April 25, 2008 - TOP STORIES
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Deer reduction efforts in bovine TB area eliminate need for special spring hunt
Ham Lake fire anniversary to be marked by tree plantings
Sturgeon Classic should be a big one
Bemidji area streams closed to fishing during peak walleye spawning
Report: Fishing brings $1 billion to Driftless area
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Deer reduction efforts in bovine TB area eliminate need for special spring hunt
A total of 1,028 deer taken
DNR News
Sharpshooters, hunters and landowners have taken 1,028 deer as part of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) efforts to stop the potential spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in northwestern Minnesota.
“Successful sharpshooting efforts have eliminated the need for a special disease hunt on public lands this spring,” said Paul Telander, DNR northwest region wildlife manager. “Hunters would likely have harvested very few deer due to reduced populations.”
Deer population in the 164 square-mile core of the bovine TB disease management area was estimated at about 800 animals during an aerial survey conducted in January before sharpshooting efforts began. As of April 14, Telander said, aerial sharpshooters had taken 416 deer and ground sharpshooters had taken 398 animals in and near the core area, bringing the 2008 sharpshooting total to 814 animals.
In addition, landowners have taken 94 deer in an expanded area and a special early January hunt conducted in the deer permit area 101 resulted in hunters harvesting 120 animals.
In 2007, deer population in the 164 square-mile core area was estimated at about 920 animals and sharpshooters took 488 deer.
“Our intent is to keep pressure on this small portion of Minnesota’s 1.2 million wild deer herd until the disease is eliminated,” Telander said. “Landowners have the opportunity to assist us in this effort. But that opportunity carries the responsibility of following the special rules, exercising safety precautions, testing every deer shot and taking special care to respect neighbors and private property.”
DNR recognizes the sacrifice involved for hunters in the core disease management area, he said. But population reduction is a necessary step to remove as many potentially infected animals as possible, increasing the likelihood that the disease can be eliminated in wild deer.
“Targeting deer reduction efforts to the smallest possible area minimizes impacts on the deer herd while effectively addressing bovine TB management needs,” Telander said.
Since bovine TB first was detected in cattle in 2005, 18 deer have tested bovine TB-positive.
The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine does initial screenings on the deer to detect likely positives. These are then sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for confirmation.Laboratory results are pending on the 1,028 additional deer taken since January 2008, but preliminary results indicate that eight additional deer may be infected. All of the confirmed positive deer as well as the suspect deer are adults and were in alive in 2005 when bovine TB was first discovered in the area. The prevalence of the disease in wild deer still remains low and is restricted to a small geographic region.
While aerial sharpshooting has concluded, ground sharpshooters will resume their efforts April 21 and continue through at least the end of April. A special rule allows landowners, tenants and their designees to take deer without a permit through Aug. 31. Special and expanded hunts also are being planned for fall 2008 and winter 2009.
DNR efforts to eliminate bovine TB in wild deer are part of a cooperative effort with the Board of Animal Health (BAH) and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to regain the state’s bovine TB-free status.
To find out more about the state’s response to this issue, go to www.bah.state.mn.us/tb/index
Ham Lake fire anniversary to be marked by tree plantings
More than 250 volunteers have signed up to plant 75,000 red and white pine trees
ALONG THE GUNFLINT TRAIL, Minn. (AP) – Several hundred volunteers have already signed up to plant 75,000 new trees along the Gunflint Trail to mark the first anniversary of the most destructive forest fire in Minnesota in 90 years.
The Gunflint Green Up celebration is planned for May 2-4, a year after the Ham Lake fire burned across 76,000 acres in northeast Minnesota and western Ontario. More than 250 volunteers are signed up to plant the red and white pine trees.
“It’s a healing process for us up here, and for the people who don’t live here but still love this country,” Dan Bauman, co-owner of Golden Eagle Lodge and chief of the Gunflint Train Volunteer Fire Department, told the Duluth News Tribune. “It’s also a notice to people that we’re still here. We’re open. This is still the most beautiful wilderness in Minnesota.”
The weekend events also include food, music, dance, a half marathon and educational talks. It’s also billed as one of Minnesota’s sesquicentennial celebration events.
The Ham Lake fire, which burned out of control from May 5 to May 20 last year, damaged or destroyed 136 structures in Minnesota including six permanent homes and 22 seasonal cabins. No one was killed or seriously injured, but it was the largest wildfire in Minnesota since 1918 in acreage, lost buildings and financial damage.
Authorities said the fire was caused by an unattended campfire at Ham Lake. Results of an investigation were turned over to the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota; so far, no charges have been filed.
Fire risk is much lower this year than in the previous few years, when drought conditions prevailed over much of northeastern Minnesota. Recent heavy snows and autumn rains helped refill swamps, lakes and streams across much of the region, and wetted down forest areas.
Forestry experts say much of the forest area struck by fire will regenerate on its own, but the Forest Service is replanting some areas near the Gunflint Trail and other spots where the majority of large seed trees were wiped out.
“Our crews, even last summer already, could see a lot of areas that were regenerating naturally,” said Kris Reichenbach spokeswoman for Superior National Forest. “But there are pockets that could use some help, especially right along the (road) corridor.”
The volunteer tree-planting effort is being coordinated by the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee and the Gunflint Trail Association, and will focus on public places in Superior National Forest: boat landings, campgrounds and access points to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, including the hard-hit Trails End and Iron Lake Campgrounds.
The trees were donated by nurseries and the Iron Range Resources agency. They’ll be planted in pockets to mimic natural stands, not in rows or plantations. Forest Service personnel will be on hand to steer the efforts.
All the plantings will take place outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which because it is an official federal wilderness will be allowed to regenerate completely on its own.
Sturgeon Classic should be a big one
Growing number of entrants expected at 2nd Annual Lake of the Woods Sturgeon Tournament held May 2-3; purse potential of several hundred dollars each day
BAUDETTE, Minn. – The Second Annual Catch and Release Sturgeon Tournament expects many entrants in the competition on Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, at Sportsman’s Lodge, for between-seasons fun, and an attractive purse.
The Sturgeon Classic offers a cash prize for the longest sturgeon caught on EACH of the two days with a portion of the proceeds donated to local charities,” according to Sportsman’s Lodge owner, Gregg Hennum.
“The weekend of the sturgeon tournament is a great way to bridge the gap until walleye season opens, and there are some really big, healthy sturgeon in our waters,” adds Hennum.
“Last year, Bill Sandy of Warroad, MN caught (and released) the longest fish on Friday, a 62-inch sturgeon; his son-in-law, Scott Steinbring, of Warroad, MN won the second day with a 58-inch sturgeon. Each won a cash pay out of about $700, based on the number of people entered in the tournament.”
Tournament entry fee of $60 per person includes registration for two days of fishing, as well as banquet, door prizes, and music at Sportsman’s Lodge. Packages for lodging (as low as $35 per person per night in May based on double occupancy), registration fee, and meal packages are available at Sportsman’s.
The event is put on with the cooperation and support of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
For more information, rules, and special packages, contact Gregg Hennum, Sportsman’s Lodge, phone: 800-862-8602, or 218-634-1342; e-mail: info@sportsmanslodges.com; web: www.sportsmanslodges.com
Bemidji area streams closed to fishing during peak walleye spawning
DNR News
Six streams in Beltrami and Clearwater counties will be temporarily closed to fishing by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources April 25 through May 9 in order to protect concentrations of spawning walleye. The affected streams are:
• Blackduck River, County Road 32 north to Red Lake Reservation boundary
• Clearwater River, Below Clearwater Lake Dam for 900 feet
• Mississippi River, Below Ottertail Power Dam to County Road 12
• Shotley Brook, State Highway 72 to Upper Red Lake
• Tamarac River, Upper Red Lake to Beltrami-Koochiching county line
• Turtle River, Below Three Island Dam to Co. Road 23
These streams will be closed to all angling and rough fish spearing. If spawning is prolonged by late ice conditions, the closure could be extended beyond May 9. Major access points will be posted during the period of closure.
For more information, contact Bemidji Area Fisheries at (218) 308-2339.
Report: Fishing brings $1 billion to Driftless area
More than 125,000 anglers visit the region annually
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) – Fishing generates about a billion dollars for the economy of the Driftless Area, which includes parts of southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin, according to a report released April 14.
Researchers with Madison-based NorthStar Economics Inc., surveyed trout stamp holders in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa about their fishing and spending habits in the Driftless Area for Trout Unlimited.
They found more than 125,000 anglers visit the region annually, pumping about $650 million directly into the local economy. That spending leads to about $465 million in indirect benefits as the money keeps circulating, the report said.
Men and women of all ages, income and education levels fish in the area, the study found, but most are men with college, graduate or technical degrees from households that earn $60,000 to $80,000 annually.
Anglers reported spending an average of $4,000 per year in the Driftless Area, largely by staying in local hotels and eating in local restaurants.
The Driftless Area is a region that includes parts of northwestern Illinois, northeastern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota, and southwestern Wisconsin. Glaciers that leveled much of the four states’ landscape flowed around the Driftless Area and left the region’s distinctive coulees and bluffs untouched.
Trout Unlimited is a coldwater fisheries conservation organization. It has more than 150,000 members nationwide, including more than 9,000 members in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
© 2008 Outdoors Weekly (PK Outdoors, Inc.)