DNR report

Scott Staples (Carlton) attended annual K-9 certification trials in Lino Lakes where K-9 Schody got certified for another year of patrol work. Complaints of nuisance beavers and bears were handled. People are reminded to remove food sources (including bird feeders) if you do not want to attract bears. Extra patrols were conducted in area state parks.

Jacob Willis (Brookston) responded to a fire on an ATV bridge near Meadowlands. The cause is still under investigation. Training was attended and anglers were checked on local waters. Enforcement action was taken for expired ATV registration and for transporting fish without the required skin patch.

Kipp Duncan (Duluth East) continued to work fishing and boating enforcement. Time was also spent checking accesses and talking with people about invasive species, including livewell water, weeds on trailers and removal of drain plugs. ATV activity was also monitored during the week. Also followed up on a wetland violation that required paperwork to be served to a landowner. Time was also spent investigating illegal work activity within an aquatic management area.

Keith Olson (Lake Superior Marine Unit) fielded complaints on bears wreaking havoc in Duluth city limits. Keep trash cans indoors until pickup day and remember that bird feeders are also bear feeders. Worked invasive species enforcement on area lakes north of Duluth. Compliance remains good with most boaters aware of the laws.

Matt Miller (Lake Superior Marine Unit) prepared materials for a boating safety class. Trollers were checked on Lake Superior and charter records issues followed up on. Equipment maintenance items were handled and ATV complaints checked. A report of dogs killing a young deer was determined to be scavenging from a roadkill. Enforcement action was taken for angling violations.

Dustie Speldrich (Willow River) worked invasive species enforcement throughout the week. Enforcement action was taken for failing to remove a drain plug. Followed up on an ongoing investigation and answered ATV and boating questions. Also issued a cease-and-desist order for a wetland violation.

Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) worked with ranchers who continue to struggle with wolves harassing livestock and killing calves. Reports of hungry black bears on porches and decks also kept homeowners on their toes. A couple of the reports involved bears hanging out near graduation parties, likely checking out the smells of outdoor cooking and extra garbage.

Report of the week

Keith Bertram (Long Prairie) reported handling a reported cougar sighting. It was a fisher.

He found a person in possession of a fawn deer. An angler became upset watching a pelican eat fish near his dock. He decided to shoot the pelican. Bears and beavers continue to cause problems in the area.

Did you know?

The DNR has confirmed the capture of a bighead carp and two silver carp, and detection of a third, tagged silver carp, within the past several weeks. The bighead carp was captured at the Xcel Energy King Power Plant in Oak Park Heights. All of the silver carp were in Pool 4 of the Mississippi River between Red Wing and Wabasha in southeastern Minnesota.

“The DNR has confirmed between two and seven individual invasive carp captures each spring since 2013,” said DNR invasive fish coordinator Nick Frohnauer. “It is unusual that several of a single species would be captured in a short span of time. But, given the persistent high water this spring, this is not a surprise.”

Frohnauer said the DNR continues to be concerned about the potential impacts of invasive carp in Minnesota waters, individual adult fish captures do not indicate reproduction or an established population of invasive carp in the Mississippi River or elsewhere in the state.

Persistent high water in southern Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois has created “open river” conditions in which fish can move upriver unimpeded by locks and dams. Open river conditions can be beneficial to native species like lake sturgeon and paddlefish, which can swim hundreds of miles in search of preferable habitat. These conditions also allow other, non-native species to move upriver more easily.

A DNR telemetry array detected a silver carp in Pool 4 that was originally tagged much farther south, in Pool 16, in April 2017 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A silver carp was caught by an angler in Pool 4 May 24, and another was captured in Pool 4 June 4 by Xcel Energy. The bighead carp was captured on Thursday, June 20 during routine monitoring conducted by the DNR.

Fish telemetry in Minnesota started as a small system to better understand fish passage at Lock and Dams 1 and 2 in the Twin Cities. The DNR expanded the system farther downstream and into the Minnesota and St. Croix rivers, to better understand fish movements in Minnesota’s big rivers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) then connected Minnesota’s array with a Missouri array at Lock and Dam 19, in Keokuk, Iowa, in the southeastern part of the state. This Upper Mississippi array has been valuable in understanding large-scale movements of native fish and movement patterns of invasive carp.

In 2018, the USFWS provided funding for a dedicated invasive carp tracking crew to enhance Minnesota’s telemetry project. This crew will work to find the invasive carp detected by the telemetry array. If the fish is located in Minnesota waters, the DNR will work with the USFWS and USGS to deploy nets and other sampling methods in the location of detection.

Invasive carp have been progressing upstream since escaping into the Mississippi River in the 1970s. These large fish compete with native species and pose a threat to rivers and lakes. No breeding populations have been detected in Minnesota waters. Individual invasive carp have been caught as far upstream in Mississippi River Pool 2 near the Twin Cities (bighead, grass, and silver), the King Power Plant on the St. Croix River by Oak Park Heights (bighead), and just downstream of Granite Falls in the Minnesota River (bighead).

The DNR is actively engaged with several prevention efforts.

The DNR is an active partner in the Upper Mississippi River Invasive Carp Workgroup. The group includes representatives from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and several federal agencies.