February 23, 2001

Show hours are 5-9 p.m. on Thursday, 3-9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for kids ages 13-16 and seniors (60 and older), and free to kids 12 and under.

6:30 p.m. For more info call Gary Duncomb at 320-453-7465. Feb. 23: 17th Annual South Metro Chapter of MDHA banquet. For more info call Dan Christchinson at 612-929-1002. Feb. 23: Chosen Valley Ducks Unlimited Chapter Annual Banquet. For more info contact Mike Pederson at 507-867-3923 or email: mmpederson@compuserve.com. Feb. 24: Des Moines Valley Chapter of

New Ulm, Minn. Addressing deer depredation complaints has become a full- time task for some southwestern Minnesota wildlife managers, as whitetails flock to farmsteads. Although they are in good condition, the deer are hungry and looking for something to eat. “The food plots on our Wildlife Management Areas are being depleted and some of the

Feb. 23-25: NWTF Minnesota Women in the Outdoors winter event. A weekend seminar is being held at the Deep Portage Conservation Reserve, Hackensack, MN. For more info call Terri Bernhardt 952-891-4991 or Nancy Gish 651-731-9704. Feb. 24: Chilakoot Bowhunters is hosting a Bowhunter education class. Participants need to pre-register. Cost: $10 to cover the cost

The level-wind mechanism changed it all By David Turnbull Change was on the horizon at the turning of the century as fishing rods shrunk into the new 5-foot bamboo models and as Dowagiac minnows and Kalamazoo casting or overhead casting became popular. This was the end of the Kentucky reel makers and their finely tuned

Conservation Officer Larry Milbridge (Warroad) and Conservation Officer Candidate (COC) Marty Stage did a taxidermy inspection as part of Stage’s field training. Minor record problems were addressed. Officer Jim DeVault (Baudette) reports an unconfirmed rumor that a local bait shop was looking for a certified scale to weigh a possible state record burbot. The fish

Associate Editor Grand Rapids, Minn. After six consecutive surveys when their numbers decreased including last year when the drop was estimated to be greater than 50 percent the number of moose located in northwest Minnesota increased this year, according to Dr. Mark Lenarz, of the DNR’s forest wildlife populations research group at Grand Rapids. Researchers

St. Paul What should Minnesota’s forests look like in five years, 50 years, or even 100 years? Interested parties will tackle that question at a May summit scheduled to happen amid the aspen, pines, and other trees of a “demonstration forest” being planned by the DNR. The 35,000- to 40,000-acre chunk of land eventually will

Jeff Vonk has been the state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in California since 1998. From 1990-94 he served as the agency’s state conservationist in Iowa. Vonk, whose nomination must be confirmed by the Iowa Senate, would replace Paul Johnson, who resigned last May. It was Johnson who recommended