Waterfowl hunter survey

Waterfowl hunters: You have a chance to tell the Department of Natural Resources what you think about upcoming waterfowl hunting regulations. The agency is taking an online survey now. Question include whether the shooting hours on the opener should be 9 a.m. or earlier and whether the state's 4 p.m. shooting closure time is a good idea. The survey also asks about scaup limits and Canada goose regulations.

You can take the survey at www.mndnr.gov/waterfowl.

Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife section chief, said the online survey isn't a substitute for the agency's formal survey of waterfowl hunters, but is a way for waterfowl hunters to weigh-in on potential regulations.

"Hearing from hunters helps us shape our decisions," Simon said in a statement.

Welcome to Minnesota

Non-resident anglers obviously are important to Minnesota's tourist industry. They are welcomed with open arms. But Minnesota conservation officers have had some interesting run-ins with non-resident anglers recently:

•A non-resident angler who was fishing without a license gave officer Don Bozovsky of Hibbing a false name and address from Las Vegas. The officer ran the information on his computer, and it of course came back negative. The individual insisted that the information was correct, but eventually realized that his deception was not going to fly and finally provided his real name. He lived in San Francisco. He was cited not only for angling without a license, but for giving a peace officer a false name.

•Then there was the out-of-state angler encountered by officer Jeff Halverson of Staples. He told Halverson he didn't know why he needed a fishing license to fish. He also stated he was only going to be here for a week to 10 days and didn't think he should have to buy a license for a short period of time. His excuses didn't fly, and he was cited.