DNR

The Wisconsin DNR has announced plans to give residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy many outdoor activities like fishing, visiting state parks, or riding on ATV trails without having to pay any fees or licenses.

Outdoor enthusiasts and the general public interested in learning about or commenting on Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) strategies for managing Grand Marais area lakes and streams have until Jan. 3 to ask questions or submit comments.  Let your voice be heard.

It's been a pretty mild week, with the warmest day potentially Thursday.  Thursday will start nice and sunny, with a hi temp near 40 degrees before a potential rain and ice event hits Thursday night into Friday and then changes to snow.  With warm temps comes an increased danger of going out onto the ice.  A safe spot you were fishing on on one day could turn into a danger zone the next.

Well, I've been talking about getting on the ice for a couple of weeks now and finally decided from what I was hearing that there was enough ice to go.  Got up bright and early this last Saturday, picked up my fishing partners, and hit the ice.

Wolf hunters that were selected from the wolf hunt lottery must purchase their license by October 24th, otherwise those unclaimed licenses will go up for sale.  At this point, the Minnesota DNR has sold 1,155 of the 3,600 wolf licenses made available.

Once again, we are just a few short weeks away from the best time of year:  deer season.  Like very year, I have to put this disclaimer out:  I'm talking about firearm season.  (I know bow hunting has been open for quite some time.)  So once again, we will refresh the list of things to do to prepare for hunting. 1.  Rally the troops.

Growing up here in the Northland, I never really was exposed to pheasant hunting.  I had been partridge hunting (which is different) and other small game hunting too.  When I lived in Southern MN for a few years, I was introduced to Pheasant hunting, and found it's a trip worth taking.

The MN DNR will be holding a deer hunting clinic for those interested in the Minnesota pastime on August 12th in Mora, MN.  The clinic will teach youth 10 and older deer habits, how to track dear, and other techniques.  Like how not to totally screw up like this dude did.

If you have not experienced the beauty of the North Shore, you must!  There are so many different areas to explore and marvel at nature and how water and weather have shaped our world.  One such area will be getting an upgrade for your comfort while you explore.  Tettegouche State Park.

Every year there are new laws added to the book.  This year there is no exception.  Make sure to pick up a booklet so you have it handy for this weekend.  Also a big thing this year is the invasive species prevention push, so make sure to follow those rules as well.  The DNR will be out, so be legal!

Earlier this month, boaters were scrambling to get the new Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Sticker on their boat.  Now the law has changed and you are no longer required to display the sticker on your boat.  You will by the year 2015 have to complete an online course by law.  Fines will increase this year starting July 1st for not properly following AIS precautions.

There's a new law that was passed last year in Minnesota that requires boaters this season to have a "invasive species tips" sticker on the boat.  The DNR hopes this will help boaters be more aware of invasive species and how to prevent the spread from lake to lake. Where can you get them?  Here's 3 places besides the DMV you can go.