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Outdoors headliners: the stories of the year

A pheasant plan was made, a buffer bill passed. But Mille Lacs was the year's top outdoors story.

By Tony Kennedy

December 27, 2015 at 1:13AM

NO FISHING: For the first time ever, the DNR shut down walleye fishing in midseason on Lake Mille Lacs to address a critical shortage of the fish. The ban started late on Aug. 3, the same day Frankie Garrusso pretended to kiss one of his last catches. Gov. Mark Dayton later insisted on a limited ice fishing season. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A walleye crisis on Lake Mille Lacs that gave way to an unprecedented, midseason shutdown of fishing topped a year of major outdoors news in Minnesota that also included the launch of an ambitious plan by Gov. Mark Dayton to return pheasant hunting to its past glory.

At several junctures throughout the year, the governor paired his interest in wildlife conservation with an urgent campaign to stop farm-related water pollution. He beckoned the 2015 Legislature to pass a law mandating vegetative buffer strips around rivers and streams while also setting the stage for $800 million worth of perpetual conservation easements on private land for prairie grass restoration and wetland preservation.

The Mille Lacs decision that closed walleye fishing Aug. 3 was easily the most dramatic news of the year, chafing anglers and resort owners who criticized the DNR for its management decisions. The state has vowed to revive the walleye fishing mecca as quickly as possible while trying to minimize local disruption. Still, it will take years for enough smaller walleyes to grow up into a class capable of supplying a sizable harvest while also contributing to future reproduction, the agency has said.

The problem of too few whitetail deer also drew attention in 2015. With bucks scarce in northern Minnesota, legislators were pressured to shake things up. They ordered an audit of the DNR's management practices due by spring.

Meanwhile, this year's deer harvest was up 14 percent by the end of November, aided by mild weather and early herd-management results.

In other Minnesota outdoors news this year, independent bear researcher Lynn Rogers of Ely won back his right to place web cameras in bear dens; DNR enforcement officers surveilled and arrested a Dawson man in a major deer poaching case now tied up in court; the DNR unveiled a new elk plan to grow one of three herds in northwestern Minnesota and cold-weather Mille Lacs anglers caught two potential world-record muskies in November. Each fish was measured, photographed and released.

Tony Kennedy • 612-673-4213

FOR THE HERD: With deer hunting restrictions still in place to help boost a whitetail herd that had declined to grim proportions in the north, Minnesota hunters had more luck this year. Initial DNR harvest data showed double-digit increases in many categories in 2015. The hunt was aided by mild weather. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

FOR THE WATER: The Legislature passed a buffer strip law requiring vegetative filters along major streams and rivers to protect against chemical runoff from farms. Jeanette and David Stottrup of rural Litchfield are among the believers. They’ve enrolled their farmland into state programs to improve the environment. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

FOR THE BEARS: Lynn Rogers won a partial victory in his lawsuit against the DNR under a July ruling by the state Court of Appeals that allowed him to resume putting web cameras in bear dens. But the founder of the North American Bear Center in Ely didn’t win back authority to put radio collars on the animals. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

FOR THE PHEASANTS: Gov. Mark Dayton introduced a 10-point plan in September to resurrect pheasant populations and rebuild what used to be a vibrant tradition. Derived from a “pheasant summit’’ Dayton convened last December, the plan hinges on restoration of prairie grasses decimated by farming. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

about the writer

Tony Kennedy

Reporter

Tony Kennedy is an outdoors writer covering Minnesota news about fishing, hunting, wildlife, conservation, BWCA, natural resource management, public land, forests and water.