When bass attack

Posted at 5:21 PM on May 8, 2012 by Michael Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Lakes, Rivers and streams, Sports & Recreation

In the rushing streams and clear cool waters found from Minnesota to the Hudson Bay, the prized smallmouth bass feeds on crayfish, insects and the occasional bait launched into the water by a hopeful angler.

They can be greedy, as freshwater scientist Gretchen Anderson Hansen found while collecting crayfish in a lake in Vilas County, Wis., when she found herself being observed by a handful of hungry smallmouth bass.

Anderson Hansen, who does her research work with the UW-Madison Center for Limnology, was able to protect her samples this time around, but she's not always so lucky. She says "opportunistic" bass "often grab her 'samples' before she gets a handle on them."

Smallmouth bass are native to the Mississippi River watershed and spread into lakes around Minnesota during the 1800s including Lake Vermillion and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

An eight-pound small mouth caught in Otter Tail in 1948 is recorded as the largest catch of this fish in Minnesota.

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Quarry plan faces more hurdles

Posted at 2:53 PM on February 17, 2012 by Mark Steil (0 Comments)
Filed under: Rivers and streams, Southwest Minnesota, mining

(Photo courtesy of Anne Queenan)

A disputed plan to quarry granite along the Minnesota River in the western part of the state has moved a step forward. But it may also face a significant new hurdle.

The North Dakota-based Strata Corporation wants to mine the stone for use as aggregate in road construction and other projects. The Big Stone County Planning Commission Thursday evening recommended that the full county board approve the idea, if certain conditions are meet.

Darren Wilke, a county environmental officer, said the vote was 5-3 to recommend in favor of the project. But the planning commission also recommended that the county board require the company to address about a dozen environmental concerns connected to the project, for dust, noise, water quality and other issues.

Quarry opponents say it would cause irreversible damage to a scenic leg of the Upper Minnesota River near Ortonville, Minn. They're concerned the operation would harm wild animal and plant life in the area, lower property values and damage the region's tourism potential.

And there's another potential roadblock for the project. The Ortonville Township Board has passed a moratorium on new projects like the proposed quarry. The township plans to set up its own planning and zoning commission which would have to approve Strata's plans. Strata officials say they are reviewing the township action.

Several other agencies also must sign-off on the project, including the state Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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Restoring sturgeon

Posted at 10:53 AM on February 10, 2012 by Dan Gunderson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Northwest Minnesota, Outdoors, Rivers and streams

Photo courtesy John Dickelman

A couple of weeks ago, John Dickelman who runs a guide service on the Red Rive, was fishing with Dave Longtine (pictured above) when they pulled a small sturgeon through the ice.

They released the fish after snapping a photo, but Dickelman said it was very exciting to actually see a sturgeon.

The aquatic giant from the past is making a comeback on the Red River thanks to a series of dam modification projects that I reported on today for MPR's Morning Edition.

The Red River was full of massive sturgeon in the 1800s, but construction of dams and overfishing mostly eliminated the population by the mid 1900s.

Photo courtesy Becker County Historical Society

Restoring sturgeon is a long term process. The fish grow slowly and typically don't spawn until they are 25 years old. They can live more than 100 years and reach 200 pounds or more.

The state Department of Natural Resources is stocking thousands of small sturgeon, and the White Earth Nation is also stocking sturgeon in lakes which feed into the Red River.

The ultimate goal is to remove barriers so sturgeon can migrate the entire length of the Red River and up the Otter Tail River.

Anglers who catch sturgeon must release them, but perhaps some day, 200-pounders will once again be pulled from the Red River.

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Minnesota River quarry idea sparks debate

Posted at 1:43 PM on February 1, 2012 by Mark Steil (2 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Rivers and streams, Southwest Minnesota

(Photo courtesy of Anne Queenan)

A proposal to quarry granite along the Minnesota River on the state's western border is generating debate in Big Stone County.

North Dakota-based Strata Corporation wants to turn the granite into stone aggregate for concrete, asphalt and other construction materials. Officials at the Grand Forks company say there is a severe shortage of aggregate in the construction industry.

A group of nearby residents argue the site about two miles southeast of Ortonville should be left as it is.

The above photo shows some of the land included in the proposed quarry area. Residents are concerned the development would have a variety of bad consequences, including lowering nearby property values, hurting wildlife and harming the Minnesota River's tourism potential in the area. They're also worried about environmental damage, wondering if the quarry will hurt surface and ground water supplies.

The Big Stone County Planning Commission will continue a hearing on the issue Thursday evening in the town of Clinton. A previous session in early January drew a full house, about 75 people.

It's not known if the commission will make a recommendation on the issue Thursday. But no matter what side of the debate they eventually come down on, the matter will go to the full county board.

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Mother nature a bigger problem than farmers for Sauk canoeists

Posted at 10:26 AM on June 23, 2011 by Michael Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Rivers and streams, Water

By Alison Dirr

Map of obstructions along the Sauk River

View Sauk River in a larger map

Eight days after they departed from Lake Osakis, Scott Miller and Todd Foster reached their final destination having encountered far fewer fences than they had predicted.

Background on the trip.

"There was probably six that were across the river," Foster said. "[The number] was significantly lower than we thought and most of those were right away in the first half mile, three quarters of a mile in the river."

He added that they saw around a dozen fences that he believed had once crossed the river. These fences reached to the banks but did not block the waterway.

Adam Hjelm, education coordinator for the Sauk River Watershed District, was part of a SRWD group that canoed the upper Sauk in 2008. He estimated that they encountered about 30 fences between Lake Osakis and Melrose.

Hjelm and Foster noted a number of possible reasons for the disparity.

According to Hjelm, farmers often do not pasture their cattle around the river until later in the summer after other pastures have been depleted. As a result, he said, many farmers would not have put their fences across the river yet.

He also said that Foster and Miller may have passed right over some of the lower fences because of high water levels this year.

Foster also noted that an accident last year on the river may have prompted farmers and landowners to rethink their use of fences.

"Maybe because of that girl that got hurt last year farmers and landowners were talking amongst themselves and decided that, 'Oh hey, this is not good if people get hurt and we're going to be liable for the injuries,'" he said.

According to Foster, neither the SRWD or the Department of Natural Resources has reached out to landowners on an individual basis to address the fencing issue. If they were removed, he said, it was entirely the landowners' prerogative.

Tell us about Minnesota's river and streams We want to know about the rivers and streams that you know best. Which are in the best condition? Which ones have problem spots? Share your observations here.

But fences are not the only concern to paddlers, he said. The DNR is responsible for removing fallen trees, which are especially noticeable in the upper Sauk.

"Certainly the second day, the second seven miles there was very little fences across but it would be very difficult for the average paddler to make it through because of all the snags and trees across the river," he said.

Foster and Miller used GPS technology to catalog the barriers in the river and planned to relay their findings to the DNR. The travelers have not been in contact with the DNR since they returned from their trip.

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