•South Dakota officials are considering extending the pheasant season until Jan. 31. They say there is no biological reason not to, and it would bring the pheasant season in line with other seasons that end on Jan. 31. As proposed, the 2008 season would run Oct. 18-Jan. 31, 2009.
Did you know?
•Minnesota hunters who applied for a spring wild turkey hunting license but were not selected in the lottery can buy a surplus license on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 5 p.m. Monday.
•Wisconsin had the second-highest deer harvest on record last season, with hunters killing 518,573 whitetails. Archers established a record of 116,042. Gun deer hunters shot 402,531 deer, their third-best season ever.
•Two moose in northwest Minnesota became sick and were destroyed by state officials, underscoring the problem moose are having in that region. One moose near Blackduck was wandering in circles and plagued by brain worm. The other near Bemidji was found ill in a road ditch and dispatched.
•Some 600 to 800 canvasback and redhead ducks have been found dead along the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair shorelines in Michigan, and they died from malnutrition, wildlife officials reported. More ducks have been wintering in that area, creating greater competition for food. To read more, see www.startribune.com/a4132.
•The spread of bovine tuberculosis in northwestern Minnesota has forced the Department of Natural Resources to consider killing some wild elk there. To read more, see www.startribune.com/outdoors.
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None of the boat’s occupants, two adults and two juveniles, were wearing life jackets, officials said.