DNR honors 2 youth conservationists

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently honored two youth for demonstrating initiative, leadership, creativity and achievement in the conservation and wise use of natural and agricultural resources.

DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr made the award presentations Aug. 30 during a ceremony at the Minnesota State Fair. This is the 22nd year the DNR has presented the youth awards.

Lane Alm of Hawley received the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Award. For the past four years, he has worked on his “Diversified Horticulture” project, which began when he was 14 years old and got a job with Prairie Restorations Inc. - Bluestem Farm. He learned to identify native plants, their seeds, and how they can be used for landscaping around lake homes, businesses, and for erosion control. Alm also learned how to operate and maintain planting and harvesting machinery.

“In addition to his outstanding project and work experience, Lane is active in 4-H, the FFA Soils Team, and has been a National Honor Student member throughout high school,” Landwehr said.

He is also a football player, wrestler, deer hunter, raises horses, wins roping competitions, and refurbishes antique tractors. “This well-rounded young man also volunteers at the annual Rollag Threshing Show and is an officer for the Hawley 4-H and FFAChapter,” Landwehr said. “This year he also won the Hawley Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer Award.”

Alm graduated from Hawley High School this spring and started attending North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N.D. a few weeks ago.

Lane is the son of Lee and Brandi Alm. Also present at the award ceremony were the state FFA advisors Joel Larsen and Jim Ertl.

Morris Area High School student Brady Cardwell received the 4-H Award. His project, titled “History of Wildlife Conservation in Minnesota,” focused on how and why various conservation organizations and clubs were started, and steps he has taken to learn about and improve wildlife habitat. 

For his sixth-grade project, Cardwell researched milestones in conservation history and the various agencies responsible for wildlife conservation. He visited a number of public lands, interviewed managers, and observed a prescribed burn. He also researched and participated in events with all the major wildlife conservation clubs in his area.

Cardwell participates in archery, shooting sports, science and history fairs, and makes his own lures. He carved the Duck Unlimited logo into his pumpkin last year. He is active in his local 4-H club and Luther League. “Somehow he also manages to play football and is on the wrestling team,” Landwehr said. 

Brady is the son of Douglas and Meriel Cardwell. 

Also recognizing Cardwell at award ceremony was Dorothy Freeman, associate dean and state 4-H director and Nancy Hegland, extension program leader of 4-H youth development.

DNR asks bear hunters not to shoot radio-collared bears

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) asks hunters participating in Minnesota’s bear season, which opens Sept. 1, to avoid shooting radio-collared research bears.

The bears are marked with large colorful ear tags or colorful streamers.

DNR researchers are monitoring about 30 radio-collared black bears, most of them in northwestern Minnesota, especially near Thief Lake Wildlife Management Area and the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. Additional radio-collared bears reside in and around the Chippewa National Forest, Camp Ripley, Cloquet Forestry Station and Voyageurs National Park.

Bear research also is being conducted between Ely and Tower near the Eagles Nest chain of lakes in northern St. Louis County.

“Hunters near these areas should be especially vigilant for these valuable research bears,” said Dave Garshelis, DNR bear research biologist. “These animals provide long-term data on reproduction and habitat use that is invaluable for bear management across the state.

“We’re asking that if hunters see ear tags or a collar on a bear, they refrain from shooting it,” Garshelis said. “Researchers have invested an enormous amount of time and expense in these individuals.”

Many of the collars have GPS units that collect and store data, which is downloaded by DNR researchers when they visit the bears in their dens. Long-term records of individual bears have been the cornerstone of information that helps the DNR monitor and manage the bear population, Garshelis said.

DNR officials recognize that a hunter may not be able to see a radio collar or ear tags in some situations. For this reason, taking a bear with a radio collar is legal unless the bear is accompanied by a researcher who has identified the bear to the hunter as a research animal.

Photos of some collared research bears are available on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/bear.

Any hunters who shoot collared bears should call the DNR Wildlife Research Office in Grand Rapids at 218-327-4146 or 218-327-4133.

No ATV registration or trail pass needed Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day weekend, Minnesota will host its first “Free Wheeling Weekend,” making it free to ride on state and grant-in-aid trails for two days, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said.

On Saturday, Aug. 31, and Sunday, Sept. 1, Minnesotans whose ATVs are registered only for private or agricultural use can enjoy riding the more than 3,400 miles of state and grant-in-aid trails without paying the additional registration fee to ride on public trails ($53.50 for three calendar years). Out-of-state riders can explore Minnesota trails as well, without the need for a nonresident trail pass ($21 for a one-year pass).

“Minnesota has a variety of state and grant-in-aid trail riding opportunities that range from an easy cruise along abandoned railroad grades to more difficult climbs on narrow, twisting trail loops in the w oods,” said Mary Straka, off-highway vehicle program consultant for the DNR. “Many trails are provided by counties, townships and cities with assistance from local clubs. We’re excited to help new riders experience our trail system.”

For trail maps and more information on where to ride, visit www.mn.dnr/ohv or call the DNR Information Center at 651-296-6157 or toll-free at 888-646-6367 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Send questions via email to info.dnr@state.mn.us.

For more information about the Free Wheeling Weekend or the off-highway vehicle program, contact Mary Straka in Brainerd in 218-833-8713 or 651-259-5644 in St. Paul, or by email to mary.straka@state.mn.us.

DNR begins recruiting process for new officers

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expects to hire up to 18 conservation officers for an academy anticipated to start in April 2014. Applications open Aug. 26 and close Sept. 13.

Conservation officers work to ensure public safety and compliance with state game and fish, recreational vehicle, and natural resource commercial operation laws.

Applicants must have a valid Minnesota Peace Officer's License, or be eligible to be licensed by the Minnesota Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (POST) prior to the time conditional job offers are made, or complete basic police training and be certified as a full-time peace officer in a state or federal law enforcement agency with which Minnesota has reciprocity, and pass the P.O.S.T. Board reciprocity exam by the time conditional job offers are made.
Candidates must pass the general written exam to be admitted to other portions of the exam/selection process.

Other portions of the process will include oral interviews and completion of a comprehensive background investigation. Final job offers will be based on pass ing a medical evaluation, functional capacity exam and psychological evaluation.

The written examination will tentatively be held Oct. 5 at the following locations:

• Bemidji State University.
• Cloquet Forestry Center.
• Central Lakes College, Brainerd, Minn.
• Minneapolis Convention Center.

All communication will be handled electronically. Applicants must have an updated email address on their resume or they may not be contacted by the DNR. .

For more information on becoming a DNR conservation officer and to apply for the position, visit the website at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/jobs/hiring.html. A link near the bottom of the page will take applicants to the job posting.

To ensure consideration for this position, both new and returning applicants need to apply directly to posting number 131743000001 by checking the “apply for this job” box at the bottom of the job announcement.

Deadline for firearm, muzzleloader deer lottery applications

Deer hunters who use a firearm or muzzleloader in a lottery area and want to harvest an antlerless deer must apply for an either-sex permit by the Thursday, Sept. 5, deadline established by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Deadlines for firearm and muzzleloader special hunts also are Sept. 5.

Lottery either-sex permits
Hunters can apply for lottery deer areas using both their firearm and muzzleloader licenses.  Although a hunter can be selected for both licenses, successful applicants still can only take one deer.

2013 lottery deer areas are 101, 103, 105, 108, 110, 111, 118, 119, 122, 169, 171, 172, 176, 183, 184, 197, 199, 234, 237, 238, 250, 251, 252, 253, 260, 261, 262, 263, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 288, 289, 290, 291, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298 and 299.

In lottery deer areas, firearms and muzzleloader hunters may only harvest a buck if they apply for and receive an either-sex permit, which allows them to harvest an antlerless deer.

Firearm and muzzleloader special hunts
For special hunts, a person may draw both a firearm and muzzleloader permit, in which case they must adhere to the bag limits established by each special hunt. Information on 2013 special hunts is available online at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/deer.

All lottery winners will receive permits via U.S. mail. Hunters may apply for an either-sex permit through any DNR license agent, online at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense, or by calling toll-free 888-665-4236.

Changes to deer application and registration for 2013
Hunters are advised by the DNR to review the DNR’s hunting regulations handbook for new 2013 season information.
 
“Regulations, and many of our management designations, are quite similar to 2012,” said Leslie McInenly, DNR big game program leader. “However, there are a few application and registration changes that folks will notice right away.”

This year the DNR will be asking all deer license buyers, including archery hunters, to indicate the deer area they hunt most often.

“While hunters are not obligated to stay in the indicated area, the information helps the DNR assess hunter success,” McInenly said. “Our data indicate that most hunters kill a deer in the area they hunt most often.”
 
Hunters also should be aware that deer must be registered within 48 hours after harvest and before processing. Telephone and internet registration has been expanded to include series 300 permit areas.  

Funding available for shoreland vegetation projects

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is making $225,000 available for grant proposals for restoring native aquatic habitat across the state. Individual grant requests can range from $25,000 to $100,000.

This program provides cost-share grants to counties, cities, watershed districts, other local units of government, conservation groups and lake associations to conduct aquatic habitat restoration projects with native plants to improve fish and wildlife habitat.

Projects on private properties will have at least 75 percent of the frontage restored with an adjacent buffer zone that is at least 25 feet deep or wide. The focus of these projects must be on re-establishing vegetation for fish and wildlife habitat. Funds cannot be used for rock riprap stabilization or permanent wave breaks.

Grants recipients will be reimbursed for a maximum of 75 percent of the total project costs. Applicants must be able to fund at least 25 percent of the total project costs from non-state sources. Matching funds may be cash; volunteer labor; and in-kind contributions of materials, equipment and services.

"This i s an opportunity for lake associations, local communities and conservation organizations to help enhance native shoreline vegetation and fish habitat in their local lakes, streams and rivers," said John Hiebert, DNR lake habitat consultant. "Since 1999, more than 350 restoration projects have been funded, restoring more than 136,000 feet of shoreline.”

Applications for grants are available on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/grants/habitat/shoreland.html or by calling the DNR at 888-646-6367. Completed grant applications are due Friday, Nov. 8.

Successful applicants will be notified in February 2014. Funds will be made available after July 1, 2014.

The grants are funded from state lottery proceeds deposited in the Heritage Enhancement Account. Grants are administered through the DNR’s Fish and Wildlife Division. Projects are selected and designed with guidance from local DNR fisheries managers.

Surplus prairie chicken licenses on sale Sept. 9

Five prairie chicken licenses remain available and will go on sale to unsuccessful prairie chicken lottery applicants at noon on Monday, Sept. 9, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Successful applicants should receive their winner notification by Tuesday, Sept. 3. Licenses can be purchased at any DNR license agent, online at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense and via telephone at 888-665-4236.

Surplus licenses will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. People who purchase these surplus licenses will maintain their preference points for next year’s prairie chicken lottery.

In the unlikely event that any licenses remain, people who did not participate in the prairie chicken lottery may purchase them on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

The prairie chicken season runs from Saturday, Sept. 28, to Sunday, Oct. 6. Two prairie chickens may be taken throughout the season. A total of 126 licenses were made available to lottery participants.

Public invited to comment on experimental fishing regulations

Reviews of existing or newly proposed regulations on 22 lakes for walleye, yellow perch, largemouth bass, crappie, sunfish and muskellunge will be the subject of seven public meetings conducted across the state in the coming weeks by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The meetings will include reviews of walleye regulations on Leech Lake; largemouth bass regulations on Cass County’s Stony and Thirteen lakes; a catch-and-release muskellunge regulation on Clearwater County’s Elk Lake; walleye regulations on the Fish Lake Reservoir near Duluth; a 17- to 26-inch protected slot for walleye on 12 Itasca County lakes; and panfish regulations on five Rochester-area waters.

The goal of experimental and special regulations on individual waters is to expand opportunities for anglers to experience quality fishing that can be sustained in light of increasing angling pressure and improved angler efficiency. During the past 26 years, fisheries managers have monitored a variety of regulations across Minnesota.

“Much has been learned from our efforts to improve fish populations with length and bag limits,” said Al Stevens, DNR fisheries program consultant. “If experimental regulations are successful, then regulations can be replicated on similar waters where fisheries managers and anglers agree they would help improve or maintain quality fishing.”

Experimental regulations are in effect for a specific period of time, typically 10 years. Before the regulation ends, fish managers must evaluate the regulation and then gather input from public meetings to help determine whether to extend, modify or drop the existing experimental regulations.

“Fisheries managers welcome the opportunity to hear opinions from anglers,” Stevens said.  “Public participation is critical in determining whether proposed and existing regulations are meeting angler expectations.”  

Waters being evaluated this year were posted at public access points in the spring. Public notices for each meeting will be published in local newspapers. For more information about a specific meeting, check online at www.mndnr.gov/fishing/meetings or contact the local DNR Fisheries office using the online listing at www.mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries.

Written or verbal comments also will be accepted at local fisheries offices up to 10 days following a local meeting. Telephone numbers and addresses of local fisheries offices can be found online at online at www.mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries or on page 94 of the 2013 Fishing Regulations handbook.

For those unable to attend a local meeting, there will be an open house at DNR headquarters, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. No formal presentations will be made but fisheries staff will be available to take comments on any proposal. Comments will be accepted through Monday, Oct. 7, and also may be submitted by email to al.stevens@state.mn.usor by calling 651-259-5239.

Open houses, which can be viewed on the DNR website by following the angler alert link at www.mndnr.gov/fishing, are scheduled for: 

• Cass County: Largemouth bass regulations on Stony and Thirteen lakes will be reviewed from 6-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Walker Area Community Center, 105 Tower Ave. E.
• Clearwater County: The catch-and-release regulation for muskellunge on Elk Lake will be reviewed from 6- 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Douglas Lodge in Itasca State Park.
• Itasca County: Implementing a 17- to 26-inch protected slot limit for walleye on Bowstring, Sand and Jessie lakes and reviewing that protected slot on Swan, Trout (near Coleraine), Splithand, Moose, Island (near Northome), Round (near Squaw Lake), and Deer/Battle/Pickerel (near Effie) will be discussed at two meetings. The first will be from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Squaw Lake Community Center on Minnesota Highway 46 in Squaw Lake. The second will be from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, in the training room at Minnesota Interagency Fire Center, 402 11th St. SE, Grand Rapids.
• Leech Lake: Relaxing the existing 18- to 26-inch protected slot limit for walleye to a
  20- to 26-inch protected slot will be discussed from 6- 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at Walker Area Community Center, 105 Tower Ave. E.
• Olmsted County: Restricting the daily and possession limit for sunfish, black crappie, white crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass on Bear Creek Reservoir, Foster-Arend Pond, Kalmar Reservoir, Quarry Hill Pond, and Willow Reservoir will be discussed from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Rochester DNR office, 3555 9th St. NW, Suite 350.
• St. Louis County: The 13- to 17-inch protected slot for walleye on the Fish Lake Reservoir will be reviewed from 6-7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 14. Contact the Duluth area fisheries office at 218-525-0853 or check on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/fishing and follow the angler alert link for meeting location.

DNR urges boaters to stop ‘power loading’ when loading and unloading boats at public water accesses

As summer progresses and lake water levels drop, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds boaters using public accesses to check ramp conditions before launching any boat and to refrain from “power loading.”

Power loading is a phrase that describes using the motor thrust to load and unload a boat onto and off a trailer. The method is dangerous and can damage boats.

Instead of power loading, boaters are encouraged to use a winch to load and unload a boat.

Power loading creates blow holes and prop mounds when sediment, gravel and sometimes large rocks are blown beyond the ramp. Power loading can also cause damage to launch ramps that may not be visible from the surface of the water. Erosion under the concrete ramps and dock wheels can cause them to become uneven and, in some cases, fall into the blow holes.

The practice can also lead to expensive boat motor and trailer repairs. Motors can incur damage if the boat or lower unit runs aground on the mound. At shallow accesses, boat trailer frames can get hung up when trailers are backed off the end of the concrete ramp into the blow outs. Smaller vehicles may be unable to get the trailer out.

“We recommend that before launching, boaters look beyond the ramp for shallow water caused by prop mounds and ensure the water is deep enough for the boat and motor,” said Dave Schotzko, DNRnorthwest region Parks and Trails Division supervisor. “This is especially important for those with larger boats and pontoons.”

The DNR Parks and Trails Division manages about 3,000 public boat accesses statewide. DNR crews stay busy in the summer maintaining public water accesses. The added tasks of removing prop mounds and repairing docks and ramps become expensive and time consuming, making it impossible to level every boat landing to accommodate all sizes of boats at every lake. These repairs also take funding and time away from efforts that could be spent on other improvements.

To view a video on power loading, visit dnr.state.mn.us/water_access/powerloading. For more information on boating and boat accesses, visit dnr.state.mn.us/boating or contact the DNR Information Center at info.dnr@state.mn.us or 651-296-6157, toll-free at 888-646-6367 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

DNR seeks designs for Minnesota's 2014 pheasant stamp

Wildlife artists can submit entries for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) 2014 pheasant stamp contest from Monday, Sept. 9, until 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20.

Artists are prohibited from using any photographic product as part of their finished entries. Any entry that contains photographic products will be disqualified.

Entries will be accepted via mail and in person at DNR headquarters, 500 Lafayette Road,  St. Paul. Mailed entries should be addressed to 2013 Pheasant Stamp Contest, DNRFish and Wildlife Division, Box 20, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4020.

Designs should be securely wrapped and enclosed in an envelope or other container. The words “Pheasant Stamp” should be clearly marked on outside of the container. Late entries will not be accepted.

The contest, which offers no prizes, is open to Minnesota residents only. Winning artists usually issue limited edition prints of the artwork and retain proceeds. Revenue from stamp sales is dedicated to pheasant management-related activities.

A contest entry form and reproduction rights agreement, which grants the DNR the right to use the design for the stamp image and other promotional, educational and informational purposes related to waterfowl, must be signed and submitted with the design.

Judging is at 2 p.m.Thursday, Sept. 26, at DNR headquarters, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul.

Complete contest criteria and information are available from the DNR Information Center, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155, and online at www.mndnr.gov/contests.