In This Issue
A weekly list of news briefs about fish, wildlife, and habitat management.
Apply for turkey permits in Mille Lacs, Carlos Avery or
Whitewater WMAs by Feb. 17
Turkey hunters have from Wednesday, Feb. 1, through Friday, Feb. 17, to apply for turkey hunting permits for the A-C spring hunting seasons in Mille Lacs and Carlos Avery wildlife management areas and the A-B seasons in Whitewater Wildlife Management Area.
In addition to a turkey license, a permit is required for those hoping to bag a tom turkey with a firearm in one of these WMAs during early seasons. Turkey firearm permits for these WMAs are distributed via a lottery system. In a change this year, there is no permit required to hunt Whitewater WMA during the C season.
Turkey licenses will go on sale March 1 for several hunting seasons from mid-April to the end of May. Turkey hunting season dates and details for 2023 are available on the?DNR website?(mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey).
DNR asks for public input about deer populations
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is asking for public input on deer population goals in 23 deer permit areas in eastern and south-central Minnesota. To provide input, people can share their thoughts through Monday, Feb. 13 using an online questionnaire, by mailing or emailing comments, or by attending an in-person public meeting.?
The targeted DPAs this year are:
- DPAs 152, 155, 156, 157, 159, 172, 183, 221, 222, 225, 248, 249, 604 in the East Central Uplands goal block. A meeting for this goal block will be held from
6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30, in the auditorium at the Pine Technical and Community College, 900 4th SE in Pine City.
- DPAs 219, 223, 224, 227, 229, 235, 236, 285, 338, 605 in the Sand Plain/Big Woods goal block. A meeting for this goal block will be held from 6-7:30 p.m.? Tuesday, Jan. 31, in the Dakota B Room at Dakota County Technical College, 1300 145th East in Rosemount.
A recorded webinar about the goal setting process and complete details about how to contribute input via online questionnaire, email or mail are available on the?DNR website?(mndnr.gov/mammals/deer/management/population.html).
DNR webinars cover native mussels, burbot fishing
The DNR invites people interested in fishing, wildlife and outdoor skills to tune in to upcoming webinars that will discuss mussels that are native to Minnesota and burbot fishing.
The first webinar is at noon Wednesday, Feb. 1. Madeline Pletta, the DNR?s lead mussel propagation biologist, will discuss the importance of Minnesota?s native freshwater mussels and how the DNR is restoring mussel populations across the state.
The second webinar is at noon Wednesday, Feb. 8. Carl Pedersen and Jody Derks, both fisheries specialists with the DNR, will cover some basic biology as well as ways to fish for burbot, also known as eelpout. Burbot are becoming of increased interest to many anglers for good reason: They are great fighters and can be very tasty.
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).
###
Imagine sitting in the woods on a spring morning with wildflowers in bloom, trees budding bright green and birds overhead migrating back to Minnesota. Then a turkey gobbles in the distance, responding to a turkey call.??
?Spring turkey hunting is the best time I know to be in the woods. We witness an incredible transformation watching the woods wake up from winter,? said James Burnham, hunter and angler recruitment, retention and reactivation coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. ?For anyone who?s interested in learning to hunt turkeys, the winter months are a great time to prepare.?
Burnham shared his top three tips for anyone hoping to try turkey hunting in Minnesota when turkey hunting begins Wednesday, April 12: practice shooting, scout for turkeys and get gear ahead of time.
Burnham said by practicing at a shooting range with the gun and ammo you?ll be using, you can figure out how close the turkey needs to be before you shoot. The specific gun and ammo combination will dictate the distance at which enough shotgun pellets are clustered in the head and neck area of a turkey to effectively harvest the bird.
Winter is a great time to start scouting by taking a walk in the woods or a drive through the countryside to see where to hunt in the spring. Turkey tracks are easier to see in the snow.
?If you see turkeys in a field, you can use that as a starting place to locate public land or seek permission from landowners to hunt private land,? Burnham said.
Finally, winter is a good time to start gearing up for turkey hunting. High on Burnham?s list for equipment: a quality pair of cold-weather boots and something to sit on to stay warm and dry. Go for camouflage or Earth-toned clothing and avoid colors that turkeys and other hunters identify with turkeys, such as red, white and blue.
?Turkey hunting can be as gear-intensive as people choose to make it,? Burnham said. ?You can spend a lot of money on top-of-the-line decoys and calls [but] I suggest focusing on the gear you need to hunt the way you want to hunt.?
More turkey hunting tips can be found on the DNR?s learn to hunt turkey page (mndnr.gov/gohunting/wild-turkey-hunting.html).
###
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is celebrating 10 years of the EagleCam, a popular annual livestream of a bald eagle nest in Minnesota.
The first season of the DNR EagleCam began in January 2013, after the Nongame Wildlife Program installed a webcam in a tree next to an active bald eagle nest. The livestream has grown in popularity since then and now has thousands of followers watching from homes, workplaces, classrooms, waiting rooms and care facilities in all 50 states and at least 150 countries.
Fifteen chicks have successfully fledged from this nest in the last decade. Even before the camera was installed, DNR staff working in the area had discovered the nest and biologists have monitored the mating pairs in it since 2003.
Currently, the breeding female is rebuilding the nest with a new mate. Her previous mate went missing last year, and the new male showed up over the summer. This female has been at the nest for three years and, with her mates, has laid seven eggs and raised five chicks to fledging.
The EagleCam goes live in November each year to show the daily repairs and upgrades the eagles make to their nest. The pair remains active at the nest each day and normally by mid-February have laid two or three eggs, which the adults incubate for about 35 days. Both adults incubate the eggs and care for the chicks.??
Once the chicks hatch, the camera zooms in closely to watch the delicate process of raising bald eagle chicks. Tune in to learn about eagles and the Nongame Wildlife Program, and to celebrate 10 years of the DNR EagleCam (mndnr.gov/eaglecam).
###
Well-meaning practice can put wildlife in harm?s way
Animal-loving Minnesotans who leave corn for hungry pheasants at this time of year could be doing more harm than good, say wildlife experts with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
DNR wildlife managers have seen corn spread along roadsides, likely to help ringneck pheasants survive a difficult Minnesota winter.
?We are getting more reports of pheasants along roadsides,? said Wendy Krueger, Marshall area wildlife supervisor. ?While it?s common to see pheasants along roadsides in search of grit, it?s not a good place for them to feed.?
Feeding wildlife can create a number of problems. For pheasants, it can draw them out of thick cover, which makes them vulnerable to predators, more susceptible to disease, and more at risk for injury or death from highway traffic or snowplows. Even with a deep snowpack, the adaptable pheasant can typically survive a tough winter without the help of human-placed feed.
?Pheasants are extremely resilient birds,? said Tim Lyons, DNR upland game research scientist. ?Hens can lose between a third or even as much as half of their weight and still survive a winter by quickly gaining that weight back in the spring.?
Lyons said that a pheasant can conserve energy by remaining still for 24 hours or more. They also are able to survive for more than two weeks without food.
?Feeding wildlife is generally not in an animal?s best interest,? Lyons said. ?Human-habituated animals can create conflicts with people, automobile traffic, local gardens and crops, and they can also spread disease.?
While winter can play a role in the pheasant survival rate, habitat plays an even more critical part. Improving habitat is a better long-term solution to promoting long-term survival rates. For example, restoring wetlands can provide cattail cover. Fallow fields and new prairie plantings provide highly productive food sources for wildlife. DNR Researchers have found that hens can have a nearly 75% success rate in producing a brood in good nesting habitat.
Landowners who are interested in learning more about establishing wildlife-friendly habitat can learn more at the DNR?s website (mndnr.gov/PrivateLandHabitat/Prairie-Habitat.html).
###
|
? 
? 
? 
? 
