Minnesota Mixed Bag: Stream trout fishing opens Saturday

St. Paul — Minnesota’s popular stream trout season opens Saturday, April 12, with quality fishing opportunities in every region of the state. Brook trout and splake fishing also open April 12 on Lake Superior and its tributary streams.

Trout anglers can find information on Minnesota’s trout streams on the Minnesota DNR’s website. Anglers will find helpful learning guides and fishing tips tailored to each of Minnesota’s six trout-fishing regions.

Anglers can also access StreamFinder, which provides anglers with a description, species list, regulations, and access information for trout streams throughout Minnesota.

Minnesota has roughly 3,800 miles of designated trout streams.

Anglers 18 to 64 years old who fish on designated trout waters must have a trout stamp validation in addition to an angling license, and a trout stamp validation is required for anglers 18 to 64 years old to possess trout or salmon they catch on any Minnesota water.

Complete trout season details are available at the Minnesota DNR’s fishing page.

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BEAR HUNT LOTTERY APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE; DEADLINE IS MAY 2

St. Paul — Prospective bear hunters have until Friday, May 2, to apply for a bear-hunting license from the Minnesota DNR. Applications for the 2025 season may be submitted online, at any license agent, or by telephone at (888) 665-4236.

A total of 4,605 licenses are available across the 15 quota areas where licenses are limited for the 2025 season, which opens Monday, Sept. 1, and closes Sunday, Oct. 12.

The number of licenses available each year in the quota area is based on Minnesota’s bear population trends for those areas. License quotas for the 2025 bear season include a moderate increase where population trends indicate sufficient growth.

The DNR adopted changes to several bear permit area boundaries for the 2025 bear season. These changes affect areas that had previously been part of permit areas 12, 25, 46, and 451. Area 451 was dissolved and is now included in the no quota area.

There also was a change that moves the Trout Lake unit of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from permit area 25 to 22, and permit area 22 is now consistent with the entire BWCAW boundary.

Lottery winners will be notified by Sunday, June 1. The deadline to purchase bear-hunting licenses awarded by lottery is Friday, Aug. 1. Any remaining unpurchased licenses will be available over the counter starting at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 6. An unlimited number of bear licenses will be sold over the counter for the no-quota area.

Complete instructions about how to apply for a bear-hunting license, maps of permit areas, and a listing of permit availability for each area are available on the Minnesota DNR website.

APPROXIMATELY $150 MILLION FROM OHF AVAILABLE FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT PROJECTS

St. Paul — The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council earlier this week issued its annual Call for Funding Request from the Outdoor Heritage Fund. Approximately $150 million will be available for both metro and statewide grants to aid Minnesota habitat restoration, protection, and enhancement.

Requests are due to the LSOHC by Friday, May 23, at 4 p.m. Programs approved by the Legislature can begin spending funds July 1, 2026.

Since the Outdoor Heritage Fund’s creation in 2008, $1.8 billion in on-the-ground habitat programs has been allocated by the Minnesota Legislature and more than 1 million acres of Minnesota forests, prairies, and wetlands have been restored, protected, and/or enhanced.

The process is competitive and open to all who wish to apply.

“These monies have funded wildlife habitat projects in every corner of the state, both rural and urban,” said Mark Johnson, LSOHC executive director. “If you have a potential project proposal but are unsure, contact us. LSOHC staff are always open to discussing ideas and answering questions. We are here to help.”

To view details or learn more, visit: www.lsohc.mn.gov

MINNESOTA DNR FALCON-CAM PAIR PREPARING FOR EGGS

St. Paul — A pair of peregrine falcons have returned to the nest box featured on the popular Minnesota DNR’s FalconCam. The webcam has captured this pair of falcons demonstrating courtship displays and preparing for eggs by creating a nest in the gravel, called a scrape.

The two adult falcons using the nest box have been identified by the Midwest Peregrine Society as the same pair that used it last year, a 12-year-old female and a 16-year-old male. Last year, this pair laid their first egg April 11.

The FalconCam, located inside a nest box in downtown St. Paul, became the DNR’s first live webcam 14 years ago. Building tenants at Sentinel Properties provide funding for the live camera stream, and the building managers oversee the nest box and camera.

Peregrine falcons are a Minnesota success story. In the 1970s, they were on the brink of extinction in North America. Populations were restored with the help of Minnesota falconers, the Midwest Peregrine Society and the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program.