Outdoors Weekly News Archive

January 1, 2010

Nonresidents must have ATV trail passes starting Jan. 1

Spring turkey hunting application deadline is Friday, Jan. 8

Fish shelter identification required

Minnesota conservation officers want to remind ice anglers and others that all shelters placed on the ice of Minnesota waters must have either the 1). complete name and address, 2). driver’s license number, or 3). The nine-digit DNR number on the license of the owner plainly and legibly displayed on the outside in letters, and figures at least 2 inches in height. This includes ice skating warming houses and other traditional structures placed on the ice, either temporarily or overnight.

Other noteworthy shelter regulations include:

Any shelter (fish houses, dark houses, warming houses, etc.) left on the ice at any time between midnight and one hour prior to sunrise must have a shelter license.
The Dept. of Public Safety now requires trailers used to haul fish houses or dark houses and enclosed trailers or recreational trailers used for fishing to be registered. See your local Deputy Registrar for trailer registration.
A tag, furnished with a license, must be attached to the exterior in a readily visible location.

Shelters left on the ice overnight need to have at least 2 square inches of reflective material on each side of the house.
A shelter license is not required on border waters with WI, IA, ND, and SD.
On border waters, shelters must comply with the identification requirements of the state for which the angler is licensed.

No person may erect a shelter within 10 feet of an existing shelter.
Portable shelters may be used for fishing within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), but must be removed from the ice each night. The structure must be removed from the BWCAW each time the occupant leaves the BWCAW.

Nonresidents must have ATV trail passes starting Jan. 1

All-terrain vehicle (ATV) operators who are not Minnesota residents must possess a trail pass when driving on state or grant-in-aid trails beginning Jan. 1, when a new state law takes effect. The trail pass does not need to be displayed on the machine, but must be available for inspection when requested by an officer. The pass is required whether the machine is registered in Minnesota or another state.

Nonresidents do not need a pass if operating on a portion of an ATV trail that is owned by the person or the person’s spouse, child, or parent.

ATV operators can purchase one-year nonresident ATV trail passes ($21 new, $2.50 duplicate) through Minnesota’s Electronic License System (ELS). Nonresident passes can be purchased any of three ways:
● Online go to www.mndnr.gov and click on “buy a license.”
● By phone, call 888-665-4236 (1-MN-LICENSE) any time of day or night, seven days a week. All trail pass purchases can only be made by credit card. There is $3.50 convenience fee per transaction.
● In person at nearly 1,800 ELS locations around the state. To find locations, visit www.dnr.state.mn.us/licenses/agents.html or call the DNR Information Center at 651-296-6157 or 1-888-646-6367.

More than 15 trails and riding areas are open for winter use in Minnesota. Find maps and other information at www.findthetrails.com.

Spring turkey hunting application deadline is Friday, Jan. 8

Hunters who want to get in the field early for the 2010 spring turkey hunt must apply by Friday, Jan. 8, wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

Adult hunters may apply for one of nearly 57,000 permits to hunt a five- or seven-day season in one of 77 permit areas. Youth 17 and younger no longer need to apply for the lottery. They will be able to purchase a spring turkey permit for any permit area and any time period directly from a license agent. Applicants choose one of eight time periods in which to hunt.

A new rule effective in 2010 allows hunters not selected in the permit lottery to purchase a permit in any area for one of the hunt’s last two time periods.

Additional details are available online at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey.