Outdoor Notebook: Rydell Refuge to be closed for 2 special deer hunts – Grand Forks Herald

ERSKINE, Minn. – Rydell National Wildlife Refuge will be closed to the general public during two special deer hunts held at the refuge in October. This closure also applies to bow deer hunters and small game hunters who intend to use the refuge.

The Accessible Deer Hunt, held in cooperation with the Options for Independent Living Interstate Resource Center, will take place Thursday, October 13 through Saturday, October 15.

The Youth Mentored Deer Hunt, scheduled for Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, is a cooperative effort with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for youth ages 12-15.

Both hunts have a limited number of entrants who were selected through a lottery earlier in the year. Signage will be posted at shelter entry points during both closures.

For more information, contact Gregg Knutsen, Refuge Manager, at (218) 686-4329 or [email protected].

– Herald Staff Report

WASHINGTON – Results from a new poll of 800 random voters across the US indicate an overwhelming majority support better management of chronic wasting disease through additional federal investment, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership reported in a news release.

Among hunters and non-hunters, 94% said the presence of wildlife was important to their quality of life, and 92% believed wildlife is important to their state’s economy.

When it comes to chronic wasting disease, the ever-fatal wildlife neurodegenerative disease that affects members of the deer family, 88% of Americans surveyed support additional federal investment in managing chronic wasting disease nationwide. state. Overall, 96% of respondents support their states taking steps to slow the spread of CWD across the landscape.

The survey was conducted by New Bridge Strategy on behalf of Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the National Deer Association. Both organizations have been working for years to educate the public about the impacts of chronic wasting disease on deer, give hunters the tools to prevent the transmission of chronic wasting disease, and alert policymakers to the fact that the rampant spread of chronic wasting disease threatens the future of deer and feral deer. hunting in North America.

“This important survey confirmed what we suspected about people’s concern about the importance of controlling chronic wasting with 96% saying it is extremely important,” Torin Miller, NDA policy director, said in a statement. “The need to support our state and federal wildlife agencies with the resources they need to make a tangible impact in slowing the spread of this 100% fatal disease could not be clearer, and we are asking decision makers at all levels to take action.”

Currently, the federal government sends $10 million in funding annually to state and tribal agencies for chronic wasting disease management through cooperative agreements with the US Department of Agriculture and spends $2 million annually on CWD research. chronic wasting disease at the National Wildlife Research Center.

The CWD Research and Management Act, if passed by the Senate this year, would increase overall federal investment to $70 million annually through fiscal year 2028 and evenly divide this funding between CWD research and management priorities.

The new poll also showed extremely strong support for holding the captive deer industry accountable: 93% of Americans support increasing the disease detection standards required for captive cervid operations if they are to be accredited as ” low risk” by the USDA Department of Animal and Plant Health. Inspection Service and 90% support limiting the movement of live captive deer between facilities to reduce the potential for disease spread.

– Herald Staff Report

ERSKINE, Minn. – Members of the Friends of Rydell and Glacial Ridge Refuges Association will participate in a “Walk for the Wild” event, scheduled for noon to 4 pm on Sunday, October 9 at the Rydell National Wildlife Refuge.

Participating nonprofit partners in national wildlife refuges across the country will host Walk for the Wild events during National Wildlife Refuge Week, scheduled for October 8-15.

More information on how to participate in Walk for Wild events at Rydell or other national wildlife refuges, either in person or virtually, is available at support.americaswildliferefuges.org.

– Herald Staff Report

ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has chosen the winners of its turkey and pheasant stamp contests.

Rushford, Minnesota, artist Michael Sieve won the Minnesota Pheasant Stamp Contest with an oil painting of pheasants in flight. The winner was selected on September 29 from 13 eligible submissions. Second place went to Mark Thone of Shakopee, Minnesota; third place went to Scott Storm of Freeport, Minnesota.

St. Charles, Minnesota, artist Micah Hanson won the Minnesota Turkey Stamp Contest with an acrylic painting of wild turkeys in the woods. The winner was selected on September 29 from among five eligible submissions. Second place was Sam Larsen from Bemidji; third place went to Stephen Hamrick of Lakeville, Minnesota.

Pheasant and turkey stamps can be purchased in combination with hunting licenses or as collector’s items. More information: mndnr.gov/stamps.

– Herald Staff Report

ST. PAUL – The Minnesota DNR is seeking applicants for about $48,000 in grants to develop and expand shooting ranges in the state. The money, which the Legislature provided to address shooting range capacity issues, is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The application period is open, but funding is due June 30, 2023.

The grants, which require a 1:1 match, are available to work at five-place, pistol, rifle, clay pigeon or trap shooting ranges. Grants of $2,500 to $25,000 are available, and grant recipients must allow members of the public to shoot at reasonable times and for reasonable fees.

“We awarded grants to eight shooting ranges in the last few months, which is a positive step in ensuring that anyone who wants to participate in shooting sports has the opportunity to do so,” said Chuck Niska, DNR shooting range coordinator. “These remaining grant dollars will help further improve access.”

Recently approved grants are for shooting ranges at Blooming Prairie, Cass Lake, Forest Lake, Gaylord, Hampton, Leroy, Litchfield, and McGregor.

More information: mndnr.gov/Grants/Recreation/RangeDev3.html.

– Herald Staff Report

BISMARCK – The North Dakota Department of Fish and Game is taking orders for its North Dakota OUTDOOR calendar, the source for all hunting season and application dates for 2023. Along with color photographs of life wilderness and exceptional scenery of North Dakota, the calendar includes times of sunrise and sunset. and phases of the moon.

Order online at gf.nd.gov or send $3 each, plus $1 postage, to Calendar, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501-5095. Be sure to include a three-line return address with your order, or the post office may not deliver our return mail.

The calendar is the December issue of North Dakota OUTDOORS magazine, so current subscribers will automatically receive it in the mail.

– Herald Staff Report