By Dick Herfindahl

On April 2, state Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea, met with a group of area sportsmen to discuss some of the issues that concerned them. Murray told the group that he was there to learn and listen to their ideas, and there was plenty to talk about.

It was a good session with a lot of important issues brought up along with some very good ideas on improving habitat. The sportsmen in attendance were from various outdoors organizations like Minnesota Deer Hunters, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Minnesota Waterfowl Association, Fountain Lake Sportsmen’s Club and Muskies Inc., among others.

Murray has been meeting with various sportsmen’s groups from throughout his district to hear what their concerns are.

Jack Adams of the local chapter of Minnesota Deer Hunters Association arranged the meeting and went over the topics that the sportsmen wanted to address. Murray listened to the many concerns and the ideas that they had and assured the group that he would follow up on a number of these issues.

This group of sportsmen was not there to complain about how things were but to find out how to get things done. One of the big concerns was land acquisition which is a hot topic in the legislature right now. With the Lessard SAMS bill there is money available to purchase Wildlife Management land but the argument in the legislature is that the Department of Natural Resources cannot take care of the land they already have. Jack Adams called it a two part problem “no net gain” or “no net loss” which basically does nothing to improve wildlife habitat in our part of the state.

It was also brought up that when land is available in the southern part of the state it needs to be acted upon as quickly as possible because there is just not that much land that becomes available in our part of the state.

The question was also raised about how receptive the DNR would be to volunteers from the area working on wildlife management areas like Grass Lake in order to make it a viable and healthy WMA. Murray said that he would check into that and thought it was a good idea. There seemed to be a general consensus that finding volunteers to do the work would be no problem.

The group also brought up the possible increase in license fees and they felt that if it would help ease the crunch on the DNR budget they were all for it. The one point they made is that the cost of an out of state license in Minnesota is much lower than in the surrounding states and they felt that that cost should also be raised according to the state they are from. Of course the argument in the legislature is that they need the tourist business but it was pointed out that if someone is willing to spend the money to travel up north to hunt deer they will be willing to spend the money for a license.

One member of the group said that he hunts deer in our area during the season and with no private land available he hunts public land that is available. Although there are quite a few other hunters hunting the same area he doesn’t really mind because he is still able to hunt. He said he actually buys an Iowa license and also hunts during their deer season. The out of state license costs him $500 which seems pretty spendy when compared to the $141 for a non-resident firearms license in Minnesota. This makes a pretty good argument for raising the non-resident license fees proportionately.

Another area of concern that was voiced by Ray Hangge, a member of Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies Inc., was the Minnesota DNR’s decision to postpone indefinitely the stocking of muskies in Lake Tetonka in the Waterville area pending the resolution of local issues.

The main reason for opposition to this is dark house spearing which is banned on most muskie lakes and that group is strongly opposed to any designated muskie lakes. It’s pretty hard to practice catch and release with a spear.

The bottom line in all the issues addressed at this meeting was the preserving and improving of our habitat for future generations. The days of finding a friendly farmer who will let you hunt his land are pretty much gone. Today there are fewer farmers but they own more land and the hunting land is usually spoken for well in advance. This is why WMA’s are so important to the future of the outdoors. We need to make sure that our future sportsmen have a place to hunt and fish.

Musky Talk

The April meeting of Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies, Inc. will be Wednesday April 13, at Eagles Club in Owatonna at 7 p.m. This will be our best trip night, a chance to tell your fish story. We will also have an open discussion on best spring or early season tactics.

Reminder, the Minnesota Musky Expo, will be April 8 through 10, at Concordia University’s Gangelhoff Center. It is located at 235 Hamline Ave. N, St. Paul, MN.

April 16 and 17 is the Cabela’s kids casting event and volunteers are needed.

Our meetings are the second Wednesday of each month. They include informative speakers, door prizes, raffles and musky talk and tips to help members catch more muskies. Our goal is to improve musky fishing and more opportunity in southern Minnesota. Check out our website at www.michapter54.com. Anyone interested in musky fishing is always welcome. You need not be a member to attend. Bring a friend and check us out.

Until next time; think spring, camping and fishing and enjoy the great Minnesota outdoors!

Remember our brothers and sisters who are proudly serving our country so that we can keep enjoying the freedoms that we have today.