Outdoor Notes - June 4

[Lee Borgersen]

  .. Outdoor Notes - June 4

By BRAINERD DISPATCH on Jun 4, 2017 at 7:30 a.m.
Lakeshore Conservation Club hosts Youth Expo June 10

The annual Brainerd Lakes Area Outdoor Youth Expo is set for 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. June 10 at the Lakeshore Conservation Club.

                                                     
This free event allows youths to take part in trap shooting, waterfowl calling, archery, fishing, outdoor survival, bird house building and more. Youths and adults have a chance to win prizes.

For more information, contact Jason at 218-513-9388 or Amy at 218-820-9215.

Annual list of potential timber harvest sites available for review

The annual list of potential timber harvest sites on state-administered forest land is now available for public review, according to a release from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Comments will be accepted until June 30.

The list is for fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2018.

DNR field staff will examine over 2,600 forest stands on nearly 60,000 acres for potential timber sales during the year. The DNR estimates that 40,000 to 45,000 of the 60,000 acres of land will be suitable for timber sales.

"This gives us a chance to talk to people about the importance of forest management and what specifically we have planned in their area," said Jon Nelson, DNR forest planning manager.

There are two ways for the public to provide input—online or discuss it in person with a local forester. Forest stand locations and descriptions, along with their proposed management, are on the DNR website at www.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/forestview/index.html. Use the map to zoom into an area of interest and then comment within the map details for each potential harvest site.

Those without internet access or who prefer to review and discuss the site list directly with a forester, may contact or visit their local DNR area forestry office. Contacting the office prior to a visit will help ensure the appropriate forestry staff will be available.

The DNR administers 5 million acres of forest lands that have been certified as being well-managed by two separate third-party auditing systems. Annual lists of potential timber harvest sites are derived from multi-year forest management plans for state lands. The plans are developed by interdisciplinary DNR planning teams with public input, and based on long-term forest resource management goals.

For statewide timber harvest information, contact Jon Nelson, DNR Forestry, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN, 55155-4044; 651-259-5278; jon.nelson@state.mn.us.

DNR sees boatload of state record fish applications

Interest has ramped up this spring in the state record fish program of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, with five applications for four species including everything from shortnose gar, lake sturgeon, golden redhorse and the quillback carpsucker.

There are two kinds of Minnesota state records: One for catching and keeping the biggest fish in each species based on certified weight; and the other for the length of a caught and released muskellunge, lake sturgeon or flathead catfish.

A bump-up in applications for record fish shows interest in the state record fish program, but a bump in records tells little about an angler's overall chances of catching a large fish, according to a DNR news release.

Someone's chances of catching a lunker depend on a variety of factors including the species and location. Anglers fishing for lake sturgeon, for example, now have better chances of catching large ones because of the recovery and restrictive harvest regulations have led to their numbers increasing.

On the level of individual fish, catch-and-release fishing often means large fish returned to the water can keep growing.

"The newest record for the shortnose gar involved a cool story of a father and son who set out to fill out their life species list and were targeting some of the more obscure fish," Kurre said. "They succeeded and not only are they up to 45 out of the recognized 62 state record fish on their list, they have a new state record with a shortnose gar."

So far the record count this year stands at four: a 5-pound 4-ounce shortnose gar caught by Cayden Hutmacher; two caught and released lake sturgeon that were 70 inches long caught by Tim Deiman and Mark Minnick; and a 4-pound 7-ounce golden redhorse caught by Mathew Williams.

The largest catch-and-release record submitted for consideration this year came from the Minnesota-Canada border waters, a submission that stated it as a 72-inch lake sturgeon. Unfortunately, there was no photo of that fish on the ruler so it could not be certified as a record. There was also an application for a quillback carpsucker that turned out to be a bigmouth buffalo.

The DNR will in coming weeks announce new state records in news releases and online. Find current records and guidelines for each type of state record at mndnr.gov/recordfish.