Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announces summer land sale

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has state lands for sale in Pine and Wadena counties. The five parcels for sale include rural and recreational properties.

State statute requires the DNR to conduct a public auction when parcels of land are available to sell. This summer’s online public auction is in partnership with MinnBid, the Minnesota Department of Administration’s Surplus Services online auction website. Bidding on properties requires registering for an account on the MinnBid site. Property will be available for bidding Wednesday, July 28, through noon Friday, Aug. 6.

“The DNR is excited to partner with the Department of Administration for the first summer land auction,” said Andrea Johnson, DNR land sale coordinator. “The option for full online participation creates a more accessible and efficient way for more people to bid on state land.”

The public can visit mndnr.gov/landsale to obtain property data sheets, terms and conditions of sale, and instructions for participating in the MinnBid system. Call 651-259-5432, 888-646-6367 or email min.landsale@state.mn.us with questions about a specific property.

The DNR’s annual land sales help the department optimize its land holdings and meet its responsibility to maximize recreational, conservation, and economic opportunities for the state. Public lands provide support for natural resource-based economies; outdoor recreation opportunities; ecological benefits like clean air and water; and critical habitat for wildlife and rare plant species.

Selling land allows the DNR to remove land from its portfolio that is no longer meeting primary management objectives. Depending on the type of land sold, revenue from sales may go to the School Trust or provide funds to allow the DNR to invest in other, high priority land acquisitions.

All are welcome to participate in the public auction. Subscribe now to receive emails about the 2021 summer public land sale, as well as future land sales.

Learn about archery equipment basics in this webinar

Anyone interested in learning basic archery terms and the knowledge necessary to select a bow to fit your needs is invited to join a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources webinar at noon today. The webinar is part of the Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series, which aims to give participants quick, relevant information on upcoming seasons and events, and skills to help enjoy these opportunities. Registration is free and more information is available on the DNR website.

As drought continues, risk of equipment-caused wildfire increases

With the ongoing drought increasing the risk of wildfire in northern Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources urges off-road vehicle, heavy equipment and agricultural operators to be cautious in these dry conditions, as they could unintentionally a spark a fire.

Equipment use is a major cause of wildfires every year, but Minnesota’s wildland fire management agencies report an uptick in recent weeks of equipment-caused wildfires due to extremely dry grasses and brush.

“Proper equipment use includes knowing the fire danger condition before you operate and making appropriate adjustments or delays to your planned activities,” said Ben Lang, Bemidji Area Forestry assistant supervisor.

Lang said it takes about 500 degrees to start a wildfire in the summer, and that exhaust systems on both road and recreational vehicles can reach temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees. “Use good judgement, avoid parking or operating in tall grasses or brush where exhaust systems could ignite vegetation, and keep ATVs on the trail,” he said.

In addition, various farm, construction, logging, welding, and lawn equipment have an assortment of belts, chains, buckets and blades capable of creating sparks when they hit against rocks or hard surfaces.

In northwestern Minnesota, mowing and haying activity is ongoing, and the coming wheat harvest later this month also brings concern for potential wildfire, especially as July and August are typically drier months.

Lang encourages the following tactics to keep equipment from turning into fire starters:

Make sure equipment has undergone maintenance and is fire safe, including use of an approved spark arrester on all internal combustion-powered equipment.

When hauling equipment, take care to ensure trailer chains are not dragging, as this can create sparks on roadways.

Always check current fire danger conditions at the DNR statewide fire danger and burning restrictions map and adjust or postpone operations as necessary.

People who do spot a wildfire, should call 911.

For more information, visit the DNR wildland fire information webpage.

DNR invites comment on proposed sunfish regulations

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources encourages to the public to weigh in on proposed special fishing regulations that would allow anglers to keep fewer sunfish from 50 lakes. The proposed regulations are part of the ongoing Quality Sunfish Initiative.

“These new regulations would continue our response to angler concerns about the declining sizes of some of our state’s most prized and frequently caught fish,” said Dave Weitzel, Grand Rapids area fisheries supervisor. “We’re aiming to protect and improve sunfish sizes on select lakes with the biological potential to produce large sunfish.”

The proposed lower bag limits on 50 lakes would go into effect in March 2022. Under the proposal, sunfish daily bag limits would be reduced from the statewide limit of 20 sunfish to five sunfish on some lakes and 10 sunfish on others. Some lakes also have similar proposals for lower crappie daily bag limits.

Comments on the proposed regulation changes may be submitted multiple ways, including through an online survey that is open through Sunday, Oct. 31, by contacting an area fisheries office, or by attending an in-person meeting this fall. Details about the meetings will be posted and publicized later this summer. More information about comment options, including a link to the survey, is available on the DNR website.

Through the Quality Sunfish Initiative, nearly 100 lakes received bag limit reductions in March of 2021. In total, the DNR plans to increase the number of lakes with reduced bag limits to approximately 210 by 2023, up from 60 before the initiative began.

Although anglers have told the DNR they are satisfied with sunfish numbers, they have voiced increasing concerns about sunfish size quality. They also have voiced concern about the added pressure on fisheries as a result of electronic fish finders and other technological advancements, including rapid social media communication between anglers when fish are biting.

“Sunfish grow only about an inch per year, so a large sunfish can be more than a decade old. It’s critical to protect these large fish from excessive harvest because they aren’t easily replaced,” Weitzel said.

In addition to the 50 lakes where the DNR is proposing new special sunfish and crappie regulations, the DNR also is proposing minor changes to 63 lakes that already have special reduced possession limits. Under these changes, the reduced possession limit will change to a reduced daily limit, which will allow an angler to take a daily limit from a lake multiple days in a row until reaching their statewide possession limit (20 sunfish, 10 crappie). The change will create consistency with the newly implemented Quality Sunfish Initiative regulations and is not projected to have additional biological impacts.

Minnesota fishing regulations use sunfish as the generic name for bluegill, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, orange-spotted sunfish, longear, warmouth and their hybrids. More about sunfish biology, the Quality Sunfish Initiative, and lists of lakes proposed for special sunfish regulations can be found on the DNR website.

Mille Lacs catch and release walleye fishing resumes July 16

Walleye anglers on Mille Lacs Lake are reminded that a two-week walleye fishing closure remains in place through Thursday. Catch-and-release walleye fishing will resume on Friday. During the walleye closure, angling is allowed for all other species.

Once resuming on July 16, catch-and-release walleye fishing will continue through Wednesday, Sept. 15. A harvest opportunity, with a limit of one walleye from 21-23 inches, or one over 28 inches, is scheduled to resume Thursday, Sept. 16, and be in effect through Tuesday, Nov. 30.

Fishing hours on Mille Lacs Lake are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for all species. Muskellunge and northern pike anglers using artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches can fish after 10 p.m. During the late season, beginning on Sept. 16, anglers will also be allowed to fish from 6 a.m. to midnight, except muskellunge and northern pike anglers will be allowed to fish during the night closure. Mille Lacs Lake fishing regulations are available on the DNR website.