Excitement and hunt more than match up with expectations at Governor’s Pheasant Opener

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Tom Cherveny

: Tom Brusven, chair of the Chippewa County chapter of Pheasants Forever, at left, led these hunters on a successful start to the 2011 season. Joining Brusven were, from left, Joe Hoppe, Satveer Chaudhary, Tracy Ekola, Lindberg Ekola, and Sam Claassen.

MONTEVIDEO — They were keeping score at the Governor’s Pheasant Opener, and at the end of the day it added up to 52 roosters harvested and some 352 birds flushed.

A good showing for 85 hunters when considering the nose dive we’ve seen in pheasant numbers.

The inaugural Governor’s Pheasant Opener in Montevideo beat the expectations of many, and by all accounts served its purpose of introducing people to the hunting opportunities that are found in the area.

Dave Trauba, manager of the Lac qui Parle wildlife area for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, was among those smiling after the morning hunt. He’s been around for the good years too, and noted that even in the best of times an opening day harvest of one bird per hunter would be bragging material.

Hunters and camera-toting media folks were led into the field by volunteer guides, and a few parties just struck out on their own. DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr led his son and daughter, Hunter, age, 13; and Jocelyn, 11; to a Nature Conservancy property. It was acquired through Outdoor Heritage funds and consequently is open to public hunting. Hunter bagged his limit of two roosters. Jocelyn carried a BB gun and according to her father, totally ventilated a pop can found at the parking spot.

Congressman Collin Peterson and his party headed to lands north ofAppleton where they’ve opened the season in the past, and had birds flying all over. Party members credit Peterson with some sharp shooting to bag his birds, too.

This writer was part of a party of seven led by Tom Brusven that dropped four roosters and flushed plenty of hens. Brusven is chair of Pheasants Forever in Chippewa County, and our success had lots to do with the work of that chapter and its members.

It’s an active chapter. Brusven said they have to limit ticket sales for the annual banquet to 400, because that’s all they can handle.

Or, as Matt Holland, senior field coordinator with Pheasants Forever from New London put it earlier in the day: “They get it in Chippewa County.’’

Hopefully, all the media attention focused on the opener helped get that message out there to the rest of the world.

The most important message of the day came from the many participants who voiced their love for the sport, getting outdoors and the friendships it fostered. Political rivals jested and focused on what really brought everyone together.

Getting birds was a bonus, said Paul Johannes of Willmar, who had the honors of leading the gun dogs in Governor Mark Dayton’s hunting party. “It was more about the grass, the day, the dogs and everybody being out,’’ he said.

- Tom Cherveny

Some news stories come in small bites

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Tom Cherveny

OLIVIA — Some news stories come in small bites, and don’t always see the light of day as a result.

One such case is an on-going health initiative in Renville County aimed at county employees.

Some aspects of the effort have gotten attention, such as a tobacco cessation program that included a decision to ban smoking from county property.

But other aspects of the campaign don’t always merit a news story on their own, but taken as a whole do tell an important story.

That’s the case here, where many of the changes are subtle. One is an on-going effort to replace sugar- and fat-laced foods with fresh, healthy options when treats are offered at meetings and events. Slowly but surely, fresh fruit and veggies are replacing doughnuts as offerings at meetings.

Best news of all: The healthy options are being well received.

More recently, County Recorder Gail Miller informed the county board of commissioners that the county’s participation in the wellness campaign has led to its selection for a pilot program through health insurance provider Blue Cross Blue Shield. Employees will be offered a $200 “carrot’’ to participate in a voluntary, and confidential health assessment. In return for answering questions to assess their health, they will receive $200 that can be applied to their 2012 medical premium or as a deposit in their health savings account.

The participating employees will be asked to answer questions and communicate with their health care provider to obtain information such as their blood pressure, blood cholesterol and similar information. The information will help in determining what health resources will be most useful for employees.

It’s one thing to encourage people to make healthy choices by providing information on the benefits of exercise and nutritional foods or the dangers of smoking. But nothing works like money. As for the $200 carrot being offered, Miller told the board of commissioners that the sponsors of the program know that people become engaged in healthy choices when money is involved.

- Tom Cherveny

Changes in the wind for Lac qui Parle goose hunting

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Tom Cherveny

WATSON – Changes are in the wind at the Lac qui Parle refuge, well-known for its goose hunting opportunities.

The refuge and its establishment in 1958 is one of the often forgotten wildlife success stories. Originally, a vinyl record player was set atop a hill and played the call sounds of geese to lure the migrating birds to the refuge.

The geese responded, and eventually the refuge became famous as the goose hunting destination for hunters inMinnesota.

Back in the day, hunters hid behind telephone poles and almost lined up shoulder-to-shoulder for pass shooting opportunities.

Early management efforts focused on quantity and safety. An “index” or quota was established to prevent the over-harvest of the Eastern Prairie Population of geese using the refuge.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources developed the state blinds that still ring the refuge, and instituted a registration system and daily lotteries to award them to the crowds of hunters that gathered in an old barn before sun up each day of the season.

The hunt remains controlled, but the emphasis today is evolving from being focused on quantity to ‘’quality.’’

The goose migration has changed. In former years, the birds filled the refuge in larger numbers and stayed for longer periods of time. They were almost exclusively EPP geese. Juveniles in the flock encountered their first hunters here.

Today the birds arrive later, don’t stay as long, and the young birds are usually gun wary.

And today, there’s a much greater mix of giant Canada geese.

The smaller EPP geese have spread out their migration, and are no longer as dependent on the refuge, or as vulnerable.

Goose hunters now have great opportunities all over the state. The most successful enjoy the sport for the challenge it is. Calling the birds, luring them with decoy presentations, concealment and the strategy of location are all part of it.

With fewer hunters and less worry about pressure on the EPP flock, opportunities to make room for these aspects of goose hunting at Lac qui Parle are on the mind of Dave Trauba, manager of the wildlife area with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Today, hunters are virtually tethered to their state blind, a small section of corn cribbing or in the best of cases, a pit blind. He is looking at whether hunters could be allowed to use their own layout blinds, and possibly given a little more elbow room as to where to locate themselves in relation to the decoys they set up.

Hunters are welcome to use decoys, but all have to be carried to the site. Can the rules be revised to accommodate those who want to put out more decoys than they can carry?

Too early to say how things might shape up, but there’s no doubt that the future of the hunt will increasingly focus on the quality of the experience.

- Tom Cherveny

Cell phones make harvest reporting easy, if you’ve got the number

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Gretchen Schlosser

In the good old days — you know, before just about every farmer had a cell phone clipped to their belt right next to their pliers holster — getting harvest reports was a pretty challenging affair.

The best bet was calling the area elevators and getting the progress report and preliminary yield numbers from the general managers. That is, if they had time to talk to a newspaper reporter, which wasn’t likely as there is always a long line of trucks waiting to unload the grain as fast as possible and get back to the field for another load.

Thanks to cell phones, my job of contacting farmers on how their harvest is going is much easier. The two farmers I caught up with for progress reports on Tuesday were out in the field or hauling grain to town when I called. (Thanks guys, for answering the phone and taking a few minutes to talk!)

The only challenge these days is having the cell phone numbers to reach the farmers. Every so often, someone will ask me why I included a report from this farmer and not that farmer. My answer is simple. I don’t have their phone number.

So, if you want to read a wider range of harvest, or planting or crop development reports, you’ve got to give me your cell phone number. Or, if you’re more comfortable giving your neighbor’s cell phone number, you can do that!

Just send the name and number to gschlosser@wctrib.com and I’ll make sure to call you (or your neighbor) the next time I report on harvest and need to get right to the source in the combine or truck.