Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

We have been given a temporary break from the wind and rain for at least a few days and I plan on taking full advantage of it. I got off on the right foot this past Wednesday when my oldest son Brian came over for our weekly morning coffee and catching up session. On this particular day, he asked me if I wanted to go with him to visit my grandson’s house and see the progress that he and his future wife have made on remodeling their house. After visiting their house, Brian wanted to know if I’d like to go for a little ride down by Upper Twin Lake. I am always up for a drive in the country where I can enjoy the fall colors. As we drove around, he pointed out different WMAs (Wildlife Management Areas) that are abundant in the Upper and Lower Twin Lakes areas.

I have always been a fan of opening up more land for public use and to enjoy the morning with my oldest son who has raised all of his sons to be hunters was special to me. Brian pointed out one area where he and his oldest Trevor had gone duck hunting when they were both younger. He did a lot of driving around with his boys checking out different WMAs when they were growing up. All of those boys like to hunt but Trevor, of course, takes it to the next level when it comes to anything outdoors.

After we had covered most of the area around the Twin Lakes, we drove over by Bear Lake before heading back to Albert Lea. While we were driving around, we spotted a few deer, some close to the road and some in the distance. I asked Brian if he would like to swing out on South Shore Drive by the Jugland Dam so we did just that. I would say that on any given day you will see waterfowl; on this day there were two eagles perched in the trees overhanging the river and some egrets perched on the rocks in the rapids.

Brian said about a year ago he and his wife Kim had taken their canoe in the river below the dam and they were joined by a couple of their boys who were in kayaks. He said they discovered a narrow channel along the way which they had taken the canoe up and under the canoe the water was crystal clear and they could see many fish, including big northern, walleyes and bass. They had no fishing tackle with them but Trevor, as usual, had his rod and reel along but the strong current made it hard to hold the kayak in place.

I know that Brian was amazed at the water clarity in the river which is a direct result of the work that is being done by our Shellrock River Watershed. When they first formed the watershed, I was a little bit skeptical because of the past record of many decades of folks trying to clean up Albert Lea Lake, but never getting any action. We finally realized many of those folks’ dreams and it is now becoming a reality. There is still a lot of work yet to be done, but they are definitely doing a good job and are on the right track to cleaner waters.

Getting back to the WMAs, I attended the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener in Austin a couple of weeks back and one of the highlights of the weekend was the donation of a 141-acre parcel of land by the Worlein Family to the Hormel Foundation, which was then purchased by Pheasants Forever in 2018. This parcel of land will compliment nearby public lands and also help improve water quality in Mower County.

The restoration of the upland prairie (81 acres) began in May of 2019 with the planting of round-up ready soybeans. The balance of the prairie restoration (60 acres) is planned for the spring of 2020. Volunteers from Pheasants Forever and the Austin High School trap team will pitch in to prepare this parcel for public use when it joins the State of Minnesota’s other Wildlife Management Areas.

WMAs are established to protect those lands and waters that have high potential for:

• Protecting wildlife habitat for future generations.

• Providing citizens with opportunities for hunting, fishing and wildlife watching.

• Promoting important wildlife-based tourism in the state.

As a result of more than 50 years of support by hunters, trappers, wildlife enthusiasts and elected officials, there are over 1.3 million acres of high quality habitat in about 1,500 WMAs across the state.

I have always been a supporter of preserving habitat whenever and wherever possible. Giving the public access to this land will help preserve our outdoors heritage for future generations.

Please remember to keep our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers. Without them we would not be able to enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today. When you show respect for our flag you are also honoring them.