EAR NEW TOWN, N.D. — The first sharptail flushed just four minutes after we had begun hunting. One minute later, a covey of Hungarian partridges burst into flight, filling the air with their wingbeats and peeping.

No shots were fired by Duluth’s Tom S. Bell, 38, and his longtime [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 28, 2008

EAR NEW TOWN, N.D. — The first sharptail flushed just four minutes after we had begun hunting. One minute later, a covey of Hungarian partridges burst into flight, filling the air with their wingbeats and peeping.

No shots were fired by Duluth’s Tom S. Bell, 38, and his longtime friend Tom Schramm, 37, of Esko. The birds were just out of range.

But those early flushes were a sign of good things to come on this five-day sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge hunt in western North Dakota. Bell soon picked up his first sharptail of the morning in low cover near a dry wetland.

The real action on this mid-September hunt began in a nearby tree row along two stubble fields of harvested grain. One sharptail after another flushed, interspersed by the rise of two more coveys of partridges. Bell’s black Lab, Koya, kept busy retrieving downed birds. Bell and Schramm shot well.

Meanwhile, Bell’s dad, Tom Bell of Duluth, and his friend Dick Adams of Superior were working other treelines and stubble fields on the same farm. By the time we had finished that walk, our group had 14 sharptails — just one shy of a limit — and four Huns. We had been in the field exactly an hour. By noon, when the heat forced us to quit hunting, the tally was 15 sharptails and eight Huns.

“I’d say this is close to one of the best morning’s we’ve had,” the senior Bell said.

ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY

Bell, 62, has been going north and west for sharptails for more than 30 years. He and others began hunting the prairie grouse in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in 1972. On one return trip from Saskatchewan, they stopped at a small-town cafe in this part of North Dakota and met a farmer who invited them to hunt sharptails here.

Now, Bell and friends make the 550-mile trip west annually, camping on the prairie, eating what they shoot and living close to the land. His son Tom has been making the trip for about 20 years now.

“Once you get it in your blood, you gotta keep coming out here,” the younger Bell said. “You can’t say it’s one thing because it’s so many things.”

“The land,” Schramm said. “The diverse hunting. The dogs.”

“And you’re out here, and you don’t see any ‘No Hunting’ signs,” Bell added.

FRIENDLY FARMERS

It’s easy to find land to hunt. Bell’s right. We saw little land posted “No Hunting” during our trip. If we had questions about whether land was open to hunting, we stopped and asked farmers.

“I’ve seldom been refused,” the elder Bell said.

One day, we stopped to visit with a farmer who gladly let us hunt and suggested two other parcels of land we might want to try. We found birds at both places.

Another thing you see little of out here is other hunters. Except for a group of Bell’s friends from Duluth and one farmer he already knew, we saw no other hunters in five days. The main source of blaze orange we saw were actual orange blazes at oil-drilling sites, where waste natural gas burned day and night. There’s an oil boom happening here that’s making some farmers millionaires and others — who don’t own mineral rights on their land — bitter about all the semitrailer traffic on once-quiet roads.

EXPANSIVE COUNTRY

Away from the roads, though, this is still the western North Dakota you remember — wheat and barley fields rolling to forever, broad grasslands where the eye can roam for miles, distant buttes and promontories. You can’t help thinking about a pioneer family, creaking across this country in a covered wagon, trying to decide how best to proceed west.

We would often split up and go our own ways, following our dogs wherever they would lead us. You’d look across the folds of land and see a tiny speck of orange on a distant hillside. Your hunting partner. And the sharptails we were hunting are native to this land, eking out a living on seeds of native grasses like little bluestem and side-oats gramma as well as crop residue.

“I like sharptail hunting,” the senior Bell said. “I feel close to the earth. It’s a native bird, natural to this environment. And I like walking.”

Our hunting was good. If one part of the day or one piece of land didn’t produce, another would. We hunted treelines and vast grasslands and Missouri River breaks and abandoned farmsteads that almost always held a covey or two of Huns.

LIVING ON THE LAND

We would walk all morning, then return to our little camp during the afternoon heat. Dick Adams had brought his pop-up camper, and some of us slept in tents. We ate sharptails at least once a day, sometimes twice — grilled and pan-fried and in stew.

Hunting sharptails was good. Living with them, camped under the prairie stars, listening to a great-horned owl oboeing in the night, was even better. Living on the land, and living off the land eating what we had shot, seemed to complete a circle. We felt completely immersed in the landscape, as much a part of the grand scheme as human beings could be.

At night, we lay in our sleeping bags listening to crickets singing, coyotes yipping and Canada geese honking. At dawn, rooster pheasants cackled from the knee-high grasses just beyond camp, stirring anticipation of the season to come.

In the mornings, we’d roust out, feed the dogs and pick a new piece of land to hunt.

Sharptail camp.

It’s a good place to live in September.

For Steve Ingram, a hunting trip that was supposed to last a few hours Monday morning turned into a more than 30-hour excursion.

The 56-year-old Silver Bay man got lost in the woods, walked many unexpected miles, slept under a tree with his dog, portaged across a few lakes [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 24, 2008

For Steve Ingram, a hunting trip that was supposed to last a few hours Monday morning turned into a more than 30-hour excursion.

The 56-year-old Silver Bay man got lost in the woods, walked many unexpected miles, slept under a tree with his dog, portaged across a few lakes with a church group and hitched a ride back to civilization early Tuesday evening. In the meantime, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office had launched a search for Ingram with assistance from the Two Harbors, Silver Bay and Finland rescue squads.

Officials began searching for Ingram in the area east of Ely and north of Isabella at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Ingram went hunting on the Pow Wow Trail near Isabella Lake at 9 a.m. Monday, said Brandon McGaw, a conservation officer who spoke with Ingram afterward.

Ingram planned to stay on the trail and connect with another trail that led back to his vehicle in two or three hours, but he said he “got turned around,” said McGaw and Ingram’s wife, Kay.

With a map, Ingram walked until nightfall Monday and then slept under a fir tree with Henry, a springer spaniel, for warmth.

On Tuesday morning, he continued to walk until he met some canoeists from a church group, who fed them and invited them to portage across a few lakes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. After that, Ingram caught a ride to Ely and telephoned relatives in Babbitt about 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“He did everything right. He kept his head,” McGaw said. “He stayed on the trail for the most part. … He said he wished he would have thrown a candy bar in his coat beforehand.”

Kay Ingram rushed back from a Tuesday business trip in Wisconsin.

“The plan was to go into the woods for a couple of hours and come home,” she said Tuesday night. “I’m just grateful to everybody. Everybody came forward to help find him. You see it on the news all the time, and you don’t think it will happen to you, especially to someone that has so much experience in woods.

“He has been running trap lines since he was 11,” Kay Ingram said. “He usually is just phenomenal in the woods. I got worried.”

They ask so little. They give us so much, these dogs who let us take them hunting.

For a lot of hunters, it wouldn’t be a hunt without their devoted canine companions.

With the fall hunt upon us, we asked a few hunters to share their favorite dog stories. We [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 21, 2008

They ask so little. They give us so much, these dogs who let us take them hunting.

For a lot of hunters, it wouldn’t be a hunt without their devoted canine companions.

With the fall hunt upon us, we asked a few hunters to share their favorite dog stories. We think you’ll enjoy them.

Mark Fouts, Superior

Director of Regional Operations, Ruffed Grouse Society

“I remember my first pointing dog,” Fouts said. “An English setter. I got her from [Duluth dog trainer] Joe DeLoia. She was about 3. We were hunting pheasants — you know, ditch parrots — down in Nebraska.”

The dog’s name was Bandit, Fouts said.

“She made a cast out in front of me,” Fouts said. “I didn’t hear her yelp or anything. She came back toward me pawing at her face. I noticed she had a stick sticking out of her eye. My first reaction was to grab the stick and pull it out, which I found out later was the wrong thing to do.

“I took her back to the truck, about a half-mile. She hunted all the way. What a trooper. I got her in to the vet. They told me it was serious. I got some medication, and they told me I’d have to keep her down for a few days. We did lose the eye.

“We had a wooden trailer for the dogs. The rest of that day and the next morning, she’d put up a fit every time we’d stop to let out the dogs. She tried to chew a hole through the wooden door. For 24 hours, she was going hunting. It amazes me, the drive of a dog, what they’ll put themselves through to do what they love to do.”

Bandit recovered and hunted for six more years, Fouts said.

“After that, we called her the One-Eyed Bandit,” he said.

Left, or right?

Al and Margo Penke, Ely

Owners of BWCA Labs dog kennel

“This was probably seven years ago,” Al said. “It happened at Wilderness Wings [game farm] near Effie. We were hunting with Birdie, a female black Lab. She was probably a year old. It may have been her first hunt.

“You know how you’re sure where the bird is and you’re sure where the bird isn’t? She got real birdy and started working this cover. We were all sure the bird was off to the left somewhere, but she wanted to go to the right. I thought she was on an old deadfall [a previously killed bird]. She was, in my estimation, being disobedient. I was getting angry.

“Lo and behold, she dives into the brush and comes up with this hen pheasant and delivers it to me.”

It wasn’t the first time a dog has humbled its owner. Birdie is 8 now and is owned by a hunter in Tower, the Penkes said.

Al Markham, Duluth

Long-time upland and waterfowl hunter

“I don’t know what year this was. Probably the late ’70s,” Markham said one morning at the Harry Allenfall clothing store where he works.

He was talking about Tracy, a black Labrador retriever he once owned.

“Best dog I ever had,” Markham said.

She had run some derby events for young dogs in field trials when she was young, he said. But one day after training, when she was about 2, she had run off with another dog, Markham said. The two were found about 2 a.m. along a highway. The other dog was dead. Tracy was “barely alive,” Markham said. She had been hit badly in one eye and had broken a leg. She was treated by a veterinarian, and her leg healed but she lost the eye. She was through with field trials but went on to hunt several more years.

One year when she was about 10, Markham was out for the fall season after knee surgery. His neighbor, Jim, asked if he and a friend could take Tracy on a sharp-tailed grouse hunt near Sandstone. Markham readily agreed.

“They had taken two or three birds,” Markham said, “and they got into another covey at the edge of some standing corn. They put up the covey and hit three birds.

“Tracy picked up two birds and retrieved them. Then Jim sent her for the third bird.”

The bird had fallen in the corn, and Tracy disappeared into the corn to search for it. She had been gone for some time, or at least that’s what the hunter thought, Markham said. Jim didn’t know what happened to the dog. He was getting concerned.

“After 10 minutes, he looked down, and there she was,” Markham said. “She had nudged him on the leg. She had the bird. She had marked all three of those birds and got ’em with her one eye and three legs. She was a hell of a dog.”

More than one hunter has wondered where his dog was, only to discover that the dog was at heel with a downed bird.

“We think we’re the alpha,” Markham said. “But we’re not.”

Eric Larson, Duluth

Avid pheasant hunter

Larson hunts with two large Munsterlanders, a pointing breed. Like many owners of pointing breeds, Larson marks Oct. 10 on his calendar each year. That usually marks the peak of the woodcock migration.

“I remember a couple of October 10ths in a row,” Larson said. “I think Macy was about 8 months old the first year. We were hunting up by Fish Lake. Woodcock were flittering about, and it was as if a light bulb went off. Macy would bump one and point another one.”

When a pointer “bumps” a bird, it means she moves in too close and flushes it before the hunter is ready. But that day, Macy learned to point.

“It was just a fantastic bit of dog work from a young dog,” Larson said. “It set the tone for her seasons to come. She’s been a staunch dog since then.

“Now that my dogs are 9 [Macy] and 12 [Riley], I’m reminiscing about those times. I found myself thinking about them yesterday.”

Woodcock are diminutive game birds with chunky bodies, oversize heads and elongated bills used for probing moist soil for earthworms. When they migrate through northern Minnesota in mid-October, they often settle into stands of young aspen, where a hunter and a dog might have 50 or 60 flushes in a day.

“The whole hillside looks like it’s on fire with yellow,” Larson said. “You have vistas of the lake, and the woodcock are flittering around. There’s nothing much cooler to a pointing-dog guy.”

Debbie Waters, Duluth

Grouse and pheasant hunter

Waters, 35, owns a 6-year-old Gordon setter named Remmi. Last fall, she shot her first pheasant after several years of pheasant hunting. She had assisted other hunters in shooting pheasants, but she never had shot one on her own.

“It sounds kind of benign, but this is my favorite story,” Waters said. “I was out in this native prairie that had been restored. Remmi was quartering like crazy. It was really windy. I was trudging up this field, and when we got up to the top, he locked up on point.

“I was thinking ‘hen,’ because hens hold better than roosters. I walked up there. I flushed this bird, and gol-darnit, it was a rooster. I shot it. It was perfect. I dropped to my knees and marveled at that bird.”

She shot several more pheasants last fall.

Waters began deer hunting at age 15, and she shot her first grouse at age 20. She attributes much of her success with pheasants last fall to her new shotgun.

“I had a 20-gauge, but it didn’t fit me right,” she said. “I sold the 20 and got a new gun, a Benelli 12-gauge. It’s a sweet gun, a beautiful gun. It shoots like it’s part of me.”

A young boy whose family owned a black Labrador retriever once asked Duluth dog trainer Joe DeLoia if he knew why so many catalogs and magazines featured photos of yellow Labradors. DeLoia was stumped.

“Because the black ones are all out hunting,” the boy said.

John Lindgren, Duluth

Brittany spaniel owner and pheasant hunter

“My first dog, Cassie — a Brittany spaniel, of course — had a couple of nicknames. One was ‘the blazing snowball.’ She was mostly white, and she was possessed. She had this insane drive to get from Point A to Point B.

“Her other nickname was ‘the ferret.’ She weighed about 40 pounds. If there were cattails, she would swim over them or blast under them. Occasionally, she’d disappear for several seconds.

“I didn’t have a release command for her. If she was on point, I’d just kick around in front of her. If the birdwasn’t where I was, she would break and go farther.

“There was a time in North Dakota with a friend of mine. There was snow on the ground. She went on point. I was kicking around and kicking around, but the birddidn’t get up. She would not break from that point. Finally, I looked down and there was the pheasant, sitting about 6 inches from her nose in a spot that was all blown over with snow.

“I grabbed the rooster and picked it up. I have this rooster in my hand, alive. I said to my friend, ‘Kent, what should we do?’ He didn’t know. I said, ‘I’m going to throw this pheasant up in the air. If you hit it, we’ll get it.’

“I threw it up. He shot twice and missed both times.”

Lindgren supplied his own moral for the story.

“A bird in the hand is not necessarily a bird in the bag.”

When Cassie was 13, in her final season, Lindgren went out to hunt ruffed grouse near Bagley, Minn., one day. The hunt would have been too much for Cassie, he figured, so he asked his dad to keep Cassie in the cabin until well after Lindgren had left to hunt with his younger dog, Annie.

Lindgren was in the woods, hunting, sometime later when Cassie came running up to him.

“Dad had opened the door, and she ran a mile and a half to find us,” Lindgren said. “I almost cried when it happened. I just hugged her.”

Cassie died later that fall, he said.

She was one in thousand, one in a million,” Lindgren said.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer reports for Tuesday, Sept. 16

District 5 – Eveleth area

CO Darrin Kittelson (International Falls) spent time on wetland issues within the station. Checked grouse hunters and archery deer hunters, very little activity with the rainy weather. Bear hunting activity starting to slow [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 16, 2008

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer reports for Tuesday, Sept. 16

District 5 – Eveleth area

CO Darrin Kittelson (International Falls) spent time on wetland issues within the station. Checked grouse hunters and archery deer hunters, very little activity with the rainy weather. Bear hunting activity starting to slow a bit. Handled an injured eagle complaint, the eagle was captured and later sent on a plane to Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota.

CO Lloyd Steen (Ray/Kabetogama) reports checking grouse hunters on the opener. Very few hunters seen in the drizzling rain and fewer grouse. Violations for juvenile hunters under 14 years of age, unaccompanied by adults, juveniles illegally operating ATVs, juveniles on ATVs without helmets, juveniles without ATV safety certificates, and adults allowing illegal operation of ATVs by juveniles were addressed. Also checked experimental regulation lakes of Kabetogama and Namakan where citations for illegal length walleyes, transporting filleted walleyes on the water, and reducing fish to more than two fillets were handled. Also investigated camper trailers left on state land for more than several weeks unattended with litter.

C0 Troy Fondie (Orr) reports assisting Ely conservation officer with work project monitoring boating and angling activities and working on various equipment up keep issues.

CO Brad Schultz (Cook) reports following up on a fire from last week, dealing with a problem bear and mink, requests for bear meat, bear hunting questions, deer hunting questions, grouse hunting questions, internal DNR questions, and checking for hunting activity.

CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) finished field training with COC Vollbrecht. Officers worked early goose hunters, the opening of the small game seasons, ATV’s, and bear hunting activity. An illegal fire investigation was completed with a citation issued, along with enforcement action for littering for another individual in the case. Enforcement action was taken on no federal duck stamp, no state duck stamp, operate a motor vehicle on a state trail, fail to register bear bait station, careless or negligent fires, and fail to display ATV registration.

CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) spent time checking bear hunters and their baits. Some unmarked bait stations are being watched. Unfortunately, while looking for bear baits, CO Frericks found some active deer baiting. CO Frericks located a fisher set from last season. The trap had the remnants of a large fisher in it. The conibear trap still had the trap tag on it and an investigation is underway for a trap tending violation.

CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) checked fishing activities on area lakes and found fishing to be slow, the fall bite hasn’t started yet. Bear hunters are having some success and report bait stations are just starting to get hit. Officer Fredin also gave a law presentation for the Moose Orientation in Ely, many questions were answered, good luck to all of them.

District 6 – Two Harbors area

CO Brandon McGaw (Babbitt) spent time in the woods and on the water. The fish bite has picked up a little since temperatures are dropping. Bear hunters are having mixed results and most have called it a season. Time was also spent in Ely giving a moose orientation class to some of this falls moose hunters. Grouse hunters hit the woods on Saturday and had trouble seeing birds due to the thick foliage.

CO Dan Thomasen (Two Harbors) kept an eye on bear hunting activity throughout the week. Opening of deer archery and small game seasons were greeted with some soggy weather, which dampened the outing for many. Angling pressure has slowed some after Labor Day, however many are still catching fish both on Lake Superior and inland. Officer Thomasen would like to remind people to give extra consideration to wearing PFD’s as the weather and waters become colder. It could save your life.

CO Tom Wahlstrom (Tofte) worked anglers on Lake Superior. People need to review their salmon and trout identification before heading on the water. Stealhead are to be immediately released. Officer Wahlstrom checked bear hunters and their baits; overall compliance was good. A few grouse were bagged during the small game opener. The hunters enjoyed the changing leaves but found it frustrating to see the birds.

CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reports that a bear guide stopped him on the road and showed him some digital pictures of garbage and furniture dumped onto Forest Service land. The CO recognized a recliner that he had seen at another bear camp a few days before. The CO made some phone calls and fingers were pointed in the direction of a suspect and the case was turned over to the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer. A citation was issued and the mess was cleaned up. The CO issued more citations this week for garbage in bear baits and for baiting with mammal bones. The majority of bear hunters do things right.

District 7 — Grand Rapids area

CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) and COC Paurus spent the week on fishing and small game enforcement. They completed a dumping investigation where a large amount of garbage and vehicle parts were illegally left on public land. The officers also investigated wanton waste of some Canada geese.

CO Randy Patten (Northome) worked bear hunting activity, checked anglers, finished a required defensive driving training session, attended a trails meeting, and issued a cease and desist for a potential wetland violation.

CO Jeff Koehn (Grand Rapids – OHV Specialist) presented an enforcement report to the Itasca County Trails Task Force. CO Koehn helped train COC Vollbrecht in OHV enforcement efforts. They patrolled by ATV along trails and in known ATV use areas. Numerous deer stands were located and checked prior to the archery deer hunting opener. CO Koehn and COC Vollbrecht checked campgrounds common to ATV users. Enforcement activity for the week included, operate ATV with youth passenger no helmet, fail to display ATV registration, operate ATV without headlights, allow illegal juvenile operation of an ATV.

CO Gary Lefebvre (Pengilly) worked fishermen, watercraft, ATV’s, small game and archery deer hunters. He also checked bear hunters and handled several complaints during the week.

District 8 — Cloquet area

CO Randy Hanzal (Brookston) despite the rainy weather lots of sportsmen were contacted this weekend for the opener of small game and archery seasons. A district meeting was attended where current law updates and other issues were discussed. Bear hunters are reporting more activity at bait stations. A few ATV violations involving juveniles were encountered during the week. An informational visit was made to a local Game Farm and some of its neighbors.

CO Scott Staples (Carlton) attended a district meeting with other conservation officers and also spent time working on wetland cases in the area. One citation was issued to a person for failing to comply with a Wetland Conservation Act Restoration Order. Other time was spent checking small game and bear hunters in the area. Success rates are slow in the area. One hunter harassment case was worked and is still under investigation. CO Staples and CO Humphrey assisted with and taught the law portion of a trapper’s education class in Cromwell.

CO Jeff Humphrey (Kettle River) worked small game and archery deer opener and investigated complaints of trespass and deer shining. Officer Humphrey attended a district enforcement meeting and assisted at a Trapper Education class in Cromwell. Inclement weather put a damper on opening weekend activities in the area.

CO Kipp Duncan (Duluth) spent time working small game opener over the weekend. Several people were out chasing grouse, but the weather didn’t cooperate for most of opening weekend. Contact was also made with several archery deer hunters. All were excited about being in the woods again for another year. Some time was also spent checking goose hunting and fishing enforcement. Several calls have been taken during the week, with some requiring time and follow-up with possible enforcement action needed when completed.

CO Sarah Sindelir (Duluth) continued to investigate a dock complaint this past week. She also attended a district meeting in Cloquet. She spent time working early goose, bow, small game, and bear hunting activity. Enforcement action was taken for no license in possession.

Duluth Marine Unit

CO Troy Ter Meer (Marine Unit) attended a district meeting, worked on reports and paperwork from some past cases, and performed equipment maintenance. He checked boaters and anglers and assisted in area stations with early goose, small game, bear and archery deer hunters. Enforcement action was taken for a bear hunter who did not have his license in possession and investigation is ongoing into another possible violation.

CO Matt Miller (Marine Unit) checked anglers near Silver Bay and Tofte. The salmon and lake trout are cooperating with anglers much better now. Equipment maintenance issues were handled, and work areas were scouted for the beginning of hunting season. Enforcement action was taken for angling, boating, and controlled substance violations.

C.O. Keith Olson (Marine Unit) checked muskie anglers on the St. Louis River. One fish of +50″ was seen. Moved the Lake Superior boat for repairs. Attended a District 8 meeting. Calls of the upcoming deer season are on the increase. Small game hunters and ATV’s were checked over the wet and rainy weekend.

Minnesota bear harvest down

Minnesota black bear hunters have shot only about half as many bears as at the same time last year, said Dave Garshelis, bear project leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. As of Sept. 11, hunters had killed 1,267 bears this fall, compared with [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 14, 2008

Minnesota bear harvest down

Minnesota black bear hunters have shot only about half as many bears as at the same time last year, said Dave Garshelis, bear project leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. As of Sept. 11, hunters had killed 1,267 bears this fall, compared with 2,452 at the same time last year, Garshelis said.

Minnesota’s bear season opened Sept. 1 and continues through Oct. 14. Garshelis suspects the abundance of natural foods in the woods has kept bears from visiting hunters’ baits as often as in some years.

“There’s a lot of natural food, and a lot of it was delayed all summer,” Garshelis said. “Stuff that shouldn’t be around is around now — berries like cherries.”

He also said the bear population may not be as large as it was a few years ago. The last population survey was done in 2002 and turned up an estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 bears. A new survey, using tetracycline baits that leave a trace in bears’ teeth, is under way this fall and next fall, Garshelis said.

Fishing pier ready at McQuade

With the addition of an accessible fishing pier, McQuade Small Craft Harbor now offers opportunities for everyone to fish Lake Superior, according to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources news release.

The harbor facility, nine miles north of the Duluth Harbor entry, is fully accessible including parking, paved walkways, a pedestrian tunnel, docks, benches, drinking water and restrooms. The fishing pier has protective railings and is built out from the breakwater to provide for lake fishing.

Grouse brood count up in Wisconsin

The average number of grouse broods seen and the average size of the brood both increased 12 percent from 2007 levels in northern and central Wisconsin this summer, according to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources news release. The primary range for ruffed grouse, the central and northern forest portions of the state, were mostly spared from the heavy rain events of June, according to the news release.

DNR field personnel averaged 1.03 broods seen during the 2008 survey period, compared with 0.92 in 2007. Brood size was up as well with broods averaging 4.7 young per brood, 4.2 in 2007.

Firearms safety instructors wanted

If you’ve ever thought of becoming a firearms safety instructor, here’s your chance. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will hold a Certified Volunteer Firearms Safety Instructor Training Class from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Hermantown Police Department, 5111 Maple Grove Road. Preregistration is required. The class is free. Participants must be at least 18 and pass a background check. To register, contact Lt. Shelly Patten at shelly.patten@dnr.state.mn.us or (218) 244-8051.

Demand for firearms safety instructors is high, said Patten, a DNR conservation officer and regional training officer.

“In Minnesota, we have more youth than the national average who are hunting,” Patten said. “Nationwide, it’s about 11 percent. In Minnesota, it’s around 20 percent, and gets up to 25 percent in the Northland.”

Surplus turkey permits available Monday

Minnesota turkey hunters who were unsuccessful in this year’s lottery for the fall hunting season may apply for 2,243 surplus permits starting at noon Monday, according to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources news release.

The DNR makes surplus permits available at all Electronic Licensing System (ELS) outlets and online at www.dnr.state.mn.us.

The Web site also contains information on surplus licenses availability and the status of lottery applications. The fall turkey hunt consists of two five-day seasons: Oct. 15-19 and Oct. 22-26.

Hunters who did not enter the lottery will be able to purchase any remaining surplus licenses beginning noon Monday, Sept. 22.

A number of rules have changed this fall in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Here are the highlights.

1. A new deer-hunting season in Minnesota. As announced earlier this fall, the state will hold an antlerless deer season the weekend of Oct. 11-12 in four deer management units around and [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 14, 2008

A number of rules have changed this fall in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Here are the highlights.

1. A new deer-hunting season in Minnesota. As announced earlier this fall, the state will hold an antlerless deer season the weekend of Oct. 11-12 in four deer management units around and north of Duluth. The units are 178, 180, 181 and 182. This is a firearms season aimed at bringing down deer populations deemed too high. Your regular firearms deer license will work for this season, but you’ll need to buy special antlerless-only permits specifically for this hunt. They’re $7.50 each, available at license outlets, and they’re good for this hunt only.

2. Yes, bowhunters will have to wear blaze orange that weekend in those areas. If you plan to bowhunt in those permit areas (see No. 1) on Oct. 11-12, you’ll need to follow the firearms deer hunting requirements for wearing blaze orange, which means blaze orange “on the visible portion of your cap and outer clothing above the waist, excluding sleeves.” Blaze-orange camouflage of at last 50 percent blaze orange in each square foot is legal.

3. Yes, small-game hunters will have to follow the same blaze-orange requirements that weekend in those areas. Instead of the usual “one article of clothing above the waist” in blaze orange, if you’re hunting grouse or other small game in those permit areas (see No. 1), you’ll have to follow the blaze-orange requirements for firearms deer hunting (see No. 2) Exempt from the blaze orange requirement during the antlerless deer hunt in these permit areas are migratory waterfowl hunters on waters and in a stationary location. Also, trappers on water are exempt.

4. New Minnesota deer license choices this fall. Gone are the all-season buck license and the multi-zone buck license. Now you buy your deer licenses a la carte — one for bowhunting season, one for firearms season, one for muzzleloader season.

5. More opportunities for young hunters — In Minnesota, a person 10 or 11 may take big game without a license or firearms safety certificate if he or she is under the direct supervision of a parent or guardian who is within immediate reach and licensed to take the big game. Big game taken by the 10- or 11-year-old must be tagged with the parent or guardian’s license.

6. No more validating deer licenses. If you are fortunate enough to shoot a deer in Minnesota this fall, you won’t have to validate your deer license. But you’ll still need to validate your site tag at the site of kill.

7. Deer baiting clarified. The wording of Minnesota’s baiting law has been fine-tuned. It’s on page 71 of the 2008 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook.

8. Early antlerless deer hunt in Wisconsin. After a two-year moratorium and not enough antlerless deer taken, Wisconsin’s early antlerless deer hunt returns in Herd Control units. Nearly all units in Northwestern Wisconsin are Herd Control units. The four-day antlerless hunt will be Oct. 16-19. Hunters may use any Antlerless Deer Carcass Tags valid in Herd Control units. The permits, $2 each, are unlimited. A December antlerless hunt (Dec. 11-14) also will be held again this year.

9. Blaze-orange requirement on Wisconsin ground blinds. Blaze orange (a minimum of 144 square inches) is required on ground blinds on Department of Natural Resources-controlled lands during any gun or muzzleloader deer season, and the blaze orange must be visible 360 degrees around the blind. Also, ground blinds must be identified with the owner’s DNR customer-ID number or name and address when not occupied during the day.

10. Donating deer heads for CWD research in Wisconsin. Hunters in 18 northern Wisconsin counties will be encouraged but not required to donate adult deer heads this fall. A sample of 500 heads from each county is required for CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) surveillance. Hunters donating deer heads will be able to keep the antlers.

We know the facts: Ruffed grouse drumming counts were up modestly in both Minnesota and Wisconsin this past spring.

Here’s what we don’t know: How did the extended cool, wet weather in early June affect survival of nesting grouse chicks?

Mike Larson, grouse biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 7, 2008

We know the facts: Ruffed grouse drumming counts were up modestly in both Minnesota and Wisconsin this past spring.

Here’s what we don’t know: How did the extended cool, wet weather in early June affect survival of nesting grouse chicks?

Mike Larson, grouse biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at Grand Rapids, isn’t worried. Yes, he says, weather can be a factor in local areas. But usually not regionwide or statewide.

Ruffed grouse hunting season opens Saturday in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“I’m not a huge believer in weather having a huge effect on grouse,” Larson said. “They’re hardy birds. They’ve evolved with all this stuff.”

c/o Steve Fiske

Minnesota ruffed grouse drumming counts were up 9 percent in the northeast,

8 percent statewide, after large increases in the past two years. Last fall’s harvest dropped unexpectedly compared with the previous year, but that was an exception, Larson thinks.

“I’m optimistic that we’ll rebound on the harvest end of things this fall,” Larson said.

In Wisconsin, drumming counts were up 12 percent in the northern region this past spring. As in Minnesota, the grouse population appears to be increasing each year as it works toward the peak of its 10-year cycle.

“Drumming counts were up, but not as much as we expected them to be,” said Fred Strand, Wisconsin DNR wildlife manager in Superior. “Just talking with people who have been out, the results have been mixed. Some say they’re seeing a fair number of broods. Others say they’re not seeing much.”

Consider this as you look forward to this fall’s grouse hunting: Last fall, in Minnesota, hunters took an average of 3.2 grouse per hunter for the entire season. At the last peak in the grouse population cycle (1998), the average was 6.7 birds harvested per hunter. From the best year to the worst year — about three birds per year difference per hunter.

Which is why Strand reminds hunters not to get too hung up on the numbers.

“The most important part is to go,” he said.

Jeff Koehn, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer and OHV specialist, reminds those using four-wheelers for grouse hunting of these regulations:

In “limited” state forests, which are the majority of lands south of U.S. Highway 2, you cannot operate an ATV on a trail unless it’s posted [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published September 7, 2008

Jeff Koehn, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer and OHV specialist, reminds those using four-wheelers for grouse hunting of these regulations:

In “limited” state forests, which are the majority of lands south of U.S. Highway 2, you cannot operate an ATV on a trail unless it’s posted and signed as open to ATV use.

In “managed” state forests — most of those north of U.S. Highway 2 — ATVs may be operated on any state forest ATV trail that is not posted as closed.

In all state forests, cross-country travel is prohibited.

ATVs may not be used on designated and signed hunter walking trails.

In a change this year, grouse hunters using ATVs no longer have to shut off their machines and be 60 feet away from them to shoot at a grouse. Hunters still must get completely off the vehicle and not use the machine as a shooting rest, Koehn said.

Here are some anecdotal reports of ruffed grouse brood sightings this summer from people who spend a lot of time in the woods and on back roads:

Doug Nelson, Virginia, grouse hunter and backwoods angler: “This spring, I heard a lot of drumming. … Last Saturday, I jumped two [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published September 7, 2008

Here are some anecdotal reports of ruffed grouse brood sightings this summer from people who spend a lot of time in the woods and on back roads:

Doug Nelson, Virginia, grouse hunter and backwoods angler: “This spring, I heard a lot of drumming. … Last Saturday, I jumped two coveys, one with six and one with eight. The birds were small. I’m thinking [the hens] re-nested, so the birds haven’t had a chance to fully mature. I would say [those numbers] are about average.”

Chris Balzer, Minnesota DNR assistant area wildlife manager, Cloquet: “We never see too many broods in the summer when the foliage is thick. Generally, in the past, the drumming count data in the spring has been predictive of hunting success in the fall. We expect the hunting season to be an improvement over last year.”

Jeff Koehn, Grand Rapids, Minnesota DNR conservation officer and OHV specialist: “Some people are seeing young birds,. … In the last few weeks, I’ve seen several broods. From what I’ve seen, the west Range and south of Duluth have had good numbers. I’ve seen a lot of young ones. The young ones are pretty well grown.”

Russ Sewell, regional biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society in Minnesota: “I’m still hearing from a few folks that there are holes out there. … There are probably going to be some areas that are a little less than what is expected. There will be other areas that are really good.”

Greg Kessler, Wisconsin DNR wildlife manager at Brule: “The summer brood observations are a real mixed bag. … Some people are seeing fewer, some about the same and a few are actually seeing more broods. It’s very spotty. There appear to be somewhat more birds in the Bayfield and Ashland county areas, just based on personal observation, nothing scientific.

“It appears that the cold, wet streak in early June had a pretty significant impact on those early broods. The later broods appear to have done quite well.”

Darin Fagerman, DNR conservation officer, Grand Marais: “A lot of people haven’t been seeing anything. … It doesn’t look too promising. I’ve lived up here since ’89 and hunted every year. I can’t remember seeing so few.”

Kipp Duncan, DNR conservation officer, Duluth area: “I’ve seen very few [broods]. … I did talk to someone who is a logger, and he was telling me he’s been seeing quite a bit from Isabella down toward Two Harbors on logging roads.”

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials remind off-highway vehicle users of the following regulations:

Hunters placing baits for bears should know that several state forests have a new “limited” classification that restricts travel by OHVs to roads or trails that contain an OHV sign. If there is no sign, [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 7th, 2008

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials remind off-highway vehicle users of the following regulations:

Hunters placing baits for bears should know that several state forests have a new “limited” classification that restricts travel by OHVs to roads or trails that contain an OHV sign. If there is no sign, the route is closed to motorized vehicles. The Nemadji State Forest in Northeastern Minnesota falls under that classification.

In state forests, OHV travel is not allowed on designated nonmotorized trails or in areas posted and designated as closed to OHV use.

In state forests, OHV use that causes erosion or rutting, or that damages trees, growing crops, roads or natural resources is prohibited.

In state forests, crosscountry travel is allowed for trapping, minnow or furbearer purposes any time of the year there is an open season (mid-October through mid-May for fur, all year for minnows). In September, people can only travel cross-country to recover a legally taken bear or deer. In September, people cannot use an OHV cross-country to bait, construct stands or access hunting areas. These restrictions are lifted from October through December.

OHVs are generally prohibited on wildlife management areas (WMA).

OHV travel is not allowed on unfrozen public waters or in a manner that would carelessly damage the natural and ecological balance of a wetland.

It is unlawful to transport an uncased or loaded firearm on an OHV.

It is illegal to shoot at a wild animal from an OHV.

Hunting Heritage Week declared

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proclaimed Sept. 15-21 as Hunting Heritage Week, the Minnesota DNR says.

These dates include Take A Kid Hunting Weekend and Youth Waterfowl Day, special opportunities for Minnesotans to pass along the state’s hunting heritage to the next generation.

Take a Kid Hunting Weekend is Sept. 20-21. During this weekend, adult residents accompanied by a youth younger than 16 may hunt small game without a license but must comply with open seasons, limits and other regulations.

Youth Waterfowl Day is Sept. 20. This is an opportunity for youths ages 15 or younger to hunt waterfowl before the regular waterfowl season opens. An adult mentor 18 or older who is authorized by the youth’s parent or guardian must accompany youth hunters at all times.

Open house on ATV use

The Minnesota DNR will hold an open house from 4-7 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Finland Rescue Squad headquarters on Minnesota Highway 1 to discuss opening the Finland State Forest Campground for ATV access. This would allow campers staying in the forest campground to access the area ATV trails from their campsites. Information on the proposal is available by contacting Philip Leversedge, park manager, Tettegouche State Park, 5702 Highway 61, Silver Bay, MN 55614; or by e-mail at or (218) 226-6365, ext. 224.

Bowhunters asked to submit deer samples

Bow deer seasons in both Minnesota and Wisconsin open Saturday. In Wisconsin, bowhunters in Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Iron, Sawyer, Washburn and several other counties are asked to participate in the chronic wasting disease surveillance program this year. The northern region needs to collect samples from 500 deer from each county as part of the program.

“We need hunter cooperation to help ensure a healthy deer herd in the north,” said Northern Region wildlife expert Mike Zeckmeister in a prepared statement, “and that is what these periodic disease checks do.”

The early archery deer season runs from Saturday through Nov. 20. The late season starts on Dec. 1 and runs to Jan. 4.

Ansell, Pirila top bass tourney

The Duluth Area Bass League held its ninth summer tournament Aug. 21 at Big Lake. Al Ansell and Doug Pirila took first place with a five-fish limit weighing 14.6 pounds. Second went to Mike Lebsack and his son Jacob with 11.8 pounds. Brian Stevenson and James Kunze took third with 10.25 pounds.

Follow fall color online

You can follow the changing fall colors on the Minnesota DNR Web page, www.mndnr.gov. Updates are made every Thursday on progress of fall color changes. The new site features a color-coded map that shows where the fall colors are at their peak. There is a “top picks” section, which highlights the Minnesota state parks with the best options for viewing fall colors and the best viewing areas within each of the 72 state parks and recreation areas.