In This Issue
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is modernizing payment options in state parks, recreation areas and forest campgrounds by discontinuing the use of on-site self-payment collection boxes and expanding electronic payment options. This includes deploying an app for mobile devices called Yodel.
Yodel is currently available for some transactions in state parks, recreations areas and forest campgrounds. For information about Yodel, and a guide to the full suite of payment options available, visit the Parks and Trails payment options page (mndnr.gov/state_parks/payment-options.html). Products available to purchase via Yodel will expand throughout the summer camping season. Yodel is an addition to current payment options, which include in-person transactions at park offices and the online reservation system (mndnr.gov/reservations).
The DNR is modernizing payment systems to reduce risk of theft of payment envelopes collected on site, improve data security and improve safety of visitors and DNR staff.
Campsites in state forest campgrounds are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Campgrounds in state forests do not have staffed offices. Visitors should follow instructions on signs in campgrounds to pay camping fees via Yodel, or by mailing in the fees if payment via Yodel is not possible. As always, vehicle permits are not required for visitors to state forest campgrounds.
For more information, visit the DNR?s Parks and Trails payment options page (mndnr.gov/state_parks/payment-options.html) or contact the DNR Information Center by emailing [email protected] or by calling 888-646-6367 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has finalized trapping rule changes to help minimize the risk of accidental take of federally-threatened Canada lynx in Minnesota.
In February, Federal District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud approved a settlement developed by the DNR and the Center for Biological Diversity that includes additional limits on the type of snares that can be used and the way snares can be set in northeastern Minnesota.
?We will move forward with implementing the agreed-upon changes and believe these steps will further reduce the already low accidental mortality of lynx from trapping,? said John Erb, DNR research biologist.
The consent decree resolves an action brought by the Center for Biological Diversity in 2020 related to Canada lynx protections.
The number of lynx in Minnesota is very hard to determine, but estimates put the population between 100 to 300. Since 2008, the DNR?s records show there was an average of one accidental trapping mortality of Canada lynx every other year. Trapping is not the leading source of human-caused lynx mortality in Minnesota. While such incidental takes affect individual lynx, they do not threaten the sustainability of Minnesota?s lynx population. Vehicles are the leading cause of lynx mortalities in Minnesota.
Trappers can find the specific changes related to snares that will be in place for the 2023-2024 trapping season, as well as more information about trapping in Minnesota, on the DNR trapping page (mndnr.gov/trapping).
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