Roseau County Commissioners Alan Johnston and Russell Walker will host an open house to update the public on motorized and non-motorized planning efforts in the Beltrami Island State Forest.
The open house will be held from 12 to 8:00 p.m. on March 6 at the Warroad Public Safety Facility.
Planning team members, including Commissioners Johnston and Walker, report that the Beltrami Island planning effort is moving forward. To date, the planning team has reviewed forest access routes in seven townships and will have maps of proposed route and road designations available for review at the open house.
A new BISF planning team was formed in January and includes representatives from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with input from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and county commissioners from Roseau, Lake of the Woods and Beltrami counties. The team has also been exchanging information with the Red Lake Band DNR.
The seven townships that have been reviewed include Oaks, Clear River, America, Beaver, Elkwood, Reine and one unorganized (T160N R37W) township.
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Some routes will be field checked this spring by members of the planning team before final recommendations are made.
The group is striving to provide opportunities for multiple kinds of recreational uses in the state forest.
Sturgeon harvest tags ready March 1
In an effort to gain better information on total lake sturgeon harvest statewide, any angler intending to harvest a lake sturgeon during open seasons in 2006 needs to purchase a $5 lake sturgeon tag from an electronic licensing (ELS) agent, according the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The tags, which will be available beginning on March 1, must be purchased prior to possessing lake sturgeon.
In addition, anglers applying for a tag must either possess a valid statw fishing license or must be specifically exempt by law from the fishing license requirement.
The lake sturgeon tag allows an angler to harvest one lake sturgeon per license year under the existing seasons. If the tag is lost or destroyed, a duplicate tag will not be issued.
Anglers not intending to harvest a lake sturgeon may practice catch and release only for the species during the open season.
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Open seasons and regulations for sturgeon are as follows:
Minnesota-Wisconsin border waters
--Sept. 2 - Oct. 15, possession limit of one, minimum size of 50 inches. The tag is similar to the tag that deer hunters are required to use and is subject to the following conditions:
--anglers may only tag fish they personally catch
--immediately after reducing a lake sturgeon to possession, the angler must validate and attach the tag to the fish
-to validate the tag, the angler must cut out or sign off the time, day and month when the fish was taken
--the angler must then attach the validated tag to the caudal peduncle (narrow portion of the body just in front of the tail fin) using string, wire, plastic tie, or a similar device so that it can not be removed or lost
Minnesota-Canada border waters
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--April 24 - May 7, July 1-Sept. 30, possession limit of one, 45-50 inches (inclusive) or greater than 75 inches
--May 8 - 15, Oct. 1 - April 23, catch-and-release only
--Tag holders are required to register their catch within 48 hours by mailing in the registration card to the DNR Northwest Region Fisheries Office in Bemidji.
An ELS agent will print a registration card for anglers when they purchase their lake sturgeon tag.
The new ELS-based system will allow the DNR to gain better information on lake sturgeon harvests statewide.
Keeping harvests within sustainable levels will allow this unique fish species to recover.
For more information about the Minnesota lake sturgeon recovery, visit the DNR Web site: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/baudette/sturgeontag.html .
