Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

I am not ready for winter-like weather yet! This is my official stand on this topic. Unfortunately, no matter how much I object, it is not up for a vote.

The most recent small game hunter survey from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources revealed the fewest number of hunters pursuing species like grouse, waterfowl and squirrels since the DNR began keeping track of these figures in 1969. Small game license sales have been trending lower for the past 20 years.

I see two reasons for the decline in the number of small game hunters. The first is the number of acres of habitat that are being made available to the public. Smaller farms are being bought out by larger farmers, and with that comes the destroying of wildlife habitat. If you take a drive around rural Minnesota, you can witness the loss of habitat for yourselves. It seems that fields that once held windrows that were used for habitat for small game are now almost totally being planted border to border.

If you are a person who has lived around this area all your life, like I have, you may remember the days of wide fence lines that were used to help habitat. Not only do these widened fence lines help habitat they also help with soil erosion.

The other main reason I see for the decline in small game licenses is the lack of our youth getting involved in hunting. Our youth are the future of our outdoor heritage and if they are not introduced to the sport, they will not be there to support the sport in the future. The low number of hunting licenses is partially affected by the number of acres that are being turned from habitat to cropland.

It is never too late to introduce someone to small game hunting. In Freeborn County alone we have 11 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) available to the public. Squirrel, rabbit and grouse hunting is a great way to get our youth involved in the sport of hunting.

As a kid I would sometimes go pheasant hunting with my uncles, Harvey and Orv, when that happened my Uncle Orville would let me use his old .410 double barrel. We would hunt the cornfield that was adjacent to the woods that now holds the disc golf course by Bancroft Bay Park.

I have to say that I, most assuredly, never sent trembles of fear through the pheasant world when I set foot into the field. It was all about getting outdoors and the fact that I was allowed to hunt with my two uncles and my older cousin Tom.

In this day and age, hunting land is at a premium so that is where the WMAs come in.

 

How many WMAs are there and where are they located?

As a result of more than 50 years of support by hunters, trappers, wildlife enthusiasts and legislators, today there are over 1.3 million acres of high quality habitat in about 1,500 WMAs located throughout the state, making it one of the best and largest WMA systems in the country.

Ranging from prairies and wetlands to forests and brush lands, WMAs provide opportunities for hunting, fishing, trapping and wildlife watching activities. Hundreds of thousands of hunters use these public wildlife lands. Pheasants, waterfowl, deer and ruffed grouse are the major game species hunted, but WMAs also provide wild turkey, sharp-tailed grouse, rabbit and squirrel hunting. Wildlife resources are very important to Minnesota. 15% of Minnesotans hunt and 52% of Minnesota residents watch wildlife, the highest participation rate in the country. Hunting and wildlife watching are a $1-billion-dollar industry in Minnesota.

 

What is the future outlook for WMAs?

Despite the program’s success, the state is still losing valuable wildlife habitat at an alarming rate. Continued management efforts on existing WMA lands and acquisition of new parcels will be critical to maintaining quality wildlife habitat in Minnesota. According to a 2002 Citizens Advisory Committee Report on the direction the WMA system should take, acquisition efforts should be accelerated with a long-term 50-year goal of acquiring 702,200 acres of new WMA lands.

The Shellrock River Watershed District’s goal for the Church Lake property is to benefit water quality by replacing agricultural ground with native grasses and improve wetlands. Although some of the folks who live on adjoining properties have concerns about this acquisition, there are landowners who want to make a difference. I believe that it will be a good thing to add more public land in our county.

Please remember to keep our troops in your prayers. We must not let ourselves forget those who are still putting themselves in harm’s way so that we can enjoy all of the wonderful freedoms that we have today.