From the Duluth News Tribune
published Oct. 5, 2008
With another nine days left in Minnesota’s bear season, this year’s harvest is still lagging far behind that of recent years. As of last Sunday, four weeks into the season, hunters had taken 1,746 bears, said Dave Garshelis, bear project leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Last year at the same time, the harvest totaled 2,982. From 2003 to last year, the four-week harvest totals ranged between 2,900 and 3,400, he said.
The 2002 harvest, however, was similar to this fall’s, and only 1,653 bears had been taken in the first four weeks.
Garshelis attributes the lower harvest to an abundance of wild foods, which means fewer bears are visiting hunters’ baits, and possibly lower densities in the state’s bear population.
Hunters claim that bears have become more nocturnal and haven’t been presenting themselves during hunting hours. Using remote trail cameras, hunters can verify that bears are moving nocturnally. But Garshelis says he hears the same thing every year, even in years when the harvest has been higher.
Duluth city bowhunters up to 143
Here’s the Duluth city bowhunt tally through September. The hunt began Sept. 13 and continues through Dec. 31. Through Sept. 30, hunters had taken 143 deer, three of them bucks and the rest antlerless, according to Brian Borkholder, who keeps hunt records. Of the total, 59 were taken on private land and 84 on public land. Four were taken from ground blinds (allowed only in a few areas) and 139 were taken from tree stands. Last year, hunters took 567 deer for the whole season, 84 percent of them antlerless.
Retrievers shine
Mark Vossbein of Biwabik and Pete Coldagelli of Eveleth both handled dogs that completed every test in the Master National Hunt Test, held Sept. 21-28 in Hibbing. A total of 292 dogs took part in the event, which tests retrieving breeds based on simulated hunting situations. Of those, 132 passed all six tests, each a series of retrieves on land, water or a combination of the two.
Vossbein’s yellow Lab, The Captain’s Mark-V Renegade, passed the Master National test for the first time. Coldagelli’s yellow Lab, Ramblin Man’s Bella Donna, completed all required tests for the second time, earning her the title Master National Hunter. A dog must complete the National Master tests in two different years to earn the title.
The week-long test was intense, Coldagelli said.
“As the week goes on and you get closer, the excitement builds and the nerves build,” he said. “You know your dogs are capable of doing the work, but they’re dogs, and they can have bad days just like us.”
Bernie Carey of Duluth came close. His dog, Stellar’s Full Throttle, passed five of six tests.
The event was hosted by the Minnesota Iron Range Retriever Club based in Virginia, with help from the Duluth Retriever Club and other clubs around the state.
Edmondson recognized
Duluth photographer Dudley Edmondson has been recognized with the Wilderness Society’s “National Faces of Conservation” award, according to a news release from the group. The award was made for his “groundbreaking work encouraging other African-Americans to discover the beauty and solitude of the natural world through his photography and writing,” the society said in making the award.
Edmondson has spent 17 years traveling the United States, photographing subjects as diverse as rain forest and desert habitats, grizzly bears of Yellowstone and butterflies in boreal bogs, according to the news release. He’s the author of “Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places.” For more on Edmondson’s work, go to www.raptorworks.com.
Sharptail wings sought
Sharp-tailed grouse hunters in Minnesota are asked to send in wing samples from harvested birds for a research project. The samples will be used to evaluate the genetic health of sharptail populations. The project is a collaboration between the Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, the Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, the Wisconsin DNR and the Minnesota DNR. For details on sample collection, preservation and shipping instructions, go to www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/grouse or contact Eric Nelson, Minnesota DNR assistant area wildlife supervisor, at (218) 681-0946 or at eric.nelson@dnr.state.mn.us.
Tournament applications now online
Wisconsin fishing tournament organizers now can apply for permits online. The online application and a printable form can be found on the “Fishing Tournament” pages of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Web site at www.dnr.state.wi.us.
Recent Comments