DNR pulls out all the stops — and workers — for Chronic Wasting Disease testing in Southeast Minnesota
Minnesota may have gained another deer hunter, Peter Borash missed opening weekend of the firearms deer hunting season with family, Brilyn Brecka spent a few days with her family, Gretchen Miller and Leticia Oliver did a little happy dance and we learned about how well deer hunting went in the Southeast.
All that from two of a few dozen Department of Natural Resources chronic wasting disease sampling stations on last weekend's opening weekend of the firearms season in the region as part of the continuing survey of where CWD is and how much of it is out there.
Besides CWD information, the DNR also found a very strong opening weekend, compared with last year, and a healthy number of trophy bucks registered, even though antler-points restrictions were dropped several years ago because of CWD. More on the results later, both around here, compared with the far Northeast that has had lower deer numbers.
In this region, as well as a few other parts of the state, all deer shot in the first two days, are required to have lymph nodes taken out of the neck to be tested for CWD, an always fatal disease of deer. Statewide, 279 deer have tested positive for CWD since 2010; another 13 were found in captive herds; most of the wild deer positives came from the Southeast, especially the Preston area.
Stations were open Saturday through Monday and had to have several people there to take information from hunters or use scalpels and tweezers to extract the small flesh-colored nodes. The DNR needs an average of about 200 people and that is a lot more than the DNR has in its regional wildlife section. Therefore, the DNR took people from across the state and other sections, while a few non-DNR people signed up on their own.
One of them was David Maschhoff, a natural resources and horticulture student at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, who has never hunted but still drove 863 miles to learn about hunting, its culture and the deer. He was impressed on all counts.
He said he grew up in central Minnesota and fished but was never exposed to hunting. He got his chance when he learned about the chance to work; he ended up in Plainview. "I was intrigued," he said. "It was something I've never done before ... it was just a world I had never been part of."
He was able to chat with hunters and was impressed at how important the family bonding is, how elders were happy with youths who brought in deer for testing. "I really enjoyed working with them," Maaschhoff said. "I enjoyed the atmosphere."
As for deer, he didn't know how fast a buck can grow. He had seen some mounted on walls but never a whole deer, he said. Now, "I'm no longer as scared of it as I was in the past," he said. He might find a mentor and deer hunt.
Borash, on the other hand, works in the DNR Sauk Rapids wildlife office and was one of four DNR wildlife officials at the Wabasha County Fairgrounds outside Wabasha. "I really don't mind the work," he said. "I enjoy interacting with the hunters. The part I don't enjoy as much is missing the opening weekend of deer hunting with family." His children, however, are too young to hunt yet so missing out didn't hurt quite as much, he said.
Borash added that because he had to travel the 150 miles also meant that CWD isn't in his work area and he hopes it stays that way. Helping with testing won't stop the disease because "there's not much we can do to help," he said. Testing only tells where it is; thus far, he and many other wildlife officials say there's no way known to stop it.
With him was Brecka, assistant wildlife manager in Red Lake, about a 7.5-hour drive away. She didn't complain. Because Red Lake is rather remote, she has to spend a lot of "windshield time" getting anywhere, she said. Also, she grew up in nearby Alma, Wis., and was able to spend a few days with her family.
"It wasn't a big deal," she said. "It's fun to get around the state and see different areas and meet different staff."
In Plainview, Oliver helped, though she's an office administrator/secretary in the DNR's Lake City fisheries and Long Term Resource Monitoring office. She grew up in New York and has never hunted. Still, she signed up. "This is a fun experience, not knowing even how to cut open (the neck), where the lymph nodes are." In the future, maybe she could fill in for other DNR wildlife workers.
With her, as her teacher, was Gretchen Miller, regional DNR wildlife manager. For her, getting to the testing station was maybe a 10-minute drive because she grew up in the Weaver area and lives in Kellogg. "It's enjoyable to see family and friends come through and harass each other. They will give me some grief and I will give it right back." She also gets to meet more hunters and see what's happening.
The Plainview station tested 139 deer as of 2 p.m. Monday, the last day stations would be open. That topped Cannon Falls with 125, 109 in Wabasha and 100 in Pine Island. When she and Oliver learned they were top station in the area, they did a little happy dance.
Also, 12 hunters who registered big bucks got trophy forms that allows the bucks to be taken to a taxidermist who would remove the nodes, she said. One buck had a 21.25-inch inside spread and another was a 17-pointer, she said.
Also, she said a significantly higher number of deer were registered in Plainview this year compared with last year, Miller said.
Koppelman, assistant DNR wildlife manager in Nicollet, saw that same thing in Wabasha. "We had a good weekend," he said. "We were pretty busy Saturday morning. (It) was perfect for guys to be out." When rain began to fall, "deer were still moving," he said. "Guys who were out were still having some success even in that poor weather that we had. Deer were definitely hitting the peak of the rut."
Like Plainview, the four working there saw a lot of nice bucks. It seems the proportion of bucks to does was higher but that seems to be true across the state, he said, "Hunters are selective, holding out for bigger bucks."
No hunter griped too much about needing to register deer, he said, maybe because CWD has been around for several years, as has mandatory testing. "They understand the process," he said. He wasn't surprised the Wabasha zone had a positive last year because it is all around, even with some in the south metro area, Koppelman said.
"Once on landscape, unfortunately, it's a matter of time," he said.
Most DNR conservation officers in the Southeast also reported a solid opening weekend. "Hunter turnout was high and many deer were checked," said CO Derek Schneider.
"The deer opener was extremely busy with lots of hunters and many deer seen taken," said CO Joel Heyn.
One interesting story was that a hunter reported his deer was stolen after he left it. CO Tyler Ramaker tried to locate the buck but didn't find it. The hunter called back an hour later to report he was turned around and he found his buck.
Officer Mitch Boyum who patrols the Rushford area, however, said the 3A opener was slow. "Hunter numbers also seemed down a bit from previous years," he reported.
Officer reports from the far Northeast, however, weren't nearly as good.
Officer Troy Fondie "reports the deer season opener was very poor, with little for hunter numbers, numerous vacant camps, and even fewer deer."
And Officer Aaron Larson said hunters "had poor success despite deer being on the move. There appeared to be many hunters out and about over the opening weekend of deer season, with some hunters opting to grouse hunt rather than hunt deer due to poor success over the past few years."
Officer John Slatinski IV, however, said "Many people were contacted, and it appeared that opening weekend success was on par or slightly ahead of recent years. Several deer hunters were encountered wearing sneakers or other footwear not often seen in the Minnesota Northwoods this time of year."
