In This Issue
A weekly list of news briefs about fish, wildlife, and habitat management.
Minnesota moms: join the Mother?s Day weekend fishing challenge
Moms who live in Minnesota are invited to join a free virtual fishing challenge Saturday, May 13, through Sunday, May 14, during Take a Mom Fishing Weekend, when all Minnesota moms can fish without purchasing a fishing license.
To participate in the Mother?s Day weekend fishing challenge, moms simply need to join the Minnesota Moms Fishing Challenge Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/1173295613370541) and submit one photo of each fish they catch. All participants who submit a fish will be entered in a random drawing for prizes provided by the Student Anglers Organization, including SCHEELS gift cards. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is partnering with the Student Anglers Organization to organize the challenge.
Contest details are available on the Student Anglers Association website (studentangler.org/minnesota-moms-fishing-challenge). In the contest, no fish is too small and all fish species count.
The Minnesota State Legislature established Take a Mom Fishing Weekend in 1988 to coincide with Mother?s Day. This year, the weekend also happens during fishing opener ? seasons begin Saturday, May 13, for walleye, northern pike, bass, and trout in lakes.
To celebrate the fishing season, the Minnesota Governor?s Fishing Opener event is taking place May 12-14 in Mankato. During the event on May 13, several anglers with the Student Anglers Organization will be fishing with their moms on Madison Lake, and the moms will be taking part in the Minnesota Moms Fishing Challenge.
Get your fishing questions answered on DNR fishing webpage
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has a fishing page (mndnr.gov/fishing) to help answer angler questions. The page answers questions like:
- What species can I fish for?
- What kind of bait is legal?
- What kind of fish can I keep?
The page also is a mobile-friendly destination for information on when, where and how to fish. Users can find links to LakeFinder, which provides maps and detailed information on lakes throughout the state, and the new StreamFinder tool that provides a description, species list, regulations and access information for trout streams throughout Minnesota. The DNR fishing page also includes an online version of Minnesota fishing regulations, plus an online version of the 2023 Minnesota Fishing Regulations booklet, which is also available in print anywhere DNR licenses are sold.
DNR urges people to leave deer fawns alone
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources asks that people avoid disturbing or touching deer fawns, which are born around this time of year.
Most fawns are born in mid-May to mid-June, and fawns do not attempt to evade predators during their first few weeks of life. Instead, they remain still to avoid being seen. During these times, fawns are learning critical survival skills from their mothers but are often left on their own while their mothers forage watchfully nearby.
Be assured deer fawns are likely fine even if they look abandoned or fragile. Even if the fawn is known to be wounded or abandoned due to car strike or animal attack, do not transport it without talking to a wildlife rehabilitator. For more information about what to do when people find fawns or other species of young wild animals, visit the DNR website (mndnr.gov/eco/nongame/rehabilitation/orphaned-wildlife.html).
DNR seeks public input on Mille Lacs WMA master plan update
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invites people interested in the Mille Lacs Wildlife Management Area to participate in a webinar and help inform the DNR?s updates to the WMA?s master plan.
The webinar will be held 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9. DNR staff will present a brief overview of the WMA and the planning process, answer questions and take feedback during the session. Registration is not required. A link to join the webinar is available on the DNR?s Mille Lacs WMA webpage?(mndnr.gov/areas/wildlife/mille_lacs_wma.html).
Mille Lacs WMA?s 43,000 acres provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species. The updated master plan will be used to guide management of the WMA?s forests, wetlands, and brushlands. It will include management goals, objectives and strategies for the WMA for the next 10 years.
Input from the upcoming webinar will help the DNR develop a draft management plan for Mille Lacs WMA. The draft plan will be available for public review and input in early fall. At that time, people will be able to comment on the draft plan in person, online and via mail/email. The DNR will finalize the plan by Dec. 31.
DNR webinars cover catching walleye on opening weekend,
and keeping young wildlife wild
The DNR invites people interested in fishing, wildlife and outdoor skills to tune in to upcoming webinars that feature discussions about catching walleye on opening weekend and what to do if people encounter young wildlife in the spring.
The first webinar is Wednesday, May 10. Join DNR fisheries staff and walleye fishing experts for a discussion on what to expect for the upcoming fishing opener and tips on how to catch early season walleye. The discussion will focus on southern Minnesota ahead of the 2023 Minnesota Governor?s Fishing Opener, which is in Mankato. The inland water walleye season opens Saturday, May 13.
The second webinar is Wednesday, May 17. People tend to encounter young wildlife in the springtime. Heidi Cyr, nongame wildlife permit coordinator for wildlife rehabilitators, will discuss how wild animals rear their young, and the best actions people can take to help keep wildlife wild.
The webinars are part of the DNR?s Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series. The webinars are free, but registration is required. More information is available on the outdoor skills and stewardship page of the DNR website (mndnr.gov/discover).
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This summer, Minnesota state parks will offer tours that highlight life in a prairie (including the possibility of viewing bison!), the longest cave in the state and Minnesota?s mining history.
Tours take place at Blue Mounds, Forestville/Mystery Cave, and Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine state parks. Reservation information, ticket prices, schedules and more can be found on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource?s state park tours webpage (mndnr.gov/tours).
Bison and prairie tours at Blue Mounds State Park
- Blue Mounds State Park, in the southwest corner of Minnesota, offers a 90-minute bus tour into a vast prairie that might include seeing a massive bison herd. These powerful wild animals can be elusive, so there?s no guarantee of seeing one. What can easily be seen is prairie life: grasses, wildflowers, wildlife, and an expansive view. Tour reservations are required. Bison and prairie tours begin May 26.
Mystery Cave tours at Mystery Cave at Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park?
- At 13 miles in length, Mystery Cave is Minnesota?s longest cave. A variety of cave tours are offered, including the one-hour lantern tour, the one-hour scenic tour, the two-hour geology tour, and the four-hour wild caving tour. Each tour takes visitors to a different area of the cave and showcases stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, fossils, and cave pools. Reservations are recommended. One-hour scenic Mystery Cave tours begin May 13, with all other cave tours starting May 27.
Soudan Mine surface tours at Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park
- When the Soudan Mine opened in 1882, it was Minnesota's first iron ore mine. This year, the mine shaft that provides underground access is undergoing restoration, but visitors can still enjoy a one-hour surface tour. Tour participants are guided through the various Soudan Mine surface facilities, where they gain insight into the life of a miner, see what happened to the ore after it was extracted, and learn about the process of preparing ore for shipment on its way to becoming steel. Reservations are required. Soudan Mine tours begin May 27.
State park webpages, which can be found on the DNR?s state parks list (mndnr.gov/park-list), include tour descriptions with information on age restrictions and appropriate tour apparel, such as walking shoes. Visitor alerts containing information about closures, construction and current park conditions are also available on park webpages.
A state parks vehicle permit is not needed for the parking area at the visitor center at Soudan Underground Mine. However, tour participants at Blue Mounds and Forestville/Mystery Cave state parks will need a vehicle permit to drive into the park. The cost is $7 per day, or $35 per year for unlimited visits to all 75 state parks and recreation areas. Vehicle permits can be purchased on the DNR?s state parks permit webpage (mndnr.gov/permit) or in person during open hours at state park offices.
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Meeting planned for May 16 in Gibbon
A public hearing is scheduled for May 16 to discuss management options, gather public input and review a plan for habitat enhancement for Clear Lake in Sibley County.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Sibley County Soil and Water Conservation District intend to replace a culvert between Clear and Mud lakes. The new culvert will be able to be closed seasonally to limit common carp access to spawning areas.
The DNR also is seeking to conduct temporary water level drawdowns on Clear Lake. Drawdowns help mimic a natural drought cycle that resets a lake ecosystem with removal of bottom-feeding fish species, consolidates sediment, increases water clarity, helps reestablish aquatic plants, and improves habitat conditions for fish and wildlife. Other proposals include the stocking of additional predator fish such as walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and bluegill after a drawdown and subsequent winterkill to establish angling opportunities, and to provide some predation of less desirable species such as common carp and bullheads.
Clear Lake?s habitat conditions and water quality have been hampered by sustained high water levels and an overabundance of common carp, which degrade water quality through their feeding actions. Current conditions on the 505-acre lake are preventing aquatic plant growth and providing poor overall fish and wildlife habitat.?
The public hearing is an opportunity for people to hear more about the proposed plan, ask any further questions, and formally provide comment on the proposed plan and management actions.
The public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, at the Gibbon Community Center, 985 1st Ave., Gibbon, MN 55335. The public is also invited to visit with DNR and Sibley County Soil and Water Conservation District Staff at 5 p.m. May 16 at the Gibbon Sportsman?s Club on the north shore of Clear Lake, 62621 330th St., Gibbon, MN.
Interested parties can also contact Scott Mackenthun, DNR area fisheries supervisor at 320-753-0324 or [email protected].
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