Applications for Minnesota bear hunting licenses are being accepted now through May 4 wherever Minnesota hunting and fishing licenses are sold. A total of 3,350 licenses - the same as last year - are available in 13 permit areas.
Bear licenses cost $44 for residents and $230 for nonresidents, and a $5 application fee is added. The season is open from Sept. 1 to Oct. 14.
Notification to lottery winners will be made by June 1. The deadline to purchase licenses awarded by lottery will be Aug. 1. Any remaining unpurchased licenses will be available over the counter starting at noon on Aug. 6.
An unlimited number of bear licenses will be sold over-the-counter for the no-quota area that includes east-central and far northwestern Minnesota.
Applications also may be made online at mndnr.gov/buyalicense and by telephone at (888) 665-4236. Bear hunting information is available on the DNR website at mndnr.gov/hunting/bear.
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Retriever training offered
The Duluth Retriever Club will hold its annual "Train the Trainer" classes weekly on Monday nights for 10 weeks starting with an orientation at 5:30 p.m. June 4 at the club, 5476 Lester River Road. The class is designed to teach the owners of retrieving breeds how to train their dogs for hunting and retrieving. Dogs should be 6 to 7 months of age or older.
The cost of the class is $50 for a retriever club membership, $50 for the 10 class sessions and a recommended $20 training DVD.
Those who take the class are also asked to perform two days of volunteer work for the club.
Red Lake walleye regs continue
Anglers fishing Upper Red Lake this spring will again be able to keep four walleyes, of which only one may be longer than 17 inches, continuing the same regulation that was in place this past winter and the previous 2017 open-water season.
Harvest under the four-fish bag limit, one-over-17 regulation resulted in about 152,000 pounds for the winter season - a record high for winter harvest since walleye fishing reopened in 2006. DNR officials say the fishery can support continuing this regulation into the open-water season.
Record year for trap shooters
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Nearly 12,000 student participants from 349 high school teams are participating in the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League's 2018 spring season, which began April 1. That number represents a record for participation, according to league officials.
Upon completion of the league's regular spring season, all student athletes are invited to participate in individual and team competitions at the league's 2018 Trap Shooting Championship, which will be held June 11-19 in Alexandria, Minn. Some 8,000 competitors are expected.
The trap shooting season culminates with the state tournament presented by the Minnesota State High School League on June 22 in Prior Lake, Minn.
Hike Fest registration open
Registration is open now for Hike Fest, a celebration of the Superior Hiking Trail on May 18-20 at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland.
The event includes half-day and full-day hikes, naturalist-led activities, yoga, art classes, fundraising and more. To register, go to shta.org/event/hike-fest. For more information, contact Jaron Cramer at jcramer@superiorhiking.org .
Offer deer season feedback
County Deer Advisory Councils in Wisconsin met in each county in March. Preliminary antlerless deer quotas, tag levels and season structure recommendations for the 2018 deer hunting season are available for review and comment through Thursday. Go to dnr.wi.gov and search keyword "CDAC."
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Anderson honored
Ducks Unlimited has announced that Minneapolis Star Tribune outdoors editor Dennis Anderson has been named a winner in the conservation group's annual Wetland Conservation Achievement Awards. Anderson received the award for his more than 30 years of outdoor adventure stories with wildlife conservation advocacy articles, the group noted.
