All quiet, so far, on the legislative front

Well, it’s that time of year again. The legislators are back in St. Paul and the legislative session began last Tuesday. Many of us prefer to just hunt and fish and not think about politics and policies, but the reality is that many of the laws and rules – and the decisions – that affect us as hunters will be made during the next several months.
Being that we’re just a few days in, nothing major has happened yet. (The first hearings of the environment committees in the House and Senate consisted of discussion about a state wolf-hunting season.)
But there are a few things we’re watching.
The Minnesota Waterfowl Association is supporting an increase to the costs of hunting and fishing licenses. It’s been more than a decade since they were increased last, so it’s high time to do something about that.
The DNR first proposed the fee increases last year, but they didn’t really get anywhere at the Legislature. We’re hoping this year is different, and both environment committee chairs – Bill Ingebrigtsen in the Senate and Denny McNamara in the House – have signaled their support. Ingebrigtsen, in fact, said he would even sponsor the bill.
Why the need for a license fee increase? The revenues from licenses are deposited in the Game and Fish Fund, which pays for the vast majority of our fish and wildlife management in Minnesota. That fund is projected to be depleted by the beginning of July in 2013. That can’t occur, so absent license-fee increases, we’ll be looking at pretty deep cuts to pretty important programs.
MWA also is monitoring the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council recommendations, which should appear as a piece of legislation in coming weeks. We would like to see the Legislature pass the package as recommended by the council. The Legislature has abided by that in each of the previous three sessions, but each year – and this year is no exception – it seems lawmakers are more and more tempted to fiddle with them.
Finally, we want to make sure the Legacy Amendment doesn’t get repealed. There is legislation that would do just that, so we’re monitoring that to ensure it doesn’t go anywhere.
That’s about it on the legislative front for now. We’ll talk again next week, and we hope to see everyone at the annual MWA Waterfowl Symposium, which is slated for Saturday, Feb. 4 in Bloomington. Check our website for more information.

Plan to attend the 15th Annual Minnesota Waterfowl Symposium

Well, it appears winter is finally here. We still have little in the way of snow, but the thermometer this morning showed below-zero temperatures. Even if the duck season was still open, I’m not sure I’d want to be sitting out there.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t be thinking about ducks and duck hunting, which brings me to Saturday, Feb. 4, which is the day of the annual MWA waterfowl symposium. Without tooting our own horn, it’s not an event that waterfowlers should miss.
The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ramada Mall of America. (Our annual awards banquet and Minnesota Waterfowl Hall of Fame induction follows; read this blog next week for more about that event.)
We’re pretty excited about this year’s symposium, the full agenda for which you can find on our website – www.mnwaterfowl.com.
But let me just elaborate on a couple of the agenda items:
Steve Cordts, the DNR’s waterfowl specialist, will update everyone on the state and continental status of waterfowl. In addition, he’ll discuss the changes the DNR made to the regulations for the 2011 duck season, and the possibility of more changes in 2012. It’s bound to be an interesting discussion and I’m looking forward to hearing how the 2011 regulations package affected hunters. We won’t know harvest information until this summer, but it’s clear that more people bought state duck stamps in 2011 than in 2010, and I have to think the liberalized regulations played a role.
But I wonder if some people will argue that we went too far in the liberalization direction.
The second agenda item I want to elaborate on a little is an afternoon session that Todd Arnold, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, is leading. He’s looked at mallard band returns and will discuss where our mallards in Minnesota come from. I’ve discussed the information with him and, without giving too much away, will say I was very surprised. I don’t think anyone will be bored during Todd’s presentation.
We look forward to seeing everyone at this year’s symposium. Not only is the symposium a good time to learn more about waterfowl, but it’s a good opportunity to get some face time with the people who play key roles in setting our duck seasons and managing our ducks.

DNR Roundtable notes

The DNR held its annual roundtable stakeholder discussions on Friday, Jan. 6 and Saturday, Jan. 7. As always, there was lots of useful discussions and it was nice to see everyone face-to-face.
While much of the discussions focused on timber wolves and the possibility they will be hunted in Minnesota as soon as this fall, as well as on aquatic invasive species, there was some time for waterfowl talk, too.
The DNR reported on this fall’s duck season and said that it wasn’t gangbusters, but it wasn’t particularly poor, either. Final harvest estimates won’t be available for a few months, but one thing is clear: the number of state duck stamps sold this year wasn’t a record low.
Sales were higher than last year, which set the low mark in terms of sales. The increase wasn’t big, but it was a step in the right direction. It seems pretty likely the bevy of changes the DNR made to the duck season this year – including splitting the state into zones, opening a week earlier, and increasing the hen mallard and wood duck bags – helped draw more hunters into the field.
Speaking of wood ducks, the DNR waterfowl research unit in Bemidji plans to conduct some wood duck research within the next couple of years. When the DNR flies its annual waterfowl population survey flights in May, it doesn’t do a very good job of estimating wood duck numbers. The study the agency is talking about would compare wood duck production in wood duck boxes, and wood duck production in natural cavities. The question: Can wood duck boxes be used to adequately monitor wood duck populations?
Stay tuned on that one.
The DNR also reported on the results of a survey of lapsed hunters – people who bought a duck stamp sometime between 2000 and 2004, but not between 2005 and 2009. The full report is available on the DNR website, but suffice it to say, the results were not particularly encouraging.
DNR wildlife research manager Lou Cornicelli said the results, essentially, show that it will be difficult to get most lapsed hunters back into the duck-hunting game.
Hall of Fame
Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2012 class of the Minnesota Waterfowl Hall of Fame. We’ll be releasing the names in the near future.

The gift that keeps on giving

Hard to believe Christmas is here already. It seems like just yesterday we were setting the decoys in the field one last time.
For many of us, the next season can’t come quickly enough. But unless you’re traveling, you better find another way to get your fix. One way is to join a group of like-minded people.
And here’s where we go into shameless plug mode: If you haven’t already, consider joining the Minnesota Waterfowl Association. Need a last-minute Christmas gift for someone? Consider a membership to the Minnesota Waterfowl Association.
There are several different options and price points.
A Woodie membership for kids 15 and under is $10. A regular membership is $30; a supporter membership is $100; a sponsor membership is $200; and a life membership is $1,000.
By joining MWA, you lend strength to the collective waterfowlers’ voice, which is needed today more than ever. MWA works on legislation and other issues critical to waterfowlers, and policy-makers often ask us what our members think about certain issues and topics.
Membership also gives you the opportunity to be involved with MWA at the local chapter level. There are myriad ways to make a difference. You can attend chapter banquets, of course, or participate in mentored youth hunts and field days. Many of our chapters also conduct on-the-ground conservation projects, which allows you to do something that has tangible positive effects on ducks and duck hunting.
For more information, or to join MWA today, log on to the membership portion of our web site, which is at https://mwa.ngin.com/register/form/262488013
From all of us here at MWA, we wish you Happy Holidays and a successful end to 2011.

Lessard council issues its recommendations

As we’ve mentioned in a previous post, the Minnesota Waterfowl Association takes advantage of Legacy Amendment dollars primarily through the Conservation Partners Legacy grant program.
Basically, the dollars that fund that program are part of the larger set of recommendations the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council makes and the Legislature approves.
In recent days, the L-SOHC has issued its latest round of recommendations for spending the Outdoor Heritage Fund money, which is the fish and wildlife habitat portion of the amendment. The recommendation for the small-grants program is just less than $5 million, and you can rest assured that we here at MWA will apply for some of those dollars.
But we thought it would be interesting to take a look at how recommendations for the other $90 million break down.
• The majority of the activities that money will fund relate to enhancement of existing land. According to the L-SOHC, enhancement this time around will total 108,367 acres.
• Fee acquisition of land constitutes the majority of the funding – nearly $36.3 million. Most of the acquisitions are in the prairie portion of the state.
• Acquisition of conservation easements totals more than $20.3 million. Much of that is for the RIM-WRP program, which will leverage $22 million in federal funds and do some great work on wetlands.
• Of the 129,124 acres included in the recommendations, 19,347 are wetlands; 99,431 are prairies; 5,560 are forests; and the balance are habitat.
The recommendations will be sent to the Legislature as a bill, which lawmakers must approve. In previous years, the bill has pretty much been approved as-is, which is good news and a testimonial to the good work that members of the Lessard council do.

All I want for Christmas … Is a duck survey

Watch your mailbox.
Fresh on the heels of a duck season that featured some of the most noteworthy regulatory changes the DNR has made in some time, the agency plans to survey hunters as it decides what the 2012 season will look like.
The agency has surveyed waterfowl hunters several times over the past decade as it tries to learn more about duck hunters and what makes them tick.
In the upcoming survey, hunters all around the state will be asked for their input. While it’s always good to have diverse perspectives, it’s especially important this time around because the regulation changes the agency made affect hunters in different parts of the state differently.
The season opened at the same time throughout the state, but closed earlier in the northern part, where there was a continuous, 60-day season. In the south, the season opened for two days, closed for five, and reopened for 58.
The survey could answer a variety of interesting questions, including to what extent people who live in the northern part of the state traveled to the southern part to hunt the final five days of the season. It also likely will offer some insight into people’s perception of the season, including whether it closed too early. There’s a distinct possibility folks in the southeast have that feeling, given there were still large numbers of ducks on the river when the season closed.
Which brings up something else the DNR plans to ask about: the possibility of a third duck zone.
Presumably, that could encompass the extreme southern or southeastern portion of the state, and a split could be used there to extent the season later than usual. It could make some really late-season hunting available those people willing to brave the elements.
But we’ll have to wait and see.

A new duck predator?

This doesn’t really have a direct tie to waterfowl, but most of us are more generalists anyway, right?
The story of cougars – mountain lions – in Minnesota just got a lot more interesting. The animals show up from time to time – like the one hit on a road in Bemidji a year or two ago. But the cougar shot at the end of November in Jackson County is something new altogether.
According to news reports, a guy saw the animal – about a 125-pound male – and watched it go into a culvert. Then he called a buddy and the two chased it from the culvert and shot it. DNR officials say it’s likely the first time, in modern days at least, that someone’s shot a cougar in the state.
Pictures of the dead animal have been making the rounds on the Internet, and the DNR is investigating because cougars are protected in Minnesota.
While many people say they’ve seen cougars, the reality is that there are not that many confirmed sightings. There are some trail camera images that turn out to be the real thing, but not that many are considered confirmed sightings.
Officials say the state does not have a reproducing population of cougars, and that the animals witnessed in this state are likely juvenile males that have trekked from places such as the Dakotas in search of new territory and a mate.
This all is a roundabout way of talking about the effects of predators on duck populations in general. Given that cougars occupy such large territories, it seems rather unlikely they’d eat enough eggs or kill enough hens to impact even a local bird population. But the same can’t be said for other predators such as foxes and raccoons.
If you talk with some duck hunters, they believe with everything they’ve got that a large part of the reason why our annual duck harvest has fallen is because of an abundance of predators on the landscape.
Thoughts?

Duck season ends

For many duck hunters, today is something of a letdown. After all, it’s the day after the duck season closed in Minnesota. But we’d love to hear your comments about the season and, in particular, what you thought about the myriad changes the DNR made to this year’s season. Please leave your comments below.

Duck season 2011: Enjoy it while you can

If you live in northern Minnesota –north of Highway 210 – then your duck season is done, if you plan on hunting around home. But if you don’t mind packing up and heading south – south of Highway 210 – you still can get a few more days of shooting in.
Thanks to the split season the state DNR implemented this year, the season in the northern part of the state ended yesterday – Nov. 22. It stays open for five more days – through Nov. 27 – in the southern part of the state.
We’re interested in hearing people’s reaction to the split season. For the most part, it seems like it worked out pretty well, but it also seems likely there are some northern hunters who are watching birds fly south as we speak. In previous years, they could have hunted them. But thanks to this year’s earlier opener, the season closed five days earlier than usual in the north.
That said, if things go gangbusters in the southern part of the state through the end of this week, it’s likely most hunters will say the split season was well worth it.
Got thoughts on it? Please leave them in the comments section of this post.
Also, keep in mind that just because the duck season is over doesn’t mean there aren’t waterfowling opportunities to be had.
In the north duck zone – again, north of Highway 210 – you can shoot Canada geese through Dec. 17. And in the south zone, you can shoot them through Dec. 22.
And if you’ve never hunted geese around Rochester, it’s worth your time. That season runs through Nov. 27 and then reopens on Dec. 8. It stays open until Jan. 1.
Hall of Fame
We understand if you don’t feel you’ve had your fill of waterfowl yet this year. But if you can’t go hunting again, consider stopping by the Minnesota Waterfowl Hall of Fame, which is at our main office here in Hopkins. You’ll see pictures and biographies of some of the most instrumental folks in terms of waterfowl in Minnesota. We’ve also got lots of mounts and other things that tell the story of waterfowling in Minnesota. We’re pretty darn proud of it, so please stop by.

Legacy Grants Have Been Good for MWA

The Minnesota Waterfowl Association was an early supporter of what ultimately became the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, which voters in the state approved in 2008.
The amendment, which raised the state sales tax by 3/8 of one percent, sends nearly $100 million each year to projects for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement, protection and restoration.
Part of that money – on the order of about $5 million per year – has gone to the DNR to administer the Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program, which is essentially a small grants program that allows conservation groups large and small to tap into the habitat money generated by the Legacy Amendment.
Grants ranging from $5,000 to $400,000 are available as part of the program.
While there have been recent media reports that interest in the grants program has been waning – and the number of applications for grants the DNR has received seems to back that up – MWA continues to successfully apply for the grants and do good habitat work on the ground.
During the most recent round of funding, for example, MWA applied for two grants. Both were funded.
One grant, for $22,701, will be used to enhance habitat in 500 acres of existing shallow lakes in Sherburne and Wright counties. To do so, we’ll seed the lakes with wild rice. As hunters know, wild rice lakes can support thousands of ducks during the fall migration.
The other grant we applied for and received was for $176,120 to acquire 40 acres that includes the headwateras of what once was Mud Lake in Murray County.
We’ve successfully used the CPL program during the first two years of its existence, too. In 2009, there were 35 projects funded, and five of them were our projects (for a total of $235,509). And in 2010, we had six of the 48 funded projects (for a total of $318,398).