Stephen Hamrick of Lakeville, Minn., has won the 2015 walleye stamp contest sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, becoming only the second person to win all five DNR stamp contests.
Hamrick’s art graced the waterfowl stamp in 2012; the pheasant stamp in 2003; the turkey stamp in 2004 and 2014; and the trout and salmon stamp in 1986, 1992 and 2004. His artwork from earlier this year also will appear on the 2015 trout and salmon stamp.
Hamrick has now won nine stamp contests and joins John House as the only two people to win all stamp contests sponsored by the DNR.
The walleye stamp is sold along with hunting and fishing licenses or as a collectable, and adds $5 to the cost of an angling license for those who choose to purchase it, although it is not required to legally fish for walleye.
Revenue from stamp sales is used to purchase walleyes for stocking in Minnesota’s lakes.
Hawk count tops 58,000 Through Wednesday, more than 58,000 hawks had been counted this fall at Hawk Ridge in Duluth, according to Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. The total includes more than 26,000 broad-winged hawks. Hawk counting will continue through November, said Janelle Long, executive director at the observatory.
“This fall, compared to last year, we’re up a little bit,” Long said. “It’s hard to determine what that trend is telling us. The last few years, we’ve seen what looks like somewhat of a decline based on previous seasons’ totals. Things fluctuate.”
Factors that affect hawk counts at Hawk Ridge include weather, habitat and food resources, she said.
Hawk Ridge attracts about 18,000 visitors each fall, including school groups. The main overlook is about one mile east of Glenwood Street on Skyline Parkway.
Archers take 145 deer in Camp Ripley hunt Archers took a two-day total of 70 deer during the second bow hunt at Camp Ripley Military Reservation near Little Falls on Oct. 25-26, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced.
For both hunts, a total of 145 deer were taken. With 2,966 hunters participating, hunter success was 5 percent, down two percentage points from last year for both hunts combined.
The largest buck taken on the second hunt weighed nearly 200 pounds and was taken by Curtis Betzler of Clearwater, Minn. Of adult does registered, the largest weighed in at 124 pounds, taken by Nicholas Scheffer of Stacy, Minn.
