In This Issue
A weekly list of news briefs about fish, wildlife, and habitat management.
Cisco and whitefish sport netting to open on northern lakes
Netting for harvesting cisco, also referred to as tullibee, and whitefish for personal use is open this fall on designated lakes. Whitefish and cisco sport netting is open to Minnesota residents only. About 700 Minnesotans participate each year. Netting schedules are based on expected water temperatures. As the water temperature cools, game fish head to deeper water while cisco and whitefish come to shallow water for fall spawning.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources allows netting when there is little chance that fish other than cisco and whitefish will be caught. Game fish incidentally taken in nets must be returned to the water immediately. Complete regulations, including designated lakes, netting schedules and requirements related to use of gear and invasive species, are available on the Minnesota DNR website (files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/whitefish-tullibee.pdf).
Deer carcass movement restrictions in place in 14 deer permit areas
Deer carcass movement restrictions are in place for 14 deer permit areas located in southeastern and north-central Minnesota and the south metro area. Deer permit areas 604, 605, 642, 643, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649, 655, 661, 679 and 684 together form the chronic wasting disease management zone. Hunters are not allowed to take whole deer carcasses outside the management zone until a “not detected” test result is received. The restrictions apply to all deer, including fawns. Hunters are allowed to move whole deer carcasses in between contiguous disease management zone DPAs.
In these DPAs, sampling is mandatory opening weekend of firearms season. If hunters harvest a deer before or after the opening weekend of firearms season and choose not to submit a sample from their deer or want to transport a deer outside the CWD management zone before getting a test result, they must debone or quarter their deer, properly disposing of the head and spinal column inside the zone. Meat and quarters with the main leg bone can leave the zone immediately. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources provides dumpsters for hunters to use to help facilitate carcass disposal.
Hunters who harvest a deer within Minnesota’s CWD management zones are allowed to take intact heads from deer with or without the cape and neck attached outside of the CWD management zone if they are delivered to a licensed taxidermist within 48 hours of leaving the management zone.
Carcass movement restrictions are part of a comprehensive strategy to keep Minnesota’s deer, elk and moose healthy by limiting the spread of disease. Hunters can find details for the DPA in which they hunt, including locations of dumpsters for carcass disposal, by visiting the Minnesota DNR’s CWD webpage (mndnr.gov/cwd) and using the “find the requirements for your DPA” tool.
Minnesota DNR webinars focus on taxidermy, fall cookouts
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invites people interested in wildlife and outdoor skills to check out the fall program schedule for the Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series.
In a webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 2, Meadow Kouffeld, natural resources sciences instructor at Minnesota North College, and also a wildlife biologist and taxidermist, will discuss ways to preserve and honor a harvest. The webinar will cover topics including photography, decorative tail fans from birds, the variety of big game taxidermy mounts, and what hunters can do, from field to finished displays, to make the most of their harvests.
In a webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 9, Pam Welisevich, naturalist at Dodge Nature Center, will share about camp fires during the fall, and some of her favorite simple and easy treats that can be made over the fire.
The Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series webinars are free and offered year-round, though registration is required. Visit the Outdoor Skills and Stewardship webpage of the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/discover) for the registration portal, more information about upcoming webinars and recordings of past webinars.
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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invites people interested in the Roseau River Wildlife Management Area to share their perspectives about future management at the WMA. This input will help inform an update to the master plan for the WMA.
The updated master plan will be used to guide management of Roseau River WMA’s wetlands, grasslands, shrubs and forests, and will include management goals, objectives and strategies for the WMA throughout the next 10 years. The previous management plan for the area was developed in 1980.
Public input opportunities
Minnesota DNR has developed an online questionnaire to gather early input and will also host a webinar about the plan update.
The online questionnaire is available on the Engage with DNR website (engage.dnr.state.mn.us/wma-ama-planning) through Friday, Nov. 15. The purpose of the online questionnaire is to help generate ideas and identify potential planning issues and opportunities specific to Roseau River WMA as the Minnesota DNR begins the planning process.
Minnesota DNR staff will present a brief overview of Roseau River WMA and the planning process, answer questions and collect input during the webinar 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24. No registration is required for the event. A link to join the webinar is available on the Roseau River WMA page of the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/areas/wildlife/roseau_river_wma.html).
People can also send input via postal mail to Roseau River WMA Master Plan, Fish and Wildlife Division, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Additional public input opportunities will be available in spring 2025 once the draft master plan is developed.
About the WMA
Roseau River WMA’s 75,163 acres consist of wetlands, waterways, woodlands and open landscape that provide extensive outdoor recreation opportunities. The WMA contains 11 large water control structures, four large wildlife pools and nine moist soils cells that provide important breeding, nesting and migration habitat for waterfowl. Roseau River WMA is a popular destination for anglers, hunters, trappers, and bird and wildlife watchers alike.
More information about the WMA is available on the Minnesota DNR website. (mndnr.gov/areas/wildlife/roseau_river_wma.html) and the WMA finder (mndnr.gov/wmas).
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DNR and partners restore imperiled trout stream through Enger Park Golf Course in Duluth
Native brook trout will soon benefit from improved habitat as the Buckingham Creek stream restoration project nears completion. Buckingham Creek has the coldest water of Duluth’s 16 trout streams and runs through the city of Duluth’s Enger Park Golf Course. When the city needed to make some improvements to the golf course’s irrigation system, it proposed a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and other resource management agencies to restore the trout stream at the same time.
Partners, including the city of Duluth, South St. Louis Soil & Water Conservation District, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR worked collaboratively to restore more than 3,000 feet of stream channel through the city’s popular golf course, where construction in the 1980s altered the stream.
The ongoing construction project re-meanders the stream out of a ditch and redirects it around ponds that were introducing warm water to the stream. The project will replace perched culverts that are migration barriers with bridges to restore fish passage, while enhancing playability of the golf course and greatly improving the ecological function and aesthetic beauty of Buckingham Creek. Prior to the start of construction, Minnesota DNR fisheries crews relocated more than 150 trout from the construction area to an upstream cold-water refuge.
“The city wasn’t obligated to do this work, but they understood the value in it,” said Leslie George, DNR Northeast Region fisheries manager. “By working collaboratively, we have been able to apply local expertise multiple city, state and federal funding sources, and work together to improve outdoor recreation and critical natural resources in Duluth.”
Funding for the project came from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Minnesota Legacy Amendment – Clean Water Legacy Partners Grant Program, and the city of Duluth.
A four-minute video documentary of the project is available on the DNR’s YouTube channel (youtu.be/jZER7lFBG4Y).
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Permits are available for the Oct. 18-20 youth hunt at Lake Bemidji State Park. This firearms hunt is open to youth ages 12 to 15. Youth must be accompanied by an adult mentor over the age 18. Mentors may not carry firearms.
The youth hunter must have a firearms safety certificate and purchase a youth hunt license. The hunt is either sex with a bag limit of two deer. Hunters at this special hunt may only possess and use nontoxic ammunition. Any projectile containing lead is prohibited, including lead ammunition plated with a nontoxic material. More details can be found in the 2024 hunting regulations (mndnr.gov/regulations/hunting).
Participating in the youth hunt does not prevent a youth from hunting in the regular season, although harvested deer do count against the youth’s annual bag limit.
Youth hunters interested in participating in the hunt must call the park at 218-308-2300 and provide the following information: first name, middle name, last name, street address, city, state, zip, phone; age on Oct. 18; and name of adult mentor. Mandatory orientation will be held in the visitor center at Lake Bemidji State Park at
6 p.m. on Oct. 17.
Camping is available at the park. The bathrooms will be closed for the season, but vault toilets and water are available. Camping is $24 per night for nonelectric and $34 per night for electric campsites. Four camper cabins are also available ($85/night) and reservations are required. Reservations can be made on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/reservations).
State park permits ($7 daily or $35 year-round) are required to park in any designated area of the park while hunting. Permits can be purchased online (mndnr.gov/permit) or at the park’s ranger station.
For more information, call Shannon Bungart, Lake Bemidji State Park assistant supervisor, at 218-308-2329.
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