Outdoors with Sam Cook

Here’s a column I wrote for the Friday News Tribune. Maybe you’ll enjoy it:

It’s so difficult to know what to give her. Every Valentine’s Day, I struggle with the decision.

She knows I love her. That is not a question. I tell her how much she means to me nearly every day.

But on Valentine’s Day, she deserves something special, something tangible that conveys the depths of my feelings for her.

I often ask other guys for suggestions, but none of their ideas seem to be what I’m looking for.

I’ll tell you what she likes. She likes it best when we just go for a long walk together. Just the other evening, shortly before dusk, we took a long hike together through the woods near our home. She had had a long day. During that walk, we climbed to a high, bare rock just in time to see the full moon rising like a giant peach in the east. We stood there together, taking in the scene. We could both feel the stress draining out of us as we stood there watching the moon rise.

I guess we just like the simple things.

We’ve had a great time getting together at the cabin of friends in summer. We hang out on the dock, listening to the little waves slapping at the pilings. If she gets too hot, she takes a dip and swims out toward a nearby island. Then we rest in the sun. If we should fall asleep, well, that’s fine, too.

Sometimes, we pack some food and head up the North Shore for a hike on the Superior Hiking Trail. We try to pick the off-times, when we’re less likely to run into lots of other folks on the trail. It’s not uncommon for us to walk for a long way in complete silence, just taking in the sun-dappled woods and the sounds of intermittent creeks. After a time, we’ll find a good log, sit down and share a bit of lunch.

As I say, it’s the simple things that mean the most.

We’ll take off occasionally for a road trip, too. We’ll head west or south or north — it doesn’t matter. I’ll crank up some Dylan or Marc Cohn or an old Temptations collection. The miles seem to melt away. Sometimes when we’re taking a break along the way, I’ll look over at her and think how lucky I was to have found her all those years ago. It’s always good to be together in new country, exploring new places. Sometimes, you just need a change of scenery to get a fresh look at life. We come home recharged, our bond strengthened by the time away.

Sometimes, too, we’ll be apart for several days, and that only serves to make us appreciate one another more once we’re back together.

But none of that changes the challenge before me now. What do I get her this year? How do I express my admiration for her with something for Valentine’s Day? I’ll come up with something. But if you have any ideas, feel free to share them with me. Be creative. Make it special.

She’s the best yellow Lab I’ve ever had.

If you care about the outdoors and want to learn more about conservation, consider attending tonight’s showing of “Green Fire” at UMD.

The film shares highlights from the life of Aldo Leopold, the Wisconsin conservationist and author who is considered the father of modern game management. The film explores how Leopold shaped conservation in the 20th century and still inspires people today. Although probably best known as the author of the conservation classic “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold is also renowned for his work as an educator, philosopher, forester, ecologist, and wilderness advocate.

Green Fire is more than just a documentary about Aldo Leopold; it also explores the influence his ideas have had in shaping the conservation movement as we know it today by highlighting a number of inspiring people and organizations doing great work to connect people and the natural world in ways that even Leopold might not have imagined.

The free showing will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. tonight in Room 90 of Bohannon Hall at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

For more information about the film, look here.

Sean Hall of Cloquet does great work with his home-built trail cameras. He recently sent a batch of winter photos. Note that all of his photos are copyrighted and may not be copied or used without his permission. They coyote photo was made with a homemade 10.1-megapixel camera.

The fox photo above was made with a 12.1-megapixel trail camera and a secondary flash unit, Hall said.

The wolf photo above was made with a six-megapixel homemade trail camera.

Not surprisingly perhaps, the Boone & Crockett Club, which keeps records of hunting trophies, released data recently showing that the number of trophy whitetail entries has increased more than 400 percent since the early 1980s.

And for the recent five-year period from 2005 to 2010, Wisconsin ranks first in Boone & Crockett trophy entries with 383 (including both typical and non-typical racks). Minnesota ranked ninth with 172 trophy entries.

“It’s worth remembering where America’s favorite big-game species stood not so long ago—at the brink of extinction,” said Ben Wallace, Club president. “In 1900, less than 500,000 whitetails remained. But habitat programs, research, science-based management, regulations and enforcement, all led and funded by hunters, brought this game animal back to extraordinary levels. Today there are more than 32 million whitetails!”

The Boone and Crockett system of scoring big-game trophies originated in 1906 as a means of recording details on species thought to be disappearing. Over time, these records evolved as an effective way to track the success or failure of conservation efforts.

During the past 30 years, many states and provinces saw percentage gains much greater than the continental average. For example, trophy whitetail entries from Wisconsin have risen 857 percent. In Illinois, the increase is 896 percent.

A book, “Records of North American Big Game,” offers detailed tabular listings for trophies in 38 different categories of game. Each entry includes the all-time entry score, date harvested, location of kill, hunter and owner names, and selected measurements. At 768 pages, the book retails for $49.95.

Here are the B & C trophy whitetail rankings for 2005-2010:

1. Wisconsin, 383 entries (1980-1985 rank 3rd, 40 entries)

2. Illinois, 299 entries (1980-1985 rank 6th, 30 entries)

3. Iowa, 224 entries (1980-1985 rank 2nd, 59 entries)

4. Ohio, 215 entries (1980-1985 rank 14th, 16 entries)

5. Missouri, 214 entries (1980-1985 rank 9th (tie), 25 entries)

6. Kentucky, 199 entries (1980-1985 rank 9th (tie), 25 entries)

7. Indiana, 195 entries (1980-1985 rank 16th, 14 entries)

8. Kansas, 181 entries (1980-1985 rank 4th, 35 entries)

9. Minnesota, 172 entries (1980-1985 rank 1st, 76 entries)

10. Saskatchewan, 147 entries (1980-1985 rank 7th (tie), 27 entries)

For more information, go to the Boone & Crockett website at www.boone-crockett.org.

If you need a dogsledding fix, folks in the Grand Marais and Gunflint Trail area are reviving the old Gunflint Mail Run dogsled race Monday and Tuesday. The 100-mile race will begin at approximately 4 p.m. on Monday with an expected finish before noon on Tuesday. Mushers will travel from Devil Track up the Gunflint Trail and back to Devil Track. Spectators are welcome. More info? Call Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply, (218) 387-3136.

The race is being held because the John Beargrease Sled Dog Race, based in Duluth, was canceled due to lack of snow on some parts of its trail.

I’ll be away from my blog through Feb. 5, off in the boonies near Ely on assignment for the newspaper. I hope to come home with a good story and some good images to share.

I’ll check in as soon as I return. Thanks for reading.

…Sam

Last fall, Minnesota hunters gained access to about 9,000 acres of grasslands in the inaugural year of Minnesota’s Walk-In Access Program.

WIA, which is entering its second year as a pilot program, targets privately owned parcels of 40 acres or more that are already enrolled in a conservation program such as Reinvest In Minnesota or Conservation Reserve Program. River bottoms, wetlands and other high-quality habitat will also be considered for WIA this year.

“We had a great response from hunters and landowners last year,” said Marybeth Block, WIA coordinator.

Block said that 90 landowners enrolled about 9,000 acres in 2011. In 2012, she hopes to have a total of 25,000 acres enrolled.

WIA pays landowners by the acre to allow hunting access. Bonuses are added if more than 140 contiguous acres are enrolled, if the land is within one-half mile of existing state or federal hunting land, or if a multi-year agreement is signed. This year’s sign-up period goes from Feb. 1 to April 15. Local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) offices are handling program details and enrollments.

“Studies across the country say that hunter numbers are declining because it’s getting tougher to find places to hunt,” Block said. “I see WIA as one way to address this, while also rewarding landowners for keeping their land in high-quality habitat.”

Block said that the program is entirely voluntary for landowners. Recreational use laws provide extra liability protection for WIA acres. DNR conservation officers will address trespass and hunting violations. Enrolled acres are for walk-in traffic only; no vehicles are allowed on conservation land. Parking is along roads or in designated parking areas.

WIA land is for public hunting only. No target practice, trapping, dog training, camping, horseback riding or fires are allowed. Similar rules apply to WIAs as to other public wildlife lands. Once private land is enrolled in the program, bright yellow-green hexagon signs are placed at the property boundaries.

More information on WIA and a map of the 21 counties involved in the program can be found at mndnr.gov/walkin. Locations of parcels enrolled for 2012 will be on the website in August.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is funding the first two years of the pilot program.

My colleague John Myers wrote a more detailed story about the proposed Minnesota wolf hunting and trapping seasons this fall. Look for it here.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has proposed an inaugural gray wolf hunting and trapping season this fall that calls for a harvest quota of 400 animals.

Wolf research indicates Minnesota’s wolf population could sustain a higher quota, but DNR officials say they are taking a measured approach to the state’s first season.

The proposal sets a quota of 6,000 licenses that will be allocated through a lottery system. Only one license will be allowed per hunter or trapper. Hunting would be allowed with firearms, archery equipment and muzzleloaders. Calls and bait would be allowed with restrictions.

The season is proposed to open near the end of November and would be closed once the quota is met. Hunters would be required to register animals on the same day they are harvested and data would be collected from carcasses. Other states with harvest seasons for wolves and other big game animals similarly monitor seasons and close them when quotas are met.

The DNR will outline its proposals to the Legislature on Thursday before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.

While the legislatively approved wolf management plan authorizes hunting and trapping seasons, the agency is seeking additional authorization from the state Legislature this session to offer a wolf license and implement other management strategies. Legislators will have to pass a bill by the end of the session and the governor will have to sign it in order for a season to be held.

The DNR will also take public comments prior to finalizing and implementing a wolf season.

“I feel much better about where they (DNR officials) are going with it,” said Mark Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. “They’re taking a cautious but realistic approach. As long as things work right in the front end, with the first season and the second seasons, there will be more options from a hunting and trapping standpoint in the future.”

“I feel much better about where they (DNR officials) are going with it,” said Mark Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. “They’re taking a cautious but realistic approach. As long as things work right in the front end, with the first season and the second seasons, there will be more options from a hunting and trapping standpoint in the future.”

The initial season will allow wolf biologists to collect information on hunter and trapper interest and harvest success and will provide biological information on harvested wolves to help inform future wolf population management and monitoring. The state has an estimated population of 3,000 gray wolves and past surveys indicate the population is stable.

Wolves are prolific, survival of young is generally high and populations can offset effects of mortality caused by hunting and trapping seasons, DNR officials say.

The DNR intends to manage wolves as a prized and high-value fur species by setting the season when pelts are most prime.

DNR plans to adjust the framework of future wolf seasons based on information collected during the inaugural season. The wolf harvest quota does consider other causes of mortality such as removal due to livestock and domestic animal depredation and threats and vehicle collisions.

The agency will also be undertaking a new wolf population survey starting next winter.

Minnesota’s population of Great Lakes gray wolves transitions from federal protection to state management on Friday. That is when the DNR implements its state management plan, which is designed to ensure their long-term survival of wolves in the state.