country or learn more about the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, visit www.elkfoundation.org or call 800-CALL-ELK.
DNR to buy 106 acres of rare wetland in Carver Co.
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) – Some of Minnesota’s rarest wetland is about to come under the protection of the Department of Natural Resources.
Last week the Carver County board signed off on selling 106 acres of wetland called Seminary Fen to the DNR. The purchase price was not disclosed. Officials say it will be less than $1.5 million, or about $14,000 per acre.
The wetland is unusual because low oxygen levels in the water makes plants decompose more slowly. That creates a spongy layer of moss on the soil. Fens like this are the rarest and most protected wetlands in Minnesota.
The Seminary Fen lies in the Minnesota River Valley between Chanhassen and Chaska, south of Minneapolis. It has at least a dozen rare or threatened plant species.
Minn. deer hunters donate 78,000 pounds of venison
First year of new venison donation program a success
DNR News
In the first year of a new venison donation program, Minnesota hunters donated 1,977 deer, creating the opportunity for 97 food shelves located throughout Minnesota to distribute 78,000 pounds of venison.
“Overall, I think we had a very successful first year,” said Lou Cornicelli, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) big game program coordinator. “Most of the deer donated came from areas with overly high deer population densities, and the venison from those deer was put to very good use.”
The donations were made possible by a new venison donation program that allows hunters to donate harvested deer without having to pay processing costs. Managed by the DNR and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the program’s goal is to provide a sought-after food source to those in need while encouraging hunters to harvest additional animals to help manage the deer herd.
“Hunters always could donate harvested deer,” Cornicelli said. “But without funding, only a few deer were donated annually. The infusion of new money allowed us to greatly expand the program.”
The program is funded by a legislative appropriation, a non-resident license fee increase and voluntary donations when resident hunters purchase a deer licenses.
Cornicelli said the hunting portion of the program is designed to allow hunters to harvest extra deer in areas where deer populations are above wildlife management goals. In 2007, permit areas that allowed individual hunters to take more than one deer provided 95 percent of the donations. Nearly 70 percent of donated deer came from permit areas that allowed the harvest of five or more deer.
The program requires that hunters donate deer only to processors certified by the MDA and that deer be free from signs of illness, field dressed with the hide intact, free of visible decomposition or contamination and properly identified with a DNR registration tag. In 2007, 72 certified processors distributed the venison to 97 Minnesota food shelves.
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