January 2, 2009 - TOP STORIES
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Hunters concerned about sale of wildlife land
A new formula for hunting, angling and conservation success
Minnesota man gives Wisconsin bluff to conservancy
Railroad: Train collision, leak didn’t kill fish
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Hunters concerned about sale of wildlife land
Some WMAs could be put on the public auction block
By John Cross, The Free Press
MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – Wildlife habitat on Minnesota’s private land has ebbed and flowed with the vagaries of farm programs and politics.
But most Minnesotans believe that once an area was purchased by or donated to the state and designated as a Wildlife Management Area, it would be there forever.
But the consequences of a law passed in 2005 by the Legislature now loom large and threaten that basic tenet.
Three years ago, legislators passed a bill that required that, by June 30, 2007, enough state-owned land must be identified and sold to raise at least $6,440,000, with the proceeds going to the general fund. The bill was re-authorized two years later, setting the deadline at June 30, 2009.
Any shortfalls in reaching the $6.44 million target would be made up from the state’s general budget that funds the various government agencies. To date, some $2.44 million has been raised through the sale of state lands.
With $4 million yet to be raised and the deadline looming, all state agencies, especially the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which oversees that lion’s share of state-owned real estate, have been identifying more parcels that could be put on the public auction block.
In Region 4, for example, which includes southwestern Minnesota and Blue Earth County, 33 parcels submitted by Forestry, Parks, Wildlife and Fisheries Divisions have been identified for possible sale.
Some of them could be WMAs, parcels of wildlife habitat frequently bought and paid for from hunting license fees and federal excise taxes on outdoor gear.
In Blue Earth County, three WMAs – Saiki WMA, 39 acres; Gage WMA, 34 acres; Hog Island, 15 acres – have been identified as possibly going on the auction block.
Joel Anderson, a DNR wildlife manager whose area includes Blue Earth County, said he limited his selection only to units that had problems with limited access, no access or other issues that limit its value and purpose as a WMA.
“I was very careful not to include any flagship WMAs or any WMAs that had been purchased with donations from clubs or organizations,’’ he said.
Saiki WMA has poor public access; Gage WMA has public access only by traveling two miles by river; Hog Island abuts against the community of Garden City and isn’t open to hunting.
In any case, he said it is uncertain as to whether WMAs, which involve federal Pittman-Robertson Funds, could be sold at all. “Because of federal restrictions, they couldn’t be sold very easily,’’ he said.
Ken Varland, Wildlife Manager for Region 4, said that the whole process will have to go through several administration levels and many hoops before any final decisions are made.
Falling short of the legislatively mandated $6.44 million piggy-backed on the projected $5.2 billion tax revenue shortfall will create some serious budget issues for the agency. “It would be more than just a few food plots,’’ Varland said. Rep. Tony Cornish recalled that the 2005 legislation mandating divestiture of state-owned land was part of an omnibus bill, and that he did not support that provision.
“Personally, I subscribe to the old Marine idea that when you gain a foot of land, you never give it up,’’ he said of the proposed land sale.
Nevertheless, he speculated that the DNR is not above “rattling their sabers when they’re threatened by the Legislature.’’
Howard Ward, a founding member and current board member of Blue Earth County Pheasants Inc., an organization that has raised and donated thousands of dollars to the DNR for acquisition of WMAs in the county, disapproves of the plan to sell off Blue Earth County WMAs in particular and the legislatively mandated land divestiture in general.
“Members go out and work hard to solicit prizes and raise cash to buy (WMAs) – it’s hard for them to see the Legislature mandate that these parcels be sold,’’ he said. “It’s not right.
“We shouldn’t even be looking at it. ... How can they even consider stealing what hunters bought and paid for?’’
A new formula for hunting, angling and conservation success
DNR News
A Waconia High School science teacher has discovered a winning formula to interest more young people in hunting and fishing, as well as conservation practices.
When not explaining photosynthesis or a topic such as Mendelian Genetics to students, Wayne Trapp is the Waconia High School Conservation Club Advisor.
Started in the spring of 2007, the conservation club has grown from 20 members to nearly 100, including an even split between boys and girls.
Trapp’s formula combines outdoor activities with community service projects.
“I think some of the success and appeal of the club is due to the variety of outdoors events that the kids can do,” Trapp said. “We also do some service projects and I think that the kids like to give back to their community.”
From September 2008 to July 2009, the Waconia High School Conservation Club calendar is full of activities ranging from recycling to bird banding to ice fishing to tree planting to several trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
Trapp said it would all be impossible without the help from a small group of dedicated parents, the enthusiasm of the kids and businesses and organizations willing to assist with this experimental outdoors initiative.
The conservation club was recent guests of Wings of Watertown, a hunting club near Watertown, Minn., for a day of pheasant hunting. Others chipped in as well.
“Wings of Watertown gave us an amazing deal on the birds that the club bought. Our local Pheasants Forever chapter reimbursed us for the cost of the birds. Then Cabin Fever, a local sporting goods store, donated all of the shotgun shells for the kids. The entire hunt didn’t cost the kids a thing,” Trapp said.
Before heading afield, a member of Carver County Soil and Water talked about habitat restoration and its importance to wildlife. Then State Conservation Officer Steve Walter of Waconia talked to the group about gun safety, hunting rules and ethics.
“Conservation Officer Walter has been an amazing supporter and a great resource that I have used not just for the club but also for the classes that I teach,” Trapp said. “He has been one of the driving forces that’s made this club possible and successful. He has given a lot of himself and has earned everyone’s admiration.”
Eight teens joined the hunt and bagged 15 birds.
“They saw a lot more birds, but I think they decided to ‘conserve’ them,” Trapp said. “All the kids went home with a couple of birds and they all had a blast, pun intended!”
Trapp hopes the formula of combining outdoors events with service projects blasts off a new generation of community-minded anglers, hunters and conservationists.
Trapp also had this to say: “It’s important that hunters, anglers and conservationists come together as a united group to promote, preserve and restore Minnesota’s natural resources, support community initiatives and preserve our hunting and fishing heritage for future generations. The Waconia High School Conservation Club is already working towards that end for the next generation.”
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Minnesota - Land of 10,000 lakes. Our lakes, waterways and wetlands are an important part of who we are and innovative steps are being taken every day to try to preserve their quality. Unusual alliances are being formed knowing the futures of these natural resources are important to everyone.
Conservationists and sportsmen are two groups that haven’t always seen eye to eye, yet partnerships between the two are effective in several areas which have resulted in successful lake and land preservation projects.
One such partnership has been created in Stearns County between Pheasants Forever (PF), the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Rice Lake Association (RLA), Koronis Lake Association (KLA), North Fork Crow River Watershed District (NFCRWD) and USDA. Stearns SWCD Shoreland Specialist Greg Berg and Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist Jason Selvog have helped spearhead the project. The North Fork Crow River Watershed District and Rice & Koronis Lake Associations were interested in stepping up their effort to preserve the watershed and incorporate shoreline restoration to the lakes. Berg and Selvog have been working closely with the two associations which are located about 30 miles south of St. Cloud. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) letters were sent to landowners in high priority areas explaining programs and benefits. “We just started the promotion part of the project. So far we have sent 33 letters and have had 10 landowners call us back for more information or site visits,” says Selvog. “Nine of those ten landowners have enrolled in CRP for a total of 122 acres. A response we are pleased with,” added Selvog.
A few landowners were interested in CRP whose property didn’t qualify. Research is on-going to help find programs to accomplish the water quality practices needed. There are a number of other programs out there for landowners, Selvog says, “If you don’t qualify for one, another may work for you.” Landowners eligible to participate in CRP enroll by signing a 10-15 year contract and agree to establish a cover such as native grasses and wildflowers. In return, the landowner receives annual rental on the acreage enrolled (typically around $74-$110 per acre in Stearns County). “Buffer strips are one the most common practices in Stearns County. Buffers are established adjacent to rivers, streams, ditches and certain wetlands and planted to grasses, wildflowers or trees to help reduce sediment and nutrients from entering the water,” says Selvog.
“Working with local groups is a great benefit because they have knowledge of where these programs are needed within their areas, and in many cases, have names of landowners that have already expressed interest”, said Berg. “These partnerships allow us to pin point high priority areas within the county or watershed”, said Berg
All programs and services of the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District are available without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status.
Minnesota man gives Wisconsin bluff to conservancy
WINONA, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota man has donated a 20-acre bluff in Wisconsin that overlooks the Mississippi River to land trust for preservation.
Eighty-three-year-old Stanley Ledebuhr of Winona says he watched peregrine falcons nest on the bluff near Fountain City, Wisconsin, when he was a young man.
The retired teacher donated it this week to the Mississippi Valley Conservancy based in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
A conservancy spokeswoman says the bluff will be its first nature preserve in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, and could foreshadow more efforts to preserve Wisconsin-side bluffs in the area.
Conservation specialist Abbie Meyer says the land is open for hiking, hunting, trapping and other public uses. She says the conservancy will attempt to restore habitat there for the peregrine falcon, which is endangered in Wisconsin.
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Railroad: Train collision, leak didn’t kill fish
DRESBACH, Minn. (AP) – A train collision that caused about 25,000 gallons of liquid fertilizer to leak into the Mississippi River last week hasn’t produced evidence of a fish kill, a railroad spokesman said last Saturday.
Investigators were still testing the quality of the water, but early indications suggested fish hadn’t been harmed, said Mike LoVecchio, a spokesman for Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
“We’ve done reconnaissance downriver and there’s no evidence of a fish kill,’’ LoVecchio told The Associated Press.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, one of the agencies overseeing the cleanup, said investigators were still tracking the river’s health, although the early results are promising.
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