10-31-2007, 08:10 PM
Here are the headlines and question of the week from today's DNR statewide news packet, which is produced and distributed by the DNR's Information and Education Bureau.
You can always find DNR news releases in the newsroom on our Web site at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/news/index.html.
DNR NEWS HEADLINES - OCTOBER 30
Deer drive safety must be top priority
Facts about Minnesota firearms deer hunting season Another strong harvest during Camp Ripley bow hunts Minnesota deer firearms season opens Nov. 3; hunters urged to follow tree stand safety guidelines DNR to utilize aircraft in deer feeding ban enforcement Deer hunters reminded to review the rules for ATV/OHV operation on public lands Hunters should ask for permission to hunt on private property Special deer hunts to be held in 34 Minnesota state parks
DNR QUESTION OF THE WEEK - OCTOBER 30
Q: It's been about two months since the devastating floods in southeastern Minnesota. Now that DNR fisheries experts have regrouped and evaluated conditions, what's needed to return the Whitewater River and it's tributaries to quality trout fishing conditions?
A: I have been asked this question many times since the flood and I think the answer is very simple, "water quality." Floods and the resulting changes in stream appearance don't make or break the stream. If the watershed was in good shape before the flood then the streams will recover quickly.<br />
Although rocks and pools got moved around, the fish will be back. In a sense, the streams merely threw back at us the silt we have smothered them in, and in places now resemble mountain streams. How long will it take before the silt smothers them again? That is the real question here. With the changes and trends in cropping practices in the southeast the future doesn't look good. We have passed the peak of water quality and are now looking at the result of a region that has changed from dairy farming and the associated rotation of oats, alfalfa, pasture and corn, to corn/soybean row cropping. The flood has little to do with it but it will make a good excuse for those that don't want to acknowledge the slower less dramatic destruction that is happening on the landscape day to day.
- John Huber, hatchery supervisor, DNR Crystal Springs Hatchery
You can always find DNR news releases in the newsroom on our Web site at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/news/index.html.
DNR NEWS HEADLINES - OCTOBER 30
Deer drive safety must be top priority
Facts about Minnesota firearms deer hunting season Another strong harvest during Camp Ripley bow hunts Minnesota deer firearms season opens Nov. 3; hunters urged to follow tree stand safety guidelines DNR to utilize aircraft in deer feeding ban enforcement Deer hunters reminded to review the rules for ATV/OHV operation on public lands Hunters should ask for permission to hunt on private property Special deer hunts to be held in 34 Minnesota state parks
DNR QUESTION OF THE WEEK - OCTOBER 30
Q: It's been about two months since the devastating floods in southeastern Minnesota. Now that DNR fisheries experts have regrouped and evaluated conditions, what's needed to return the Whitewater River and it's tributaries to quality trout fishing conditions?
A: I have been asked this question many times since the flood and I think the answer is very simple, "water quality." Floods and the resulting changes in stream appearance don't make or break the stream. If the watershed was in good shape before the flood then the streams will recover quickly.<br />
Although rocks and pools got moved around, the fish will be back. In a sense, the streams merely threw back at us the silt we have smothered them in, and in places now resemble mountain streams. How long will it take before the silt smothers them again? That is the real question here. With the changes and trends in cropping practices in the southeast the future doesn't look good. We have passed the peak of water quality and are now looking at the result of a region that has changed from dairy farming and the associated rotation of oats, alfalfa, pasture and corn, to corn/soybean row cropping. The flood has little to do with it but it will make a good excuse for those that don't want to acknowledge the slower less dramatic destruction that is happening on the landscape day to day.
- John Huber, hatchery supervisor, DNR Crystal Springs Hatchery