October 2, 2009
Eurasian watermilfoil discovered in Chub Lake in Carlton County
Deer hunters encouraged to participate in disease surveillance testing
Gander Mountain Company Announces Intent to Go Private
Minn. DNR defends fatal shooting of black bear
Cabin owners in Minn. forests balk at higher fees
Eurasian watermilfoil discovered in Chub Lake in Carlton County
Eurasian watermilfoil (milfoil) was discovered in Chub Lake in early September by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Area Fisheries staff. A recent follow-up survey found several stands of milfoil in the lake. The discovery of milfoil in Chub Lake is the first in Carlton County.
Milfoil can form thick mats of vegetation at the water's surface that can interfere with water recreation such as boating, fishing, and swimming. The plant's floating canopy can also crowd out important native water plants. Milfoil can reproduce through stem fragmentation and runners.
A single fragment of stem and leaves can take root and form a new colony.
Fragments clinging to boats and trailers can spread the plant from lake to lake. In Minnesota, it is unlawful to transport aquatic plants or prohibited invasive species on public roads or attempt to launch a watercraft with them attached.
In response to this new infestation, the DNR will:
· Designate Chub Lake as an infested water which prohibits the transport of water and limits bait harvest.
· Add new signs at the public water access on Chub Lake to indicate the presence of the milfoil.
· Initiate watercraft inspections and enforcement efforts around the lake to help prevent the spread of milfoil.
· Work with the lake association and lake residents on possible management of the plant.
The problems caused by milfoil can be managed by controlling the plant. Unfortunately, eradication or elimination of the plant from lakes is not a realistic goal.
“The DNR has more than 20 years’ experience with attempts to eradicate Eurasian watermilfoil from Minnesota lakes,” said Chip Welling, Aquatic Invasive Species Management coordinator at the DNR.
“We also have learned a lot from watching efforts in other states. The plant can be managed but complete eradication is not a realistic goal.”
To help stop aquatic hitchhikers such as Eurasian watermilfoil, boaters are urged to be extra thorough when looking for and removing aquatic plants from their boats, trailers, nets, anchors and other equipment before trailering them. It is unlawful in Minnesota to transport water from infested waters, aquatic plants, and prohibited invasive species on public roads or to launch watercraft with them attached.
Eurasian watermilfoil was first discovered in Minnesota in 1987 and has since been discovered in 224 lakes and eight rivers or streams.
Deer hunters encouraged to participate in disease surveillance testing
Hunters who register deer in northwestern and southeastern Minnesota this fall are encouraged to allow Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff to remove small tissue samples from their animals as part of a disease surveillance effort. The DNR will have staff at selected deer registration stations to conduct bovine tuberculosis (TB) sampling in portions of the northwest and chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling in portions of the southeast.
“It takes five minutes or less to collect a sample,” said Dr. Michelle Carstensen, DNR wildlife health program coordinator. “This small voluntary time commitment is important because it provides the big picture of what’s happening with the health of our deer herd.”
Hunters who provide samples will be given a DNR cooperator’s patch and will also be eligible to enter a Minnesota Deer Hunters Association raffle for a firearm.
NORTHWEST EARLY ANTLERLESS SEASON
The DNR will start its surveillance by collecting samples from hunter-harvested deer in northwestern Minnesota during the October early antlerless season. Lymph nodes, collected from the deer’s head, will be tested for bovine tuberculosis (TB) during the two- day hunt, Oct.
10-11.
DNR personnel will staff four deer registrations stations within and near Permit Area 101, including Grygla Co-op (Grygla), Riverfront Station (Wannaska), Olson’s Skime Store (Skime), and Fourtown Store (Fourtown), from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days of the hunt.
Bovine TB, a bacterial disease that primarily affects cattle, was first detected in northwest Minnesota in 2005. To date, this disease has been confirmed in 12 cattle herds and 26 free-ranging white-tailed deer.
“While we are still finding a few deer with bovine TB, the prevalence of the disease in deer is decreasing,” Carstensen said.
Last fall, nearly 1,250 hunter-harvested deer were sampled for bovine TB in northwestern Minnesota and none of the animals were found infected with the disease. Two deer were found infected this past winter within the 164-square mile bovine TB core area near Skime during deer removal efforts, which removed approximately 750 animals.
“That was good news,” Carstensen said. “Both deer found infected last winter were seven years old, adding further support to the theory that bovine TB is not being spread efficiently in the deer herd.”
NORTHWEST REGULAR FIREARMS SEASON
The DNR intends to staff 23 registration stations during the Nov. 7-8 opening weekend of the firearms season, with select stations continuing to collect samples during the entire first week and second weekend of the hunt. “Our sampling goal is to collect a total of 1,800 samples,” Carstensen said. “The only way to achieve that number is for hunters to participate in the program.”
Hunters should not be concerned about eating venison from deer harvested in the northwest.
The TB bacterium is very rarely found in meat (muscle tissue). Since bovine TB is primarily spread through respiration, the bacterium is generally found in lung tissue. As a precaution, all meats should be thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F for 15 seconds. This effectively kills all known bacteria, including bovine TB and E. coli.
SOUTHEAST FIREARMS SEASON
DNR staff will collect lymph node tissue samples at 24 deer registration stations and three meat processors in counties along the Wisconsin border and around the Rochester area. These tissues will be tested for CWD, an animal disease that was discovered in Wisconsin in
2002 and was recently discovered in a captive elk herd north of Rochester.
The DNR aims to collect 3,000 samples by staffing registration stations during four weekends in November. The DNR’s surveillance efforts will be assisted by University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine students.
The agency also will continue targeted surveillance, meaning it will investigate reports of live deer that appear to be sick and obtain samples if possible. The public is encouraged to report sick deer to their area wildlife office. To date, CWD has not been found in a wild deer in Minnesota. Since 2002, more than 30,000 deer have been tested for CWD statewide.
CWD is an infectious neurological disease that occurs in deer, elk and moose and belongs to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Chronic wasting disease is progressively fatal and has no known immunity, vaccine or treatment.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other public health officials have concluded there is no link between CWD and any neurological disease in humans. The DNR is undertaking this year’s effort because of its presence within the captive elk herd and the proximity of southeastern Minnesota to free-ranging deer in Wisconsin.
Gander Mountain Company Announces Intent to Go Private
ST. PAUL, Minn. - PRNewswire-FirstCall -- Gander Mountain Company (www.GanderMtn.com) (Nasdaq: GMTN), the nation's largest retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, camping, and marine products and services and outdoor lifestyle apparel and footwear, today (Sept. 28) announced its intent to cease its public company status.
A special committee of the company's board of directors, comprised of independent directors, has recommended, and the board of directors has approved, plans to cease the registration of its common stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company expects that, as a result of this deregistration, its shares of common stock will cease to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market.
Going-Private Transaction
In order to ensure that it will be eligible to deregister its shares of common stock, in accordance with SEC rules and regulations, Gander Mountain will reduce its number of beneficial shareholders to below 300. To accomplish this, the special committee of the board recommended, and the board of directors approved, an amendment to the company's articles of incorporation to effect a 1-for-30,000 reverse stock split of its common stock. After the reverse stock split, any shareholder holding less than one share will receive a cash payment of $5.15 for each share held prior to the reverse split. Immediately following the reverse stock split, the company will file a second amendment to its articles of incorporation to effect a 30,000-for-1 forward stock split. As a result, shareholders owning 30,000 or more shares of common stock at the time of the reverse split will retain their current numbers of shares of common stock without change and not receive cash in the transaction. The funding for the cash payment for the fractional shares described above will be provided by the company's two largest shareholders, Gratco LLC and Holiday Stationstores, Inc.
Gander Mountain's board of directors decided to pursue taking the company private after concluding that the disadvantages of remaining an SEC-reporting company, including the costs associated with ongoing regulatory requirements, outweighed the benefits of public company status to the company and its shareholders. Greene Holcomb & Fisher LLC, independent financial advisor to the special committee, determined that the cash-out price of fractional shares is fair from a financial point of view to those shareholders who would be cashed out in the proposed transaction.
Under Minnesota law, Gander Mountain's board may amend its articles of incorporation to conduct the stock splits without the approval of the company's shareholders, therefore it is not seeking the approval of the going-private transaction from our shareholders.
Once Gander Mountain becomes a private company, it intends to continue its efforts to improve operating performance and reduce its outstanding indebtedness. The company's two largest shareholders have agreed to make an offer to purchase shares held by remaining shareholders following the going private transaction at the same price of $5.15 per share following effectiveness of the stock splits described above.
Prior to consummating the going-private transaction described above, the company must file a preliminary information statement and a transaction statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following review by the SEC, the company intends to distribute a definitive information statement to its shareholders and to effect the going-private transaction as soon as practicable following the date that is 20 days after the distribution of the information statement to shareholders. The company anticipates the transaction will be completed in early 2010. If the transaction is completed, the company would no longer file periodic reports with the SEC. This release is not an offer to acquire or sell any securities.
The special committee and the board of directors each have reserved the right to change the terms of the proposed reverse stock split, including the split ratio, to the extent they believe it is necessary or desirable in order to accomplish the goal of reducing the number of beneficial holders to fewer than 300. The special committee may also abandon the proposed transaction at any time prior to its completion if it believes that the proposed transaction is no longer in the best interests of the company or its shareholders.
Minn. DNR defends fatal shooting of black bear
NORTH ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota wildlife officials are defending their decision to shoot a black bear that was spotted in a North St. Paul neighborhood.
The bear walked into the area Friday morning and climbed a tree. Workers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources responded, shooting beanbags at the bear to scare it down.
It clambered down about 90 minutes later. As it tried to flee, DNR agents shot and killed it.
The DNR says state policy mandates that animals that pose a public threat be shot. It says the bear was a threat because it was near an elementary school.
The agency says it didn't have time to prepare tranquilizer equipment before the 2-year-old bear came down. Even so, it says, tranquilizing a bear doesn't prevent it from returning to the community.
Cabin owners in Minn. forests balk at higher fees
BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) - About 500 cabin owners have taken advantage of a century-old initiative that encouraged people to spend time in American forests Now a federal decision to increase the cabins' annual fees is sparking talk of legal action.
The cabins are in the Chippewa and Superior National Forests in northern Minnesota.
The cabin owners typically paid fees of 3 percent of the appraised value of the property. Starting next year, that goes up to 5 percent.
That means 57-year-old Jean Kelley of Coon Rapids will see her fees go from less than $2,000 per year to $6,300. She says it's a big chunk of money, and she feels ``betrayed'' by the U.S. Forest Service. She and others are weighing legal action.
Rob Harper is a supervisor of the Chippewa National Forest. He says land values have soared since the last appraisal in 1997.
© 2009 Outdoors Weekly