Almanac: Duck stamp could cost $10 more

Buried in President Bush's recently announced $3.1 trillion 2009 budget is a recommendation to raise the federal duck stamp, currently $15, to $25.

The increase would be the first in 17 years -- since 1991. Conservation groups have been supportive of an increase, arguing that inflation has eroded the stamp's buying power. The $15 stamp in 1991 is worth just $9.48 in 2008 dollars. Had the stamp price been indexed to inflation, it would cost $23.74 this year.

Any increase must be approved by Congress.

Bush's proposal conflicts with the proposed Wetland Loan Act, which would borrow $400 million from future duck stamp sales and use the cash to protect vital wetland habitat now -- at today's prices instead of tomorrow's.

A version of the bill calls for an immediate $10 duck stamp increase, with another $10 increase in 2015. The proposal has strong support from conservation groups, including Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, but it has foundered in Congress. Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman is a co-author.

"There hasn't been a lot of support, but it's still alive," said Neil Shader, Ducks Unlimited communications specialist. He said Bush's proposal to increase the cost of the duck stamp could jump-start discussions on the Wetland Loan Act.

"A price increase is long overdue," said John Devney, senior vice president of Delta Waterfowl, a conservation group based in Bismarck, N.D.

Devney said his group prefers passage of the Wetland Loan Act rather than just a price increase, so dollars can be tapped now before land and conservation costs rise even higher.

After 10 years of debate, Minnesotans will be able to decide whether they want to increase the state's sales tax to help fund natural resources, the environment and the arts, under legislation approved last week.

The November election ballot will include a proposal to raise the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1 percent. If voters approve, the proposed amendment to the state Constitution would eventually generate about $276 million a year.

About $91 million would go for fish and wildlife habitat improvement, a similar amount for clean water, $4.5 million for sustainable drinking water, $39.3 million for parks and trails and $54.5 million for the arts and cultural heritage.

It would increase the sales tax on a $10 purchase by about 3.8 cents. A family with a median income of $56,000 a year would pay about an extra $56 a year in sales taxes, according to Senate analysts.

A Duluth-area angler spent a long, cold night in his truck on Otter Tail Lake near Wadena in northwestern Minnesota during a blizzard last weekend after his vehicle got stuck in slush.

Strong winds produced white-out conditions on the lake and a minus-50-degree windchill.

Yet Joseph Hatcher considers himself a very lucky angler.

That's because Hatcher, 19, was headed for the Otter Tail River when he got stuck in his Jeep Cherokee during the white-out.

"It's a good thing I got stuck, because I was just 300 feet away from open water," Hatcher told the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

"He had blankets and warm clothing and boots," said Tricia Plautz of Henning, Minn., one of two DNR conservation officers who rescued Hatcher the next morning.

She said Hatcher was fortunate he didn't drive into open water and was smart to stay in his truck and not try to walk off the lake or back to his ice fishing house.

The next morning, with continued white-out conditions, Hatcher called 911 and the dispatcher was able to pinpoint his location using GPS coordinates. Plautz and conservation officer Gary Forsberg of Fergus Falls used a GPS to locate Hatcher.

"We couldn't tell which way we were going; we just followed our GPS coordinates," Plautz said.

Then the DNR officers got stuck in a snowdrift. The wind died for a moment, and they could see Hatcher's vehicle a few hundred yards away.

Minnesota hunters harvested slightly more than 260,000 deer during 2007, the fourth-highest deer harvest ever and the fifth consecutive year the harvest exceeded a quarter-million deer.

Firearms hunters killed 224,250 deer, while archery and muzzleloader hunters harvested 24,200 and 12,000 deer, respectively. During the early antlerless season, hunters tagged 7,166 deer.

Overall, the statewide firearms harvest was down 2 percent, archery was 4 percent lower and muzzleloader harvest decreased 11 percent from 2006. The declines likely were caused by management changes that reduced the number of deer that could be taken in some areas, the DNR said.

Simplifying deer hunting regulations will be the topic of nine public meetings scheduled in March by the DNR.

Proposals include:

• Changing the number of deer hunting zones from six to two.

• Eliminating license validation and changing cartridge requirements.

For a list of meeting places, see www.startribune.com/ a4014. Those who cannot attend the meetings can e-mail comments to wildlife@dnr. state.mn.us.

• A wolf suffering from mange and wounds inflicted apparently by other wolves was killed by a DNR conservation officer in the Tower, Minn., area.

• A couple in the Grand Marais area woke up recently to loud banging on their deck.

After lights were turned on and the homeowner banged on the window, the wolves and whatever they were attacking ran off, leaving lots of blood behind.

• An injured deer that bedded down for a week on a porch near Willow River had to be euthanized.

• Four reports of a cougar in the Tracy area have been received in the past few months, with two possible sightings.

• Walleye fishing in the main channel of the Mississippi River near Winona has been very good, with many anglers catching limits, reported officer Tom Hemker.

• Deer hunters in Iowa harvested 146,215 deer -- including 75,000 does -- during the 2007-08 shotgun season. That's down a bit from last year.