SO 2010 - webapps8 - Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

"EVERYBODY KNOWS .. . THAT THE AUTUMN LANDSCAPE IN THE NORTH WOODS IS
THE LAND, PLUS A RED MAPLE, PLUS A RUFFED GROUSE. IN TERMS OF CONVENTIONAL
PHYSICS, THE GROUSE REPRESENTS ONLY A MILLIONTH OF EITHER THE MASS OR THE
ENERGY OF AN ACRE. YET SUBTRACT THE GROUSE AND THE WHOLE THING IS DEAD:'
-ALDO LEOPOLD
FEATURES
10 BLUFFLAND BUCKS
New hunting regulations in southeastern Minnesota could make the region's wooded hills
a haven for big bucks. By Jason Abraham
16 AFTER THE HARVEST
Harvesting wild rice is only the first step in getting this native grain from the
rna rsh to the table . By Annette Dray Drewes
24 UPS AND DOWNS IN THE GROUSE WOODS
The ruffed grouse population cycle works in mysterious ways. By Michael Furtman
30 GATEWAY TO LAKE OF THE WOODS
Zippel Bay State Park in northwestern Minnesota offers access to the vast waters of
Lake of the Woods as well as sandy beaches to simply enjoy the view. By David Mather
The number of processors who
parch, thresh, and winnow wild
rice has declined. Fortunately,
people like Dale Greene Sr. ( center)
are passing on the art. See
story on page 16.

MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
VOLUME ]3, NUMBER 432
www.mndnr.govjmagazine
40 LEARN TO HUNT
Young Naturalists go afield with experienced
hunters in search of wild game. By Michael A. Kallok
48 TAONow ..
Using scientists' tools, students discover opportunities
to improve wildlife habitat. By Kathleen Weflen
DEPARTMENTS
2 THIS ISSUE
4 LETTERS
6 NATURAL CURIOSITIES
8 FIELD NOTES
52 THANK YOU
64 MINNESOTA PROFILE
• LOON TRACKING. Watch
researchers capturing and
outfitting loons with telemetry
equipment in an effort to learn
more about the migratory patterns
of our state bird .
Go to www.mndnr.govjmagazine
for videos, photo slide shows,
teachers guides, and links to
other resources.
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THIS ISSUE
Dangerous Migration?
MINNESOTA's LOONS may soon be heading
to the scene of a disaster. In October
and November, thousands will migrate to
coastal waters along the Gulf of Mexico.
Between April 20 and July 15, an estimated
200 million gallons of oil poured from a
broken well deep in Gulf waters. The spillage
has stopped and oil that rose to the surface
has dissipated. Yet water birds-particularly
deep-diving common loons-risk contact
with oil and chemical dispersants that persist
below the surface, says DNR Nongame
Wildlife Program supervisor Carrol Henderson.
So do other Minnesota birds wintering
along the Gulf, including ospreys, American
white pelicans, spotted sandpipers, western
grebes, lesser scaup, and redheads.
Minnesota's migratory bird populations
bring the oceanic catastrophe close to home
and remind us that natural systems connect in
profound and sometimes unfathomable ways.
When disaster strikes, concerned citizens
have an immediate urge to help. For
example, more than 13,000 people signed
up to help the National Audubon Society
in its coastal bird rescue work. And when a
crisis appears to have passed, most Americans
want to quickly move on. In this case
of environmental contamination, we have
reason to stand watch.
"We have never had a spill of this magnitude
in the deep ocean;' said oceanography professor
Ian MacDonald in a story in The New York
Times. "These things reverberate through the
ecosystem. It is an ecological echo chamber,
and I think we'll be hearing the echoes of this,
ecologically; for the rest of my life~'
Henderson suggests some immediate
actions Minnesotans can take to help wildlife
in the long term. One simple start: Buy federal
duck stamps online or at your local post office.
This year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
2
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

is offering a $25 special edition to raise funds for purchasing
wetlands to add to Gulf Coast national wildlife refuges.
The DNR's long-term monitoring of the state's loon
populations could prove vital to understanding the oil disaster's
impact on loons. Volunteers in the Minnesota Loon
Monitoring Program annually check 600 lakes. Minnesota
Loon Watcher Survey also relies on volunteers. And everyone
can contribute to the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program,
www. mndnr.gov/eco/nongame.
As we continue to monitor birds on both their wintering and
breeding grounds, we might keep in mind the slowly realized
disaster of DDT use in the 1950s and '60s. The grave effects of
DDT on wildlife took a long time to recognize. The painstaking
research and courageous reporting of Rachel Carson, a marine
biologist and writer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
brought the problem of ubiquitous chemical contamination
to the nation's attention in her 1962 bestseller, Silent Spring.
"The history of life on earth has been a history of interaction
between living things and their surroundings;' Carson
wrote. She reported case after case of people failing to appreciate
the complexity of those interactions. Consider one
example: She told of attempts to control gnats on a popular
fishing lake in northern California by spraying DDD, a close
relative of DDT. "No trace of DDD could be found in the
water shortly after the last application of the chemical. But the
poison had not really left the lake; it had merely gone into the
fabric of the life the lake supports~' Nearly two years after the
spraying ended, DDD persisted in plankton, apparently passing
from one generation to the next. Thus, the poison entered
the food chain, accumulating in the flesh of frogs, fish, and
birds to concentrations many times the original in the water.
Oil does not move up the food chain as some compounds
do. But the ripple effects of oil and nearly 2 million gallons of
dispersants underwater in the Gulf have yet to be discovered.
What will happen to the continent's wildlife in the wake
of this contamination? As Henderson says, no one wants to
imagine Minnesota lakes absent the wild calls of common
loons. That would be a silent spring.
Kathleen Weflen, editor, kathleen.weflen@state.mn.us
For more on birds and oil in the Gulf of Mexico, turn to Field Notes on page 8.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
MINNESOTA
CONSERVATION
VOLUNTEER
A reader-supported publication encouraging
conservation and careful use of Minnesota's
natural reso urces.
Communications Director Colleen Coyrw
Editor in Ch ief
Art Director
Manag ing Editor
Associate Editor
Database Manager
Circulation Manager
M AGAZ INE STAFF
Kathleen Weflen
Lynn Phelps
Gustave Axelson
Michael A. Kallok
Dovid).Lent
Susan M. Ryan
Subscriptions and donations
888·646·6367
Governor Tim Pawlerlty
D E PARTMENT OF N ATURAL R ESOUR CES
~~m
DEPARTIENT OF
NAMAl"""""'
W\Vw.mndnr.gov
Our mission is to work with citizens to
conserve and manage the state's natural
resources, to provide outdoor recreation
opportunities, and to provide for commercial
uses of natural resources in a way that
creates a sustainable quality of life.
Commissioner Mark Holsten
Deputy
Commissioner
Laurie Martinson
Assistant Bob Meier, Larry Kramka
Commissioners
DIVIS ION DIRECTORS
Steve Hirsch, Ecological Resources
Jim Konrad, Enforcement
Dave Schad, Fish and Wildlife
Dave Epperly, Forestry
Marty Vadis, Lands and Minerals
Courtland Nelson, Parks and Trails
Kent Lokkesmoe, Waters
R EGIONAL DIRECTORS
Mike Carroll, Bemidji
Craig Engwall, Grand Rapids
joe Kurcinka, St. Paul
Mark Matuska, New Ulm

I LETTERS I
"I WAS GIVEN CLEAR INSTRUCTION TO PASS ON TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
VOLUNTEER THEIR APPRECIATION."
Brad Bolduan
Could We Lose? How to Help?
Is there a Minnesota connection to the oil spill?
Could we lose some of our magnificent birds
like the loon or blue heron as they migrate
south through the oil spill this fall? Is there any
Minnesota volunteer group working on this,
and how do we help them before it is too late?
Garry Kassube, Eagan
See This Issue on page 2 and Field Notes on 8.
Arrowheads at Fort Snelling
I found "Deeper Into History" (July-Aug.
2010), describing artifacts found during
archaeological digs at Fort Ridgely, very interesting.
I noticed the similarity of arrowheads
found at Fort Ridgely to some I have. My
father was the post photographer at Fort
Snelling from about 1925 to 1935. During
that period the sewer system was updated,
which required substantial excavation. Many
arrowheads were found at that time, and one
of the workers gave arrowheads to my father.
Charles Gustafson, Minneapolis
Author David Mather responds (after seeing
Gustafsorls artifacts): These stone tools are significant
because the location where they were found
is known. One spear point may be around 2,000
years old-from a time of extensive American
Indian trade across much of North America,
which brought the traditions of mound building
and pottery to Minnesota. The other two pieces
may have been knives or earlier stages of making
points. Anyone with artifacts should store
them with a written note of where they came
from. Without that record, an important artifact
becomes just a curiosity
Role of U.S. Agriculture
In the May-June 2010 issue, you quoted
Jonathan Foley in the This Issue page saying,
"If you're concerned with preserving
biodiversity and protecting ecosystems, focus
on expanding agriculture, not suburbia:'
Although his comment was meant to be
worldwide, I take issue with it.
Developed land includes roads, railroads,
and built-up areas (residential, industrial,
commercial). Development isolates tracts of
farmland, which degrades wildlife habitat and
makes agricultural production inefficient.
The loss of U.S. agricultural land to
development concerns groups such as the
American Farmland Trust. AFT points out
that 4 million acres of active farmland and
land formerly enrolled in the Conservation
Reserve Program were converted to developed
uses between 2002 and 2007.
Keith Marty, Chokio
Tell people how important agriculture is to
this state, and how important it is for agriculture
to coexist with our natural resources programs.
You can't have one without the other.
Doug Miller, Sauk Centre
4
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Good Review at Reunion
I was at a family reunion last week when some distant relatives
fonnd out I worked for the DNR. I was given dear instruction to
pass on to those responsible for the Volunteer their appreciation.
They all had numerous nice things to say about our magazine.
Brad Bolduan, Windom
Trout in Whitewater, Walleye in Voyageurs
I particularly enjoyed the article on the Whitewater River
("Fishing After the Flood;' July-Aug. 2010) and the state
park there. I was born in 1930 and grew up in Lewiston. We
picnicked there, and I remember swimming in the Whitewater
River. My father fished for trout in the Whitewater.
My father grew up at Forestville, and his old home became
staff housing for [Forestville state] park personnel. There was
no rnnning water in the house but a wonderful spring about
two blocks into the woods. Wash water was collected from the
roof in a tank and pumped for laundry.
I now live at the edge ofVoyageurs National Park. It is the
place Dad spent a week every summer fishing for walleye.
He also hunted deer on the Kabetogama Peninsula, when
hunting was allowed before the park was established. I have
lived here year-round now for 22 years.
Mary Satterlee Kolner, Orr
Interactive Birdsong
[The MCV online interactive
birdsong graphic is an]excellent
tool! I will return to this often. I
hope you will add more birds.
Gary Horn, Maplewood
See and hear the birds at www.
mndnr.gov/magazine.
CONTRIBUTORS
Deer hunting is just one excuse that
DNR furbearerjseason setting specialist,
jason Abraham, page 10, uses to
spend time walking the bluffs along the
Mississippi River.
Annette Dray Drewes, page 16, is
executive director of a wild rice conservation
organization called SORA. She
wanders the north country come late
August, following the wild rice harvest.
Miigwech, she says, to Dale, Martin,
and Sunfish for sharing.
Michael Furtman, page 24, was taught
by his father to hunt ruffed grouse 35 years
ago, when they were still known by the colloquial
name"partridge:'Whatevertheyare
called, he misses more of them than he hits.
David Mather, page 30, is a writer and
archaeologist from St. Paul. He dreams
nightly of Lake of the Woods walleye, ever
since his first taste of a Zippel Bay shore
lunch. Mather is determined to visit Fort
St. Charles, at the top of the Northwest
Angle, and head farther north from there.
Associate editor Michael A. Kallok,
page 40, is thankful for the mentors who
kindled his appreciation for the outdoors.
Editor in chief Kathleen Weflen, page
48, thought Tao was an ancient pathway
to the true nature of the world. Then she
learned about TAO, a new curriculum
for children to learn about wildlife and
habitat. Seeing TAO in action, she realized
that TAO is indeed a pathway to nature.
We welcome your comments. We'll edit letters for accuracy,
style, and length. Send your letter and daytime phone number to
Letters, MCV, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4046.
E-mail: lettertoeditor.mcv@state.mn.us
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
DN R INFORMATION CENTER
www.mndnr.gov
651-296-6157
Toll-free 888-646-6367
TTY (hearing impaired) 651-296-5484
TTY 800-657-3929
Volunteer Programs 651-259-5249
STATE PARKS RESERVATIONS
866-857-2757, TTY 866-672-2757
www.stayatmnparks.com

I NATURAL CURIOSITIES
ABUNDANT EGGS I BIRCH STROBILE$ I DEAD FISH I NATIVE LAMPREYS I PRAIRIE SKINKS
SUNNING PIKE I RESISTANT ELMS
trees, but are narrower. What are these objects?
Dan Wicht, Fridley
The conelike objects on birch branches are
called strobiles. Birch flowers turn into strobiles
as the seeds form. The brown scales of
the strobile contain the seeds. Often the seeds
drop in winter, and you may have seen them
against new snow. They look like flat, round
dots with wings.
My kids and I were cleaning out our wood duck houses
in late winter, and one house had 21 unhatched
eggs. Should we check the house in the spring and
remove some eggs if there is a large number?
Rex Ewert, Marine on St. Croix
It is not unusual to find wood duck houses with
a large number of unhatched eggs, says DNR
wetland wildlife program leader Ray Norrgard.
It happens when more than one hen is laying
eggs in the same house or natural cavity and is
referred to as dump nesting. As long as a hen
is tending to the nest and is able to turn the eggs
while incubating, all the eggs have a chance to
hatch. When cleaning the nest box between
nesting seasons, dispose of unhatched eggs.
Every fall after the leaves drop, I see conelike
objects hanging from the branches of birch trees.
They resemble pollen-bearing cones on coniferous
The last few days at the lake I live on in central
Minnesota, my daughter, son-in-law, and I buried
at least 100 dead crappies. What would kill that
many fish at one time?
Sandee Jones, Hillman
The fish likely died from a bacterial infection
called columnaris, according to DNR aquatic
education specialist Roland Sigurdson. The bacterium
is around all the time but often explodes
when water temperature rises into the 70s and
fish are spawning. Spawningfish such as crappie
are more susceptible to infection because they
are stressed from not feeding while building
nests and defending territories.
My son and I were fishing on the Snake River near
Mora on Memorial Day weekend. My son caught a
decent 15-inch bass, and when I landed the fish, I
was aghast to see a lamprey hanging on the back
6
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

of the fish. Where do these lampreys come from?
Bruce Miller, Mound
Along with the fish you likely landed a chestnutsided
lamprey, says DNR aquatic education
specialist Roland Sigurdson. Minnesota has five
native lamprey species. Unlike the nonnative sea
lamprey, which has invaded Lake Superior and
its tributaries, Minnesota's native lampreys are a
natural part of lake and river ecosystems. They
pose no threat to fish populations. To learn more
go to mndnr.gov/minnaqua.
of its head were above water, like it was coming
up for air or looking at us. It swam like this with
its head out of the water for a few seconds. What
would cause a pike to do this?
Jonah Gilbert, Arden Hills
Large muskie or pike ''sun" themselves near the
surface or in the shallows, says DNR aquatic
education specialist Roland Sigurdson. As a
cold-blooded organism, the fish might have been
increasing its body temperature, thereby boosting
its metabolism and speed-useful for an ambush
predator. Or it might have been trying to finish
swallowing a large prey fish or rid itself of parasites
irritating its gill tissue.
I saw a lizard in my building at work yesterday in
Crosslake in Crow Wing County. Is this a common
area for lizards? I found this very unusual.
Chris Sands, Crosslake
You probably saw a prairie skink, according to
Minnesota County Biological Survey herpetologist
Carol Hall. They are common in the
grasslands of Crow Wing and Cass counties.
Not so common inside buildings though!
We were fishing from our canoe in Lake Johanna
and saw something that looked like a fish head
sticking out of the water a little ways away. It was
a northern pike or muskie at least 30 inches long
swimming at the surface. Its dorsal fin and most
In the '7os we were all saddened as SummitAvenue
lost its glorious elm trees and the rest of the state
also suffered the plague of Dutch elm disease.
Now I take heart whenever I travel back roads and
occasionally come upon a lone soldier elm tree still
standing. Are these single, isolated trees simply
naturally occurring, disease-resistant trees, or is it
just that they have been isolated?
Dale Wolf, Wrenshall
DNR botanist Welby Smith says some of the
surviving elms may be resistant to the disease,
but most have escaped by chance. The disease
and the beetles that spread it are still present,
and elms will continue to become infected and
die. Resistant hybrid elms have been bred, but
the true American elm that was so abundant
in Minnesota forests will not return.
Send your questions and daytime phone
number to Natural Curiosities, MC\1, 500 Lafayette
Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4046. E-mail:
natura l.cu riosities@state. m n. us
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
7

fiELD NOTES
~.....-____ ___.!
Gulf Disaster and Minnesota Birds
THE APRIL 2010 OIL SPILL in the Gulf of
Mexico happened about 1 ,200 miles away
from Minnesota, but the fouled waters could
harm the state's migratory birds. Our state bird,
the common loon, and 12 species ofMinnesota
waterfowl winter along the Gulf Coast.
"This is a tragedy, not only for the Gulf
states, but [also for] the entire continent;' DNR
wildlife biologist Rich Baker said.
According to Ducks Unlimited, more than
25 waterfowl species, including 13 million
ducks, winter in the Gulf, mostly in Louisiana
and Texas. The Gulf also hosts nearly half of
Minnesota's estinlated 12,000 loons in winter.
Even as the oil slick has dissipated on the
water's surface, scientists say impacts from the
spill could continue from oil and oil dispersants
underwater and in the food chain. Loons
remain at risk of oil exposure because they
dive as deep as 200 feet to pursue prey in their
wintering waters, said DNRNongame Wildlife
Program supervisor Carrol Henderson.
Juvenile loons are especially at risk because
they stay in the Gulf for up to three years after
their first migration south from Minnesota.
The U.S. Geological Survey and the DNR
implanted satellite transmitters in three loons
in central Minnesota this past July to follow
their movements south this fall (their migration
is being tracked online at www. umesc. usgs.
gov/terrestrial!migratory _birds!loons/migrations.html).
"It is a small sample size;' Henderson said,
"but it could help us develop longer-term
strategies for monitoring the fate of loons on
their wintering grounds:'
DNR waterfowl biologist Steve Cordts said
that other diving birds, including duck species
such as scaup, redheads, and canvasbacks, also
continue to be threatened by after -effects from
the oil spill. In an attempt to keep migrating
waterfowl from heading into the Gulf, government
agencies and conservation groups
are working together to create temporary
wetlands north of the area affected by the spill.
For example, Ducks Unlimited is paying rice
farmers to flood their fields in the fall. Bird
experts hope that migrating waterfowl will see
these wetlands first and winter there, instead of
flying farther south to the Gulf
As for the Gulf, only tinle will tell what the
ultinlate impact will be on migratory birds.
8
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

"[Waterfowl] need a clean, healthy, and diverse marine environment.
It may take years to restore such an environment in
the Gulf No one knows at this point how long that may take;'
said Henderson. "When the environment is cleaned up, then
the wildlife victims of the oil spill can begin to recover. We aren't
going to know [the impact] until birds start coming back:'
Birgitta Anderson, editorial intern
(,. www.mndnr.govjmagazine See a multimedia video of the loons being
tagged with satellite transmitters.
Dollars for Wildlife Action
DURING THE PAST DECADE, Minnesota's wildlife species
in greatest conservation need have benefited from the federally
funded State Wildlife Grants program. Congress created
the program in 2000 with two aims: to prevent species from
becoming threatened or endangered and to aid recovery
of species already listed. The program required each state
wildlife agency and their conservation partners to develop
a wildlife action plan. Minnesota's plan, Tomorrows Habitat
for the Wild and Rare, identifies native species that are rare,
declining, or vulnerable to decline; and it outlines actions to
help protect and recover them.
Minnesota's loon monitoring program, for example,
receives funding from the program. Baseline population
data from this long-term monitoring project will be
instrumental in assessing the impact of the recent oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico on Minnesota's loon population.
Together, the states' wildlife action plans amount to a
nationwide strategy to recover native species and prevent
them from becoming endangered. In 10 years, Minnesota
has received $12.5 million to support over 50 projects
benefiting species from northern myotis bats and Blanding's
turtles, to longear sunfish and greater redhorse fish,
to regal fritillary butterflies and timber rattlesnakes. DNR
staff and partners identify priority conservation areas,
purchase land, restore and manage habitat, and conduct
species and habitat research. To learn more, visit www.
mndnr.gov/cwcs/swg.html.
Sarah Wren, DNR rare species guide project manager
NEw CHAMP
A new big tree champion red
pine, Minnesota's state tree, was
found in Chippewa National
Forest near the Lost Forty Trail.
The tree's circumference 4 1 /> feet
above the ground is 115 inches.
Its height is 120 feet, and its
crown spread is 38 feet.
SEASON OPENERS
Sept. 1: bear, mourning dove,
snipe, rail; Sept. 4: early Canada
goose season; Sept. 18: small
game, archery deer; Sept. 25:
woodcock; Oct. 2: waterfowl, fall
turkey, moose; Oct. 16: pheasant.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
9

10
new hunting

terms of habitat and the quality and percentage
of mature bucks that are taken, the central
part of the state is good, but the southeast
part of the state is probably better:'
Southeastern Minnesota has superb
deer habitat and too many deer in many
places. For the past five years, the DNR
has been studying regulations aimed at reducing
the deer population while increasing
the potential for larger-antlered bucks.
This year, the DNR will implement these
new regulations in southeast Minnesota.
Lots of Deer. Deer densities in the southeast
are among the state's highest, ranging from
ownership, hunters can have a hard time
getting permission to hunt deer. For comparison,
parts of northern Minnesota are 40
to 50 percent public land.
While some hunters prefer high deer densities
because it makes hunting easier, many
landowners and residents in southeastern
Minnesota prefer fewer deer. A high deer
population creates more risk for auto collisions
and more depredation of trees and
other plants, including agricultural crops.
Damage caused by deer is a particular problem
in apple orchards, which are common
in Winona and Houston counties.
Although deer densities are no longer
Antlerless deer harvests could increase by 15 percent under new antler-paint restriction rules in southeastern
Minnesota. The rules will be evaluated within Jive years for effectiveness and acceptance by hunters.
10 to 23 deer per square mile, depending
on habitat. In most of the state, the density
of deer ranges from 1 to 10 deer per square
mile. Deer densities are high in southeast
Minnesota's oak forests and agricultural
fields because the area provides abundant
acorns, corn, and alfalfa for deer to eat. The
area is also known for milder winters and a
lack of large predators, such as wolves. Another
reason is light hunting pressure-with
roughly 92 percent of the area in private
climbing in the southeast, thanks to increased
bag limits and longer deer hunting
seasons, they remain above deer density
goals of 10 to 17 deer per square mile set
by the DNR with input from local residents
and hunters. Moreover, many hunters say
theyCl like to see more bucks with larger antlers
rather than just lots of deer. About half
of respondents to a random survey of deer
hunters this past spring said theyCl support
more restrictive hunting regulations
12
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

that might result in more mature bucks.
This year, for the southeast, the DNR will
implement new deer hunting regulations
aimed at increasing the harvest of does while
protecting yearling bucks so they can live
longer and can potentially grow larger antlers.
The regulations will mark a departure
from current deer population management,
which focuses on maintaining acceptable
deer densities without regard to the age or
antler size of bucks.
Earn-A-Buck. In 2005 Marrett Grund,
DNR farmland deer research biologist,
and Cornicelli designed a five-year study
to test regulations that reduce deer density,
with the secondary benefit of providing
more mature bucks. They also wanted
to develop regulations that hunters would
understand and abide. They focused their
study on state parks where hunters had to
apply for a special permit and could be easily
identified and surveyed. State parks also
provided a more controlled environment
because hunters had to present their deer
for registration before leaving.
At St. Croix, Wild River, Great River
Bluffs, and Maplewood state parks, as well
as Lake Elmo Park Reserve in Washington
County, hunters were allowed to harvest a
buck only after tagging an antlerless deer, a
regulation known as Earn-A-Buck.
At Savanna Portage, Itasca, and Forestville/Mystery
Cave state parks, they tested
a regulation known as an antler point
restriction, where hunters were only allowed
to harvest bucks with at least three
or four antler points on one side, depending
on the park. This regulation protects
yearling bucks from harvest because most
yearlings don't have enough antler points
to be legal during the deer season.
Each year the hunters were asked for
their opinions of their hunt, including their
overall level of satisfaction and whether
they planned to return to the park to hunt
the next year. In addition the age, sex, and
antler size of each deer harvested in the
parks was recorded.
The data showed that the Earn-A-Buck
regulations increased the antlerless harvest
by 60 to 70 percent in the first year and
slightly increased the number of mature
bucks in the population.
"We know that most hunters only take one
deer, even when they had to take a doe first.
Given that, we ended up protecting some
bucks because [hunters] just don't tend to
take more than a single dee[,' Cornicelli says.
Many hunters said they didn't like the
regulation because it forced them to harvest
an antlerless deer first, Grund says.
"According to our surveys, about 40 percent
of Minnesota deer hunters will never
harvest an antlerless deer:' he says. "Many
hunters grew up in a tradition of harvesting
bucks only. Theyu rather go home
empty-handed:'
More Popular. Restricting hunters to bucks
with at least three or four antler points on
one side was more popular, but that regulation
increased the antlerless harvest by only
10 to 15 percent, Grund says. The regulation
also successfully increased the number
of adult bucks with large antlers. At Itasca
State Park, the percentage of 4V2-yearold
bucks-trophy deer with large, heavy
beamed antlers-increased from 4 percent
of the deer population to more than 10 percent
during the five-year study.
Cornicelli says antler-point restrictions
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
13

work on the principle that most hunters
harvest only one deer each season, no
matter the bag limit. "If a hunter doesn't
think they are going to get an opportunity
at a mature buck, some of them will harvest
a doe because they want the venison;'
he says.
The study showed that both regulations
increased the antlerless harvest and protected
bucks. Antler-point restrictions didn't
increase the antlerless harvest as much as
Earn-A-Buck regulations did, but the former
received more support from hunters.
"Deer densities aren't that far out of
goal in southeast Minnesota, and a 60
Although this hunt accounts for only 15
percent of the overall deer harvest (2,890
deer in 2009), Cornicelli says the lack of
conflicts with other outdoor enthusiasts
and the satisfaction of hunters who participated
was clear from the beginning.
"When we looked at the data after
the first year we decided to make
that season operational by expanding
the early antlerless area, including the
southeast in 2007 :'
Modest Support. After the five-year study,
Grund and Cornicelli conducted a mail survey
of southeastern hunters to gauge what
In 2004, Missouri implemented antler-point restrictions for hunters in 29 counties. By 2007 the
harvest of adult bucks in those counties had increased by as much as 62 percent.
14
to 70 percent increase in the doe harvest
isn't required;' Grund says. "Antler-point
restrictions are a better fit than Earn­
A-Buck right now. We would consider
Earn-A-Buck in situations where we need
to quickly increase the antlerless deer harvest
in a specific area:'
The state park study also looked at the
effectiveness of allowing an antlerlessonly
hunt for two days in October in
areas where deer densities remain high.
they want from new deer regulations. Nearly
2,000 hunters who purchased a license to
hunt deer in southeastern Minnesota during
the 2008 season responded.
Of the regulatory options that would
result in more mature bucks, eliminating
rules that allow members of the same
hunting party to tag bucks for each other (a
practice known as cross-tagging) garnered
the most support with 50 percent. Instituting
antler-point restrictions earned 47
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

percent support. The option of delaying
firearms seasons until later in November,
when the rut or deer breeding season has
ended, received less than 30 percent support.
Some hunters believe bucks are less
wary during the rut and more vulnerable
to harvest. The option of requiring hunters
to harvest a doe before harvesting a buck
was not part of the survey, Cornicelli says,
because that measure wouldn't be necessary
in the southeast.
Marty Stubstad, Bluffiand Whitetail Association
board member, says his group
would have preferred to delay the firearms
deer season until later November,
when the deer breeding season was over.
Still, he's supportive of regulations aimed
at protecting young bucks.
"It was never part of the plan to tell people
what kind of deer they could shoot:'
Stubstad says. "But [antler-point restrictions]
seem to be the only solution to start
increasing the age level of our ded'
JohnNy Vang, state director of the Capital
Chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters
Association, isn't sure how fellow Hmong
hunters might react to the new regulations.
"Some of them hunt for big bucks, so they'll
probably support the new regulations:' he
says. "Others hunt for meat, and they're not
going to like having to pass up a buck because
it doesn't have big antlers:'
While hunters will sometimes have to
pass on a yearling buck because of the new
regulations, Cornicelli says there will still
be ample opportunity to shoot does.
"Passing on yearling bucks is part of
the compromise necessary to balance our
deer population objectives against the
clear interest that hunters have in seeing
more mature bucks:'
Increase in Leases? If antler-point restrictions
successfully increase the number of
mature bucks in southeastern Minnesota,
some hunters worry that landowners will
lease large blocks of land at high prices to
hunters seeking trophy deer. Conversely,
some say that successful antler-point restrictions
would produce more mature
bucks across the landscape, including on
public land. Hunters might be less likely to
purchase a lease if they have a reasonable
chance at a large buck on public land.
"''m not sure which side of that debate is
right;' Cornicelli says. "I don't think either
argument is 100 percent correct, and we'll
probably see better opportunities on public
land and some increase in the number of
trophy leases. We do need to keep a close
eye on any issue that would further limit
hunting access in the southeast:'
Whatever the outcome of antler-point
restrictions, Cornicelli says protecting bucks
with four points or fewer on one side is a
philosophical shift in deer management.
"Saying as an agency that a mature buck
is more important than the yearling buck
represents a significant change in deer management:'
he says. ''At the core, we're still
managing deer density in a way that has biological
merit, so it's not a fundamental shift.
"However, it will be a big change for
hunters:' .
New Southeast Deer Regulations
• Harvested bucks must have at least one
4-point antler (youth ages 10 to 17 may
harvest any buck)
• No cross-tagging of bucks; a member of
a hunting party who harvests a buck must
use his or her own tag.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
15

~Annette Dray Drewes
~~tep4 by Marc Norberg
Each fall Minnesotans harvest tens of thousands of pounds of
ripe wild rice. But only a few dozen processors are practicing the
art of parching, threshing, and winnowing the rice for the table.
THREE FEET ABOVE MY HEAD the slightly moving,
tawny green stalks of rice quietly close around us.
Sound, sky, and light filter through these living walls
as slowly we pick up a rhythm, reaching, parting, and
pulling rice stalks over the side of the boat. Strong, alternating
sweeps of the knocking sticks bring a shower
of heavy seed, raining into the bottom of the canoe.
Coming to open water in the rice bed, we pause. I
sink my hand deep into the pile of rice in front of me.
The heavy seed, a mixture of pale greens and purples,
feels solid, rich, sustaining. Atop the pile, the slender
awns point skyward, creating a peltlike covering.
Gathering the rice off this northern Minnesota
lake is only the first step in the process of turning
the state's native grass into a dish for the dinner table.
TOP: A WILD RICE BED NEAR MCGREGOR, MI LLE LACS BAND ELDER DALE GREENE; MIDD LE: WH ITE EARTH ELDER OSCAR"SUNFISH"OPPEGARD, PARCHED WILD
RICE BEING COLLECTED FOR THRESHING; BOTIOM : FRESHLY HARVESTED RICE DRYING ON A TARP, LEECH LAKE BAND MEMBER MARTIN JENNINGS

~e Lacs Band of Ojibwe elder Kaadaak-Dale Greene Sr.-and his grandson Maaclwoz (top left)
discuss wild rice processing at their plant west of McGregor. Hand-harvested wild rice is parched inside a drum
heated by a gas burner (below). Parched rice (top right) ready to be threshed is removed from the drum.
Greene inspects parched rice (opposite page) to ensure it is dry enough to be threshed.

Like other grains, wild rice must be dried
(parched), the grain separated from the
hull (threshed), and cleaned (winnowed)
before it is ready for storage in the pantry.
For first-time ricers and many who harvest
for personal use, locating someone to
finish the rice is the most challenging step
because the number of processors in most
areas is dwindling.
Harvesters in a 2006 Department ofNatural
Resources survey identified finding a
processor as one of the top three barriers to
harvesting wild rice; the others were knowing
when and where to harvest. Some 85
percent said they gather wild rice for personal
use. This is a shift from the 1950s
and '60s, when wild rice was considered a
cash crop and Minnesota supplied about
half of the wild rice consumed worldwide.
Declining participation in harvesting and
market economics have influenced the
number of wild rice processors able to stay
in the market.
Simply put, processing wild rice is a
dying art, and few are stepping forward
to continue the tradition.
Many kinds of processors. Indigenous
people of the region have practiced the
fall gathering of wild rice for thousands
of years. Today this gathering involves
both Ojibwe and nontribal harvesters.
Annual licenses sold by the DNR to harvest
wild rice peaked at 16,000 in the late
1960s and in recent years has typically
numbered around 1,500. Roughly twice
that number of harvesters participate
under tribal regulation.
How many wild rice processors are
there in Minnesota? No one knows ex-
actly because processors don't need to be
licensed by the state unless they buy wild
rice for resale. Processing operations
come in various sizes. Some families and
friends finish their own rice using traditional
methods. Small side-yard processors,
usually found by word of mouth,
process batches of 100 to 300 pounds.
Large operations with permanent facilities
can handle 1,000-pound orders.
Tucked in the woods just west of
McGregor is the wild rice processing
business of Dale Greene Sr., a Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe elder of 77 years.
Greene sits outside one of two new
buildings, his calloused hands working
on an electrical switch. He has been
processing wild rice for over 10 years,
was a buyer before that, and prior to
that harvested wild rice beginning at
age 12. He learned the art of processing
from Clarence Sandberg, former owner
of the plant. Greene runs one of the
larger operations for custom processing
of hand-harvested rice and draws
harvesters in from as far away as White
Earth, 180 miles to the northwest.
Inside one building, four large black
parchers line up over propane burners.
Each can dry up to 300 pounds of wild
rice. Propane provides a consistent,
clean heat, yet each batch of rice is dif-
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
19

ferent and must be watched accordingly.
In a quiet voice, Greene describes
the responsibility of keeping wild rice
ecosystems healthy. "We need to quit
messing with dams on the lakes, trying
to control water levels;' he says. "Spring
flows bring in nutrients and flush out the
dead leaves and stuff, allowing the rice
seed to get into the bottom mud:'
One of his grandsons approaches
with a test scoop of parched rice. Greene
pours a few grains into his hand. Snapping
a kernel in half, he looks inside for
that glossiness he uses to judge when the
rice is done. He nods and says it's close.
"My grandsons have their hearts into
White Earth elder, runs a small, side-yard
wild rice processing operation. Most harvesters
here are locals from the reservation,
yet some come from as far as Mille
Lacs and McGregor.
A delicious aroma wafts on the breeze.
The rhythmic sound of wild rice being
turned emanates from the parcher, a large
metal fuel tank able to hold 250 pounds of
rice. A paddle wheel moves the rice up the
sides of the tank, then lets it fall back to the
heat on the bottom. The sound reminds
one of ocean waves breaking on the shore.
The parcher requires a constant watch
as the wood stacked beneath it burns.
Steam escapes from an opening on top, a
wild rice;' he says. Four of them and a
nephew work with him to process wild rice.
This year Greene will process nearly
10,000 pounds, a number he hopes to
increase substantially next year.
"More harvesters are coming to us because
processors are getting scarce:'
Greene considers his work a service.
"Younger people don't want to take it on,
no money in if' But he has hope through
his grandsons, if the rice stays healthy.
Yard processing. On the White Earth
Indian Reservation along the low shores
of Roy Lake, Oscar "Sunfish" Oppegard, a
sign of moisture still in the rice. Ask most
harvesters and you will get an opinion regarding
the better fuel for parching, propane
or wood.
"Hard parch [with wood] gives you a
little bit different flavor. Lot of people like
what I'm doing here;' says Oppegard.
Constantly on the move, Oppegard
checks each batch of rice before moving
it to the next processing stage. With
two parchers going, a backlog often occurs
at the thresher, or dehuller, a modified
55-gallon oil drum. Inside the drum,
rubber-coated paddles beat the parched
rice, breaking the hulls loose. An old, red
20
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

ahe White Earth Indian Reservation, bags of hand-harvested rice (opposite page) are ready to be processed
byOscar"Sunfish"Oppegard.At his small processing operation, rice is parched inside a metal fuel tank (below).
which is heated with a wood fire (top left). Rice parched with wood heat, or hard parched, takes on a flavor that
some harvesters prefer. Oppegard (top right) winnows parched and threshed rice with a large fan.

£ch lake Band member Martin jennings and his son Marty (top left) process small batches of rice by
hand. Rice is parched in a cast-iron kettle (opposite page) over an open fire. jennings separates the parched
rice grain from the hull by foot (top right)-a process known as 'jigging."jennings (below) winnows wild
rice with a birch-bark tray that he crafted by hand.

McCormick Farmall tractor provides the
power to the thresher.
Oppegard muses that he would like to
build a bigger mill for the future, in duding
roofing over some of the equipment
and adding a new and different thresher.
Traditional processing. SouthofGarrison
near Whitefish Lake, Martin Jennings
and his family process their own rice. A
Leech Lake Band member, Jennings began
"finishing" wild rice in college.
In an old field, wild rice is spread out
on tarps, drying in the sun. Nearby a
wood fire burns beneath a mediumsized
cast-iron kettle, one-third filled
with rice. From a chair beside the kettle,
Joyce Shingobe, a family friend, stirs
the rice with a small cedar paddle. She
scoops the rice up one side of the tilted
kettle, then lets it cascade back to the
heat. Too much heat will pop the ricelike
popcorn. In 20 minutes this batch
should be thoroughly parched.
Jennings and his son Marty walk
across the field to a friend's cabin tucked
in the edge of the forest. In the yard, a
clump of birch trees provides the perfect
setting for jigging rice. Two stout, 8-foot
poles meet high in the birches and support
the thresher-Jennings. He stands
in a wooden tub filled with parched wild
rice. He twists his smooth-soled boots
back and forth to separate the rice from
the hulls.
Jennings pauses after roughly eight
minutes, sweat beading his face. On a
good day, he can jig out about 40 pounds
of fully parched rice an hour. Today he
empties about half of the rice from the
tub into a birch-bark winnowing tray,
which he made by hand.
Paying attention to the slight breeze,
he tosses the rice up with a smooth motion
of his wrists, allowing the chaff to
fall to the ground while keeping the full
seed solidly in the basket. It's a practiced
motion, one that he has done for nearly
30 years-and one that he says he will
continue to do as long as he can.
For future generations. Though Minnesota
has fewer processors of native
wild rice today, business is booming for
the remaining processors. And some of
those processors would welcome a little
more competition.
"We were loaded right to the last daY,'
says Oppegard of the demand at his yardprocessing
operation. "There is more
room for processors:'
The philosophy among those working
with wild rice is not market -driven, but
driven by tradition-and the desire to
preserve this art.
"I want to see the young kids get interested
by participating:' says Jennings,
"and pass the whole process on to the next
generation:' .
r.- www.mndnr.govjmagazine See a multimedia
slideshow about the families who process wild rice.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
23

By Michael Furtman
Up S and downs
in the Grouse Woods
The ruffed grouse population cycle
works in mysterious ways, sometimes
defying the best attempts of wildlife
biologists to understand it.
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Over the years, success has varied wildly-ups
and downs in the grouse woods.
While all animal populations fluctuate,
only those that rise and fall in large
amounts and with regularity are considered
cyclical. Grouse numbers rise and fall
in a 10-year cycle that remains somewhat
of a mystery. Wildlife managers simply call
it the "grouse cycle:'
''As wildlife managers, we just accept the
grouse cycle as a given;' said Mike Larson,
Department of Natural Resources research
scientist and grouse biologist in Grand
Rapids. "The historical data show the cycle
very clearly, and whatever the reasons for
it, there is little that people could do to influence
it anyway. Consequently, our job is
really to manage the habitat.
"Providing quality habitat means there
will be more ruffed grouse than there
would otherwise be, no matter where we
are in the cycle:' According to Larson,
quality habitat for grouse contains many
components, but, in general, it is a forest of
mixed species, predominately aspen with
stands of various ages.
Inevitable Cycle. Many factors influence
grouse populations. But even under the
best of situations, the ruffed grouse is not a
long-lived bird. Few survive to 3 years of age,
according to research conducted by the late
Gordon Gullion, head of the Forest Wildlife
Project at the University of Minnesota!;
Cloquet Forestry Center. Of 1,000 eggs laid
in spring, only about 250 ruffed grouse will
survive to their first autumn, 120 to their first
spring, about 50 to a second spring, and fewer
than 20 will still be alive the third spring.
Mortality comes in many forms-disease,
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Cycle within a cycle: The ruffed grouse population
shows peaks and valleys about every IO years, with "super
peaks" every 20 years. But a super peak only lasts for one
year, while the lower peaks can last two to three years.
accidents, weather-related stress, and predation.
Predation ranks highest, though it is frequently
difficult to separate it from the other
factors. A ruffed grouse weakened by cold or
disease might have died regardless of whether
it had been caught by a fox or goshawk.
While losses occur every year, ruffed
grouse populations, as well as those of
snowshoe hares, rise and fall in a cycle of
about 10 years and are synchronous. The
ruffed grouse cycle appears to be largely
unrelated to food availability or variation
in reproduction due to weather.
Evidence suggests there is a cycle to the
cycle: a pattern that shows every other peak
is higher than the intervening one. And
there are differences in the cycle depending
upon location. In Minnesota the cycle is
most noticeable in the prime grouse range
in the northeast. The cycle is more subtle
in the northwestern tallgrass aspen parklands,
the central hardwoods region, and
the southeastern blufflands.
"Where habitat isn't as good, the cycle is
not as apparent;' says Larson. "In the periphery
of their range, you can see minor peaks
and valleys, but not every 10 years, and the
peaks and valleys aren't as dramatic:'
Unravel the Mystery. Several studies have
tried to unravel the mystery of the grouse
cycle. University of Wisconsin researcher
Lloyd Keith's classic Wildlife's Ten- Year Cycle,
published in 1963 and based on his work in
Alberta, chronicled not only the periodic
fluctuations of ruffed grouse, but also those
of snowshoe hares, red fox, lynx, and prairie
grouse. He found that these fluctuations are
frequently related to each other and usually
are synchronous among species within
areas. He also noted that this cycle seems to
be limited primarily to northern forests and
adjacent prairie.
Keith's research offers the following explanation
for the ruffed grouse cycle: Snowshoe
hares, which can breed several times in one
year, increase in number. Lynx, red fox, goshawks,
and great horned owls prey upon the
abundant hares and produce numerous offspring.
Despite the success of the predators,
reproduction by the hares outpaces that of
the predators. Eventually; hares are so numerous
that they deplete their food sources
and then die off rapidly.
During this boom in hares and predators,
ruffed grouse increase because the
hares buffer them against predation. But
when hare populations crash, the abundant
predators must find another food source,
such as ruffed grouse. Unlike the snowshoe
hare population, the grouse population
cannot reproduce fast enough to sustain its
numbers while being targeted by abundant
predators. Ruffed grouse numbers slowly
decline, followed by a drop in the predator
population. Because this cycle takes years,
the woody brush that provides food for the
snowshoe hare rebounds, snowshoe hare
numbers climb, and the cycle repeats.
However, because ruffed grouse populations
are also cyclical south of the snowshoe
hare's main range, some researchers looked
for additional factors. In 1982 Donald Rusch
of the Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research
Unit studied winter ruffed grouse
mortality in Wisconsin. He found predation
rates on ruffed grouse climbed when large in-
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
27

28
fluxes of raptors-primarily goshawks-migrated
south into the northern United States
during a decline in hares in their Canadian
home range.
Increased winter predation by migrating
raptors was further documented by
David Lauten of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For his master's thesis,
he radio-tagged large numbers of grouse
and noted significant mortality in winters
when numerous northern raptors migrated
into the area. He confirmed the influx
of raptors by using data from monitoring
sites such as Hawk Ridge in Duluth and
the Audubon Christmas bird counts.
These winter studies in Wisconsin show
that the 10-year cycle far to the north has
impacts on more southerly grouse cycles.
As the hare population subsides to the
north, the grouse populations are driven
down by the subsequent increased predation.
Then some predators move south for
the winter and prey on grouse there.
Still Puzzling. But predation might not
be the only factor in the cycle. Throughout
most of their range, ruffed grouse depend
on aspen buds for winter food. In the 1990s,
Gullion documented that ruffed grouse
refused to eat aspen buds in some winters
because the buds had a resinous coating that
inhibited digestion. Gullion speculated that
in years when an outbreak of tent caterpillars
stressed trees, aspens protected themselves
by creating less palatable buds. Ruffed
grouse switched to less abundant or nutritious
foods such as birch buds, perhaps lowering
grouse survival. If the trees exhibit this
self-defense mechanism for more than just
one winter, then a cycle could be triggered.
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

A 2008 study by a team of researchers
from the University of Minnesota and the
Ruffed Grouse Society analyzed all of the
research from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and
elsewhere. The team looked at 27 years of
data from the Ruffed Grouse Societys annual
hunt in Grand Rapids (during which
biological data, such as age, sex, and health,
is gathered from the harvested birds). The
team also reviewed DNR annual spring
drumming counts, which monitor grouse
populations. The team examined forest tent
caterpillar outbreak information, raptor migration
and irruption data from Hawk Ridge
and other monitoring sites, and weather data
to further seek answers to the grouse cycle.
The researchers concluded that the predation
theory isn't sufficient to explain the
grouse cycle. They found no direct correlation
between influxes of migrating raptors
and the cycle in Minnesota. However, they
concluded predation plays a supporting role
and is influenced by winter weather. Years
with abundant snow and cold weather favored
grouse. But in years with poor snow
cover, predation may increase because
grouse can't roost beneath the snow and
must roost in trees. Without the warmth of
snow roosts, they also must feed more often.
In both cases, they are more visible and
more vulnerable to predation.
"These studies are the best summaries
about what is officially known about the
ruffed grouse cycle;' said Larson. "But the
fact is, we aren't able to really explain very
much except that the cycle is real.
"People are always inquiring about how
wet, cool springs might affect nesting success.
The cyclical pattern holds true despite
the fact that spring weather fluctuates. You
can have the best spring weather imaginable,
but if we're on the downward side of the cycle,
populations are still going to go down:'
In other words, ideal weather might
mean a larger population overall, both at
the peak and at the valley, but the cycle
will occur regardless of weather.
Current Cycle. In the region surrounding
the Great Lakes, the cycle is generally at
its low point in mid-decade and at its high
point in years at the end and beginning of
the decade. The cycle is remarkably synchronous
across this range. The most recent low
began in 2001 and bottomed out in 2004. As
it turns out, 2009 was likely the most recent
peak. Larson said that drumming counts in
2010 were 27 percent lower than in 2009, so
the cycle might be heading down.
Grouse hunting harvest rates follow the
same cycle. In 2009, hunters harvested an
average of 0.64 birds per day, compared
with 0.4 birds at the bottom of a typical cycle.
Total harvest in Minnesota can be five
times larger during peak years than at the
valley. However, Larson said, the 2009 harvest
did not show a dramatic increase because
fewer hunters went afield-roughly
85,000 hunters compared with 140,000 at
the last peak in 1998.
Looking to This Fall. What will this fall
bring to the grouse woods?
"Some peaks in the cycle last for a few
years;' said Larson, "but some peaks only
last for one. It would have been a lot to expect
2010 to equal2009:'
Yes, it would have. That's the nature of
the grouse cycle. But come fall-peak or
valley, good year or poor-there'll still be
a trail to walk through rolling hills and a
dog eager to parse the forest's scents . •
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
29

By David Mather
Photography by Richard Hamilton Smith
Zippel Bay State Park in northwestern Minnesota offers a beachhead for
launching onto a million-acre lake-or a nice
sandy spot for just looking out onto the water.
SMALL WAVES lap at my toes as I gaze out onto an inland
ocean. The panorama of water before me is the Big Traverse,
a vast expanse that is just one part of Lake of the Woods.
I'm looking north toward the Northwest Angle, the familiar
peak on top of Minnesota's outline. I know from maps that
the lake extends far beyond my sight, east and north toward
Ontarids twisting channels, islands, and cliffs, and west into
Manitoba's large, open bay.
A living remnant of Glacial Lake Agassiz and nearly a
million acres in size, Lake of the Woods is larger than Vermilion,
Kabetogama, Winnibigoshish, Minnetonka, Mille
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 31

From serene to tempestuous, the
mood of Lake of the Woods is
ever changing. With its protected
harbor and access to these vast
border waters, Zippel Bay State
Park is an angler's paradise. But
fishing isn't the only draw to this
2,900-acre park: It is a haven for
bald eagles, such as this juvenile
(below), and shorebirds such as
this sanderling (right).

Lacs, Red, Rainy, Cass, and
Leech lakes combined.
This peaceful shore is just a
minute's walk from my campsite
in Zippel Bay State Park.
Purple spreads across the sky
and lake, west to north to east,
as the sun sinks below the horizon.
From a perch down
the shore, a bald eagle also
looks out to the water. I'm
barefoot on a warm September
evening, standing on a
sugar sand beach. Birds make
the only sounds. Other than
mine, the only footprints are
webbed.
At 2,900 acres, Zippel Bay
is a relatively small park between
Warroad and Baudette
on the southernmost shore
of Lake of the Woods. Most
park visitors come to fish
(about 85 percent, according
to assistant park manager Susan
Olin). This makes sense,
since the park's marina and
fishing pier provide public
access to a world-famous
angling destination. That's
why the park was established
in 1959.
I'm here on a weekend
camping trip to explore
this gateway to Lake of the
Woods. By boat-or even
without, just standing on the
beach-Zippel Bay lets me
experience a mysterious and
historic mighty lake on Minnesota5
northern border.
33

Sand Hills. In his 1830 narrative, John Tanner
said that the Ojibwe called this place
the Lake of the Sand Hills:
"Why it is called 'Lake of the Woods' by
the whites I do not know, as there is not
much wood about it. Here we were much
endangered by high winds, the waves
dashing into our canoe so fast that I was
scarcely able, with a large kettle, to throw
out the water as fast as it came in:'
The Ojibwe name aptly describes the lake
along the fur trade route of the Rainy River.
The river's mouth is flanked by long sand
islands and spits that encompass Four Mile
Bay and extend farther west past Zippel Bay.
The storm Tanner described was not unusual
for the Big Traverse, with large waves
that pile and move sand along the southern
shores. Before the park's stone jetty was built
in the 1980s to create a permanent channel,
the mouth of Zippel Bay literally moved
over time as the beach sands shifted.
The sand hills are still there, along the
southern shore. They are a clear contrast
with the other wooded shores of the big
lake. With nearly 15,000 islands and more
than 60,000 miles of shoreline, Lake of the
Woods is a mosaic, a dizzying juxtaposition
of water and land.
Fishing Village. Small congregations of
yellow-shafted flickers flush into the trees
as I drive along the park road. The flickers
flash their white rumps as they fly. I'm
looking for a new hiking trail that Olin
recommended, one that's not yet shown on
the park map. Late afternoon light slants
through the birch treetops, speckled green
and gold. The trunks are blazing white, often
grown up in clumps of six or more trees.
I arrive at the trailhead near the group
campground and head off through the trees
toward the road to the swimming beach.
This grove seems endless, with legions of
white trunks continuing past the limits of
my view. The bark of some trees is milky and
smooth nearly from the base to the crown.
On some, gnarled and peeling bark makes
me think of a book's tattered pages.
The sound of waves reaches me shortly
after leaving the forest. I emerge onto a large
beach. Children build sand castles and splash
in the water with their parents. The water is
inviting on this warm day; and I am glad that
the trail follows the beach from here. I wade
along the lakeshore, which is now flanked by
a sand ridge leading west to the entrance of
the bay. The damp sand is marked with the
footprints of birds and small animals. Shells
are scattered along the waveline and ridge.
Some are the discarded meals of shorebirds,
with round holes pecked through the center.
Near the jetty; I come to a stone outcrop
where Wilhelm Zippel established his commercial
fishing station in 1885. A stone
foundation marks the former location of
the house that doubled as a post office and
tripled as a general store. The warehouse and
other buildings were in ruins by the 1920s.
Zippelleft his name for the bay-and a fine
spot for a picnic lunch by the channel.
Shore Lunch. The park marina is getting
crowded today. Boats full of fishing tourists
from the local resorts line up to dock for
shore lunches. Curious anglers pause outside
the fish-cleaning house to watch DNR biologists
pull fish from gill nets as they work on a
long-term study monitoring the health of the
Lake of the Woods fishery. Their findings are
the basis for fishing regulations in the area.
I work my way through the crowd as fish-
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Part of the laurentian Mixed Forest Province, Minnesotds portion of lake of the Woods has a mix of coniferous and
deciduous trees. Uplands are commonly vegetated with aspen, birch, and jack pine.
ing guides and their clients prepare for lunch.
Like a symphony conductor in a red baseball
cap and polarized sunglasses, Tim Lyon sets
huge black skillets on propane burners to
heat, while his clients chop potatoes, bread
gorgeous walleye fillets, open cans of baked
beans, and set the table. Lyon doesn't tell me
that he's a famous fishing guide who hosted
Gov. Pawlenty for the 2004 fishing opener.
He just notices me nearby and invites me to
lunch. Surprised, I say ICl be an idiot to turn
down an offer like that.
"I think so too;' says Lyon. "If you said
no, we'd have been talking about you all
afternoon:' This is the first visit to Lake of
the Woods for some of Lyon's clients. Others
have been fishing here for generations.
Today they've been jigging over the reefs,
with delicious results.
Walleye fishing on Lake of the Woods
has been good lately, following new regulations
introduced by the DNR in 2004.
Before that, the annual harvest was averaging
about 650,000 pounds, a level which
studies indicated was not sustainable. The
new rules reduced the daily limit from
six to four and created a protected size
slot from 19.5 to 28 inches, allowing only
one fish over 28 inches in possession. The
changes reduced the walleye harvest while
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
35

In the early 1800s, Garden Island was home to john Tanner, who was captured as a child from his family's Kentucky farm
by Shawnee Indians. As an adult, Tanner came to live with the Ojibwe in the Lake of the Woods region.
preserving the high-quality size structure.
Lyon seems pleased with the results.
Nodding toward the biologists in the fishcleaning
house, he says, "''ve got to hand
it to those guys. The average size [of walleyes]
is tremendous. It's just a miracle:'
Through the Bay. The Rainy River is the
main tributary to Lake of the Woods. Zippel
Bay sits at the mouth of another tributary
farther west, Zippel Creek. Quieter
than the Rainy, the bay provides a sheltered
home for waterfowl and wild rice. From the
confluence of the stream's west and south
branches, the creek gently flows northeastward
for about a mile into the big lake, with
the park's marina near its widest point.
Another day dawns over this inland sea,
and I amble over to a resort just south of
the park on Zippel Creek to rent a kayak
and do some exploring on the water. As I
drift along the edge of cattails in the bay, the
water appears to boil by a nearby mudflat. I
freeze and make eye contact with an otter.
Hundreds of coots are rafted on the bay. As
I float closer to them, they rise up and run
on the water in black, flapping formations,
little pale legs sprinting behind little potbellies.
They go just far enough for comfort
(not far) and settle back to coot business.
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

The cattails are alive with birds. This part
of the park, across the bay from the marina, is
only accessible by water. It is mostly marsh, a
nesting area for sandhill cranes. I paddle toward
the jetty, starting out with swift strokes.
I didn't know if I would venture out into
the big water, but now that I'm here there's
no question. I just have to go. The gallery of
gulls, cormorants, and pelicans on the stone
jetty is familiar with the regular passage of
motorboats, but they don't know what to
make of me. I paddle into the Big Traverse
behind a squawking cloud and head northwest
along the beach, until I reach the ruins
of an old, wooden jetty. It's a vestige from
Wilhelm Zippel's era and the bygone heyday
of commercial fishing on Lake of the Woods
120 years ago.
Huge lake sturgeon were plentiful then.
Most early commercial fishing stations had
caviar factories, making use of the sturgeon
eggs. Tragically; many of the giant fish themselves
were discarded. Some were burned
like cordwood to power steamboats.
If the commercial fishermen thought
the sturgeon were inexhaustible, however,
they were sadly mistaken. Lake of
the Woods sturgeon were nearly extinct
by 1910. A century later the population
is much improved but has yet to fully recover.
During the decades after sturgeon
declined, the commercial catch shifted to
whitefish, tullibee, and walleyes. Commercial
fishing for sport fish in American
waters ended in 1985, though commercial
fishing remains legal for some fish such as
sucker and burbot.
Today the big lake is still popular among
anglers. Bobbing in the small waves, I look
out toward a distant armada of fishing
boats. I stop counting at 40.
Island Hopping. Being out in the big water
a bit makes me want to go out farther, and
so I catch a boat ride with park manager
Doug Easthouse. He's headed out to Garden
Island State Recreation Area, a park
unit 21 miles north out in the lake. Aboard
his boat, we pass a great egret at the head
of the channel, near the old town site. We
enter the Big Traverse and set a course
due north to Garden Island. Even on this
bright, clear day, there's nothing visible out
there but water.
Islands start to appear as we travel through
the Northwest Angle, most of them to
the east in Ontario. Garden Island is dead
ahead. We circle around to the north shore
and moor at one of the docks. John Tanner
lived on this island for a time with his Ojibwe
relatives. Lake of the Woods has had many
chroniclers, but Tanner was perhaps the
most unusual. Captured as a child by Shawnee
Indians from his family's Kentucky farm,
he was eventually adopted by an Odawa ( Ottawa)
woman near Lake Huron. During his
adult life, he married into an Ojibwe family
and lived in the Lake of the Woods region in
the early 1800s. He rejoined white society for
a brief period to be a translator at the Indian
agency for the fur trade at Sault Ste. Marie,
just long enough for his life story to be written,
but he soon returned to the wilderness.
His life after that is unknown, because he was
never heard from again.
Tanner's Indian name was Shaw-Shaw­
Wa Be-Na-Se, which translates as The
Falcon. Easthouse docks his boat on Garden
Island in Falcon Bay. When Tanner
and his family lived here, they cleared fields
and planted corn in the spring after making
maple sugar. Then the families gathered
and dried blueberries. After that it was time
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

The Ojibwe called this place Lake of the Sand Hills in reference to the sandy beaches and dunes that line the
southern shore of Lake of the Woods from Four Mile Bay west past Zippel Bay.
to gather wild rice, and then time to harvest
the corn. Most of this food was stored
against hunger in the winter and spring.
Life could be hard at Me-naw-zhe-taunaung,
the village on Garden Island. Tanner
returned one spring to find the village starving
and his child dying of measles. In the
Ojibwe tradition, he prayed for a medicine
hunt. That night, he dreamt of a young man
who showed him "many ducks covering the
surface of the water, and in another place a
sturgeon, in a third a reindeer:' The next day
he found and killed these animals and considered
the dream fulfilled.
Boats are docking for shore lunch as we
pass the emergency shelter, which provides
refuge for stranded boaters and snowmobilers.
One of the anglers cools off with a
swim. As we walk along the shore, Easthouse
points out a cast-iron ice chipper
partly buried in sand. He's rescued it from
the water several times, as the shoreline
erodes, because it's part of the island's history,
an important artifact and one of the last
remnants of the former commercial fishing
station here. I graze as we walk, on wild
grapes, strawberries, and peas. There's no
way to know if these foods are descended
from the plantings of Tanner and his family,
but Garden Island is still a garden.
Next we land on Babe Island, northeast
of Garden Island and on the international
boundary. We climb up a rock face to find
a thriving patch of brittle prickly pear cactus.
It is shocking to find a cactus in the north
woods, but as it turns out, this isn't the same
species that grows in Arizona. Brittle prickly
pear grows throughout western North
America and has the greatest freezing tolerance
of any known cactus. This colony of
prickly pears makes a go of it on this remote,
wind-blasted island where winter temperatures
can drop to minus 40 E As Tanner and
the commercial anglers of the 19th century
found out, one must be a hardy soul to live
out beyond the Big Traverse.
Back to the Beach. Backatmycampsitethat
evening, stars peek through the forest canopy
after my campfire has burned out. I am
drawn back to "my" beach for a better view.
Once my headlamp is off my eyes adjust to
a world of black and gray. The water of the
Big Traverse is glass, faintly luminous, reflecting
the blanket of the Milky Way. There
is no moon. Shooting stars streak across the
sky. The longer I stand, the more the heavens
open. A nebula faintly twinkles above the
horizon to the northeast. Frequent splashes
break the silence, telling me that there's lots of
activity under the smooth surface of the lake.
There appears to be a forested island in
the near distance, shrouded in mist. It looks
so real that at first I don't question it. But as
I've seen in the daylight, this part of the lake
is wide open. As I remind myself that it's
not really there, the northern lights rise up
from its center in columns of white, reaching
into the sky.
A lifetime may not be enough to fully
experience Lake of the Woods. I want to
explore more, here among the sand hills
and out beyond the horizon. But I've seen
a lot in my short visit. Right here, at this
moment, I'm just glad that I lingered at the
gateway . •
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Photography by Mike Dvorak
L'arn to Hunt
Hunting for ducks, deer, and turkey-wild game-is a
ffiinn,sota tradition. Longtime hunters eagerly show
young hunters how to succeed.
By Michael A. Kalfok
Think about traditions you enjoy-perhaps eating Thanksgiving
turkey or hanging holiday decorations.
Hunting is a favorite tradition of many people. Every year
about 24,000 Minnesotans who are at least 11 years old (more
than one-third of them are girls and women) get ready to hunt
by completing the Hunter Education Firearms Safety Training
Program, offered by the Department of Natural Resources.
Learning how to safely handle and shoot a shotgun, rifle, or
bow is the first step in becoming a good hunter. To hunt successfully,
hunters must understand the animals they are hoping
to bag. The best way to learn is to go hunting with a mentorsomeone
with experience. Fortunately, the DNR and its conservation
partners make it easy for young hunters and their parents
or guardians to find a mentor to help them get started.
Here are the stories of three young people who are learning
to hunt ducks, deer, or wild turkeys. With the help of a mentor,
you can learn to hunt too.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 41

42
WHY GET UP at 4:30a.m.? Zachary Peglow,
age 12, discovered one good reason: duck
hunting. He and 23 other youths joined a
hunt sponsored by the DNR, Ducks Unlimited,
and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
It took place at Hamden Slough National
Wildlife Refuge in September on
Youth Waterfowl Day, when only hunters
age 15 or younger may pull the trigger.
Scout for a Spot. The day before the
hunt, Zachary and his dad, Chip, went
scouting with mentor Win Mitchell,
a lifelong duck hunter. "You need to
know where the ducks want to be;' Win
said. The three hunters trudged through
muck to the marsh. As they approached
their chosen spot, thousands of ducks
erupted from the water. Zachary hoped
theyo see as many ducks tomorrow.
Place Decoys. At 5 the next morning,
Zachary, Chip, and Win headed back to
the marsh. In the dark, far from city lights,
they saw countless bright stars and the
hazy band of the Milky Way.
In a field near the marsh, they dressed
for the hunt. To stay dry in the marsh,
each hunter pulled on a pair of waterproof
overalls called waders. To hide from the
sharp eyes of ducks, they put on camouflage
coats, made of cloth that looked like
cattails and marsh grasses.
Win's two Labrador retrievers, dogs he
trained to fetch ducks, whined with excitement
as they reached the marsh. Win and
Zachary placed decoys (realistic-looking
fake ducks and geese) in the water near
their hiding spot in a stand of cattails. Because
waterfowl feel safer around other waterfowl,
decoys lure real ducks within shot-
MINNESOTA C ONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Zachary Peglow keeps a close eye on the horizon for flying ducks.lf he harvests a duck or wild goose that has
a small steel band around one of its legs, he may keep the band. Most important, he will follow instructions
on the band and report the band number to help scientists learn more about waterfowl.
gun range, about 30 yards, or 90 feet-the
distance between home plate and first base.
Prepare to Shoot. Zachary and Win
hunkered down and waited for legal
shooting hours to begin. When the time
arrived, Win used a call, a small reedlike
instrument, to imitate duck sounds and
bring ducks closer.
To keep everyone safe and improve
chances of getting a duck, hunters
should only shoot within range-90
feet or less. This ethical practice shows
respect for waterfowl because a hunter
is more likely to kill rather than injure
a duck. An injured duck might escape
and suffer until it dies.
Duck hunters must know how to
identify waterfowl species. They must
not shoot protected species or bag more
than a limit for a certain kind of duck.
Hunting with a mentor helps a new
hunter learn how to recognize ducks.
Waterfowl mentors recognize species
by shape, size, color, and the way they fly
Pintail are graceful flyers with long necks
and pointed tails. Blue-winged teal fly fast,
and their wings make a whooshing sound.
Your Aim. Like miniature jets, a pair of
teal whistled through the marsh within
range. Win gave the OK to shoot. Zach-
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
ary shot, but the teal kept flying. "I didn't
think they'd be that fast:' Zachary said.
He had a few more chances to shoot
at teal, mallards, and redheads. Between
shots, he watched a pair of trumpeter
swans fly overhead and a long-legged
snipe walk past the blind. At the end of
the day, Zachary wasn't disappointed
that he hadn't bagged any ducks.
"Success:' Win assured him, "isn't
measured by the number of birds you
shoot:' And Zachary agreed. He'd go
again just to see the stars and birds he
didn't usually see in the city.
Get Started. Check out www.mndnr.govjdiscover
(Waterfowl Day and
special hunts); www.greenwing.org
(Ducks Unlimited Greenwings); www.
mnwaterfowl.com (Minnesota Waterfowl
Association's Woodie Camp); www.
mnduckandgoosecallers.org/youthprograms
(Minnesota Duck and Goose
Callers Association); www.npwrc.usgs.
gov/resource/bi rds/d uckdist/i ndex.
htm (identification tips).

BRIA SMITH, age 14, had hunted deer last
season, but she had suffered from buck
fever (getting too excited to properly aim
when a big buck walked into view). Now,
this season, she was determined to bag
her first deer.
Bria and Tony, her dad and hunting
mentor, decided to attend a special
DNR deer hunt for hunters under the
age of 16 at St. Croix State Park, where
hunting isn't normally allowed.
The weekend before the hunt, Bria
and her dad traveled to the park for an
orientation. Inside the park's Norway
Point Group Center, Bria and about 30
other youth hunters were greeted by park
manager Jack Nelson. Bria and her dad
learned from Nelson where they were allowed
to hunt within the park Bria was
instructed that she could shoot one deer
of either sex -a buck (male deer) or a doe
(female deer). They were also reminded
that they needed to wear blaze orange, a
very bright color that deer can't see but
other hunters can.
Look for Signs. Youth hunters and their
mentors then headed outside, where
they had an opportunity to walk into
the woods with Nelson, who pointed
44
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Brio Smith and her dad, Tony, drag a deer that Brio bagged during a youth hunt. Like all deer hunters, she must tag
or attach part of her license to the deer to show when the deer was harvested. Once out of the woods, she must
report her kill to park staff Then she can take it to a butcher or home for processing the venison (deer meat).
out things to look for when scouting a
place to hunt. Hoofprints, nibbled leaves
on bushes where deer have been eating,
buck scrapes (places where male deer
have marked their territory by scraping
the earth with their hooves or nearby
trees with their antlers), and deer poop
are all signs of a good deer-hunting spot.
Of course, if you actually see a deer,
thato be a good spot too.
Bria and Tony went to the area where
they planned to hunt the next weekend to
look for a spot to put their tree stand-an
elevated platform for deer hunters to sit
on and wait for a deer to walk by below.
They found a promising spot with
many deer tracks all around.
Then around 8:30, a doe walked by the
tree stand. Bria felt nervous. "I was shaking
like a leaf,' she said.
But she made a good shot.
"[My dad] was pretty excited; so was
r:' Bria said. "After the hunt he was bragging
to everyone:'
Bria plans to continue deer hunting.
Someday, she said, "I want to shoot a bigger
buck than my dad has:'
Watch and Wait. The Friday night before
the hunt Bria performed with her
dance team during halftime at her high
school's football game. She was up too
late, maybe, but she was still eager to
wake up before sunrise Saturday to go
deer hunting.
At 6:30 in the morning, Bria and her
dad climbed up into their tree stand.
As they quietly waited, they spotted
other wildlife.
"We saw two raccoons and sandhill
cranes and geese flying overhead;' Bria
said. "It was really gorgeous:'
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
Get Started. www.mndnr.gov/discover
(youth hunts at state parks);
www.mndeerhunters.com (Minnesota
Deer Hunters Association's Forkhorn
Camp); www.mnarchery.org/MSAA­
Bowhunting.html (Minnesota State Archery
Association, MDHA, DNR youth
archery hunts).

LANDON GRAF, age 14, has been deer
hnnting since he completed his firearm
safety class two years ago. His dad,
Doug, who is an experienced deer
hnnter, wanted to become a better turkey
hnnter too. So they signed up for a special
spring youth turkey hnnt sponsored
by the DNR and the National Wild Turkey
Federation.
Find Turkeys. To learn the basics of safe
and successful turkey hnnting, Landon
and his dad attended a three-hour class.
The week before the hnnt, Jerry Vmopal,
their mentor volnnteer from the National
Wild Turkey Federation, talked to farmers
to figure out where the turkeys might be on
the day of the hnnt. One gave Jerry permission
to hnnt on his farm near Red Wing.
The evening before the hunt, the three
hnnters went to the farmland but did not
walk into the woods. Instead, Jerry tried
to find the roost, a tree where turkeys
gather to sleep and stay out of reach of
predators such as coyotes.
When scared, turkeys gobble, so Jerry
used a call that sonnded like a coyote
to try to get the turkeys to gobble. They
didn't, but if they had, their calls would
have given Jerry more clues about the
best spot to hnnt. Because he'd already
scouted the land and seen turkeys, Jerry
had a good idea where to find turkeys.
Hide Nearby. At 4 a.m. Landon, his dad,
and Jerry ventured to a spot in the woods
and set up a ground blind, a small camouflage
tent that helps hunters hide from
wary wild turkeys.
Near the blind, Jerry placed a decoy, a
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Landon Graf carries a turkey he shot during a youth hunt. Following the hunting laws, he attached part of
his license to the bird before hauling it from the woods. In warm weather, a hunter must quickly register
and clean the bird to keep the meat from spoiling.
plastic turkey that resembled a tom (male
turkey) and several decoys that resembled
hens (female turkeys).
One-half hour before sunrise, when
legal shooting hours began, Jerry started
blowing a turkey call. With it, he made
noises that sounded like hens to lure male
turkeys to the decoys. He yelped-errrrit,
errrrit, errrrit, errrrit, errrrit-and
clucked-cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck,
cluck, cluck.
Choose the Right Bird. Landon waited
quietly, staying still and listening carefully
for turkeys. He watched for toms
or jakes (juvenile males), the only turkeys
that hunters could legally shoot
during the spring turkey season.
Toms have a long beard (cluster of
hairlike feathers on the chest) and spurs
(sharp, thornlike points behind the legs,
which they use to defend themselves
and their territory from other turkeys).
Jakes have a shorter beard and small
spurs. At 6:30 a.m., a jake came strutting
in front of Landon's hiding spot.
links to teachers guides fo~ this
other stories online at
www.mndnr.gov/young_naturalists.
"He came in alone, all puffed up, walked
up to a decoy, and I got him;' Landon said
Along with the thrill of his hunt, Landon
discovered success tastes pretty good
too. "It's better than turkey from the grocery
store;' he said. "Knowing you got it
instead ofbuying it, it just tastes better:'
Future Mentors. Becoming a good hunter
takes many years. If you stick with it,
you might someday be a mentor too.
Then you can pass your knowledge
along, perhaps helping young hunters
begin a tradition they will practice and
enjoy for years to come. tJ
Turkey. www.mndnr.gov/discover
(mentored youth turkey hunts); www.
nwtf.org/jakes (National Wild Turkey
Federation Jakes program); www.nwtf.
orgjnwtf _newsroom/turkey _ca lis.
html (National Wild Turkey Federation).
Pheasants. www.minnesotapf.org/
page/woo/MN-Education.jsp (Pheasants
Forever mentored hunts).

By Kathleen Weflen
Using scientists' 'tie»e»:J.s to study their schoolyard,
young students discover opportunities for taking
action to protect and improve wildlife habitat.
---
BEFORE ANYONE arrives at Afton­
Lakeland Elementary School in the
morning, foxes, opossums, raccoons,
deer, songbirds, and other critters
have been strolling, prowling, sniffing,
munching, and twittering around the
schoolyard The principal, the secretaries,
the janitors, the cooks, the teachers,
and the students and their parents all
know about this. They know because
trail cameras on campus have been
capturing animal images night and day.
In spring 2008 and fall2009, teach-
ers Sharon Lovell and Jan Erickson
and their 5th grade classes set up
and monitored camera traps as part
of an ambitious new curriculum
called Taking Action Opportunities,
or TAO. Created by conservation biology
doctoral candidate Dawn Tanneranddeveloped
with University of
Minnesota, Cedar Creek Ecosystem
Science Reserve, and Department of
Natural Resources partners, TAO is
now available to Minnesota teachers
through DNR Project WILD.
A t-.peod. g;r:i.d. on the floor represents Skull Cave, where students investigate and identify animal bones.
Top of page: A remote camera at Afton State Park captured images of a red fox (left) and a coyote (right).

Students compared images from remote cameras in their schoolyard to images from remote cameras at Afton
State Park, where visitors included a red-tailed hawk (left) and a raccoon (right) feeding on a deer carcass.
Field Work. Each week, before or after class,
a group of students went outside with Tanso
Wildlife Focus. With Tanner as their guide,
the Afton teachers and students tried out the
12-week course. Using images downloaded
from two trail cameras, they studied wildlife
that showed up in their schoolyard Tanner
showed a selection of images on an LCD
display as part of each weekly one-hour lesson.
Stamped with date, time, and temperature,
the shots revealed a nighttime parade of
animals. The camera captured two deer, for
instance, at 7 p.m. as they nibbled apples left
by students in a thicket near the soccer field.
Field Journal. Each student received a notebook
to record observations. "The journaling
is the hook:' said Jan Welsh, Project WlLD
coordinator. "You give them a little journal
like this, and they see themselves as scientists:'
One student's journal reported: "Eastern
cottontail. Sylvilagus floridanus. It normally
came around at night (about 2:00 in the
morning). 2,250 pictures+ 18! The rabbits
have been very active around the camera.
2,268 total:'
ner to observe birds and record their findings.
They also refreshed birdseed and bait
to attract mammals. Initially put off by the
smell of crawfish oil, some students later
sought the chance to douse the concoction
on lamb's wool and place it strategically near
the camera. Sometimes, the group decided
to move the cameras, from a grove of cedar
trees to a brush pile, for example, to see who
might turn up in a new location.
To further investigate the merits of various
habitats, the students compared their
camera captures with those of cameras
set up down the road at Afton State Park,
some 50 miles away at Cedar Creek Ecosystem
Science Reserve, and far north at
Bear Head Lake State Park near Ely.
TAO. Lilce homework, the take action opportunity
came after the lesson, often outside
of class. For instance, after the students
traced rare cat habitat with Google Earth
(lesson 2), they explored their own backyards
for animal signs, such as fur, feathers,
bones, scat, tracks, trails, nests, and
burrows. They took photos or collected
specimens (not from migratory birds) in
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Ziploc bags and brought them to school.
Google Earth (lessons 3 and 5). Students
studied the land cover of their school campus.
Accessing Google Earth on classroom
computers, they also examined satellite images
of Afton State Park They compared
the two landscapes. Using scale bars to be
sure they were comparing the same thing,
they calculated that buildings and pavement
covered 3 percent of parkland and 29 percent
of land at school. They found the park had
82 percent of its acreage in trees and shrubs,
while the school had 29 percent. With graphs
and pie charts, they represented these differences
in land classification.
Reflections. At the end of each lesson, Tanner
asked the students to reflect on what
they'd learned: "Do you think the state park
or the schoolyard would be more like your
neighborhood? Write two similarities and
two differences in your field journal:' Then
they took action by bringing their field
journals home to report and discuss the
lesson with their families.
Skull Cave (lesson 9). "How do animals'
skulls help us understand how animals use
their habitat?" Tanner asked the young researchers.
They reviewed the utility of canine
teeth (stab, hold), incisors (nipping bites),
and molars (crush, grind). They discussed
the skull's sagittal crest, a ridge of bone attached
to jaw muscles for biting down and
gripping prey. They considered the side positioning
of herbivore eyes compared with
frontal eyes of carnivores.
Then the researchers settled down on the
floor to investigate their section of a new
make-believe cave-a tape-marked grid-
with a ruler, a hand lens, and an unidentified
skull. The challenge: Describe the mammal
by answering questions, counting teeth,
measuring, and sketching the skull in your
field journal. Tanner served as site supervisor,
confirming the animal's identity.
Big TAO (lesson 12). Ultimately, TAO lessons
led to action to improve land for wildlife.
Parents' donations funded a bus trip to
Afton State Park, where students planted
2,000 acorns to help restore oak savanna.
For their schoolyard habitat, students wrote
a proposal to the parent-teacher association
to plant native fruit trees and shrubs, including
Juneberry, chokecherry, and gooseberry.
Principal Tom Hobert approved
their plan, the PTA donated money to purchase
seedlings, and everyone pitched in to
plant. TAO works by "connecting kids to
the environment;' Hobert said, "collecting
data, checking cameras, learning scientific
names-all for a real purpose:'
Tools. Project WILD offers teachers three
tool kits. The classroom set-up kit contains
field guides, a birdfeeder, and the Habitat
Fragmentation Board Game. The camera
kit includes two trail cameras, as well as
locks and camouflage duct tape for mounting
them. The skull kit has hand lenses and
a collection of Minnesota mammal skulls,
teeth, and jawbones.
Take Action. Find out more about schoolyard
habitat improvement from www.nwf
org!schoolyard. To donate funds or material
such as animal skulls to TAO, send e-mail to
jan.welsh@state.rnn.us. To check out teaching
kits and learn more about TAO, visit
www.mndnr.gov/projectwild .•
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
51

THANK YOU
Thank you to every Conservation Volunteer reader who gives a subscription
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PHILLIP A. BuHN STEPHEN (HEESEBRCMI RUTH CUNNIFF DoNNA M . DoSLAND DEAN ELSTAD
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MARVT.BuLEY M.& L. CHRISTENSEN KATHLEEN DAHL DAVID DouGLAS ALAN & KAREN EMORY
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joHN BuRESH ROBERT E. CHRISTENSON jOHN H. DAHLMEIER jiM &SHIRLEY DcMiSON ENGEBRETSON
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ELWOOD E. BuRSETH DAVID j. (HUHEL jOHN R.DAN (QUEEN P. DREW VIRGINIA D. ENGFER
lES BuRT KEITH A. CHURCHILl. DEVERNE DANBURG DRISCOLl. FAMILY KAREN ENGLE
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RAYMOND & VERON ICA (LARK GERALD E. DAVIS ANN DuDERO jEFFREY ERAGER
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Boo & PAT BvRNS juuEA. (LAUSON JoE & SuE DAVISON SuSAN DuFFY & MYRON KErTH v. ERHOLTZ
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MORRIE & DAPHNE CuRT FoRST 5-mtEGILLOLEY GUNDERSEN DANIEL R. HART
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SARAH EVERT DoNNA FoSTVErr DAVIS GiNSBURG WAuv&DoNNA HARTMAN
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MINNESOTA PROFILE
Minnesota Conservation Volunteer}Oyears
Founding The ConseNation Volunteer was first published
in October 1940 by the then-Department
of Conservation for the citizens of Minnesota
and, in particular, a group dubbed ConseNation
Volunteers. Early issues asked readers to take a
pledge "to support by word and deed all aspects
of conservation :•
Steadfast Purpose The first issue's editorial
column stated the publication's singular mission:
"One word-Education-sums up our objective.
And we hope through broad educational
messages ... to stimulate still further public
interest in the appreciation for our great natural
heritage ... by giving our moral support, time
and activity to those pri nci pies of Conservation
which we affirm to be in the best interests of
all the people:'The same sense of purpose holds
true for the magazine today. In her May-June
2008 editor's column, Kathleen Weflen wrote:
"The need to repair what's broken, to regain
what's lost, and to reconnect what remains is
inherent in conservation work:'
burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) will raise
the earth's temperature 7 to 14 degrees:' In the
Jan.-Feb. 2001 issue, "The Crossroads of Climate
Change" put Minnesota ConseNation Volunteer at
the forefront of contemporary reporting on
climate change. The story told why Minnesotawhich
lies at the continental intersection of
three biomes-is particularly sensitive to the
impact of warming.
Notable Contributors Many MCV stories
have been penned by well-known writers,
including Michael Furtman, Paul Gruchow,
Charles Kuralt, Barry Lopez, Grace Lee Nute,
Sigurd Olson, Thomas S. Roberts, and Will
Weaver. The magazine has featured the work
of notable Minnesota artists, such as Walter
Breckenridge, Patrick DesJarlait, Les Kouba,
and Vera Ming Wong. Accomplished photographers,
such as Jim Brandenburg, Layne
Kennedy, Bill Marchel, and Richard Hamilton
Smith, frequently contribute their work to
Minnesota Conservation Volunteer.
Recurring Themes Loss of wetlands, prairies,
and other native habitats has been an ongoing
theme throughout the magazine's yo years.
Though global warming might seem to be a
recent concern, the magazine has addressed it
several times during the past five decades, starting
with a 1961 story in which John G. McKane
wrote: "Over the next 1,ooo years, if elaborate
calculations are correct, the continued rate of
Awards Won Minnesota ConseNation Volunteer
has been recognized with many state and
national awards, including gold medals from
the Minnesota Magazine and Publisher's
Association for writing, design, and editorial
excellence. Recently "The Alpha Accipiter"
(March-April 2009) was selected for inclusion
in Houghton Mifflin's 2010 Best American Science
and Nature Writing.
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER

Panorama of Land Use
This illustration by an
unidentified artist accompanied
"Man's Care of the
Earth" in the 1967 Nov.-Dec.
issue. The essay discussed
"a panorama of new environmental
problems" in
the mid-20th century. The
author wrote: "lncreasingly
the demand is for clean air,
pure water, and proper use
of land."
Funds to Publish In 1980, due to a state budget
shortfall, the DNR magazine began asking
readers for financial support. Since 2003, readers'
contributions have covered the entire cost
of publishing. Minnesota ConseNation Volunteer
receives no funding from state taxes, the
state lottery, or fishing, hunting, or boating
license fees.
Growing Circulation The circulation, originally
limited to s,ooo copies, has grown
to about 15o,ooo subscribers-making
Minnesota ConseNation Volunteer the largest
circulation magazine published in Minnesota.
In the Schools With education as a founding
principle, Minnesota Conservation Volunteer
today goes to s.692 schools and libraries
across the state. Each issue includes a Young
Naturalists story written for young conservationists,
with a corresponding teachers guide
available for download online at www.mndnr.
govjmagazine.
Birgitta Anderson, editorial intern
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010
6s

Moving? Go to
www.mndnr.gov/
magazine or call
New for 2011!
Minnesota Conservation Volunteer Calendar
Minnesota Conservation
Volunteer celebrates its 7oth
anniversary with 2011 Wild
Minnesota, a full-color
calendar with images by six of
Minnesota's finest photographers.
This 13 3 /4-by-w 3 /4 inch calendar
makes a great gift for family,
friends, and colleagues.
And proceeds benefit MCV.
Only $16 plus tax, shipping, and handling. Order 2011 Wild Minnesota
from Minnesota's Bookstore. Call 651.297·3000 (Twin Cities) or toll-free
8oo.6S7·3757· To order online, visit http:/ fwww.mnbookstore.com
Special Offer for Advanced Orders!
Receive a 20-percent discount when you place a
prepaid order by Oct. 15, 2010! Shipping begins Nov. 1.