Outdoor notes

' The Paul Bunyan chapter of Ducks Unlimited will meet for its 27th annual banquet at the Moose Lodge in Brainerd on Friday, May 5. Social hour starts at 6 p.m. and dinner follows at 7:30 p.m.

Last year local Brainerd chapter members and supporters helped raise $30,000 for the Ducks Unlimited. The organization has completed 316 wetlands projects in Minnesota involving almost 81,000 acres and more than 3,300 individual wetlands. To put this in perspective, visualize a corridor one mile wide that extends 126 miles, or roughly the distance from Brainerd to Minneapolis.

For more information on the banquet and membership contact Mike Engler at (218) 963-3856 or Eric Davidge at (218) 825-1005.

Wolf Ridge ELC announces programs

Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, Finland, has announced its lineup of summer programs.

Explorers Wilderness Trips are for persons 16-18. Groups will sail to the Apostle Islands June 18-24 and canoe the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness July 16-22 and August 13-25.

Summer Youth Programs are available for six- or 10-night stays. Call for dates and ages.

Summerblue Arts is for ages 10-16 and will take place July 30-August 5.

Elderhostels for Grandparents and Grandchildren are scheduled for June 25-July 1, July 16-22, August 6-12 and August 13-19.

Elderhostel for adults will have three programs running concurrently June 12-17. They include Breeding Birds of the North Shore, Plant Communities of Northern Minnesota and Geology of the North Shore.

A Family Vacation is set for July 31-August 5.

For more information on these programs call (800) 523-2733 or log on to www.wolf-ridge.org

VFW announces firearms safety training

Student firearms safety training is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on April 5 at the VFW in Brainerd. Students must be at least 12 years old to register and the first 30 registrants will be accepted. Adults are welcome to attend. To pre-register or for more information call the VFW at 829-6393.

Rough Riders to meet April 6

The Rough Riders ATV club will have its monthy meeting at 7 p.m. on April 6 in the basement of the Moose Lodge in Brainerd. All interested persons are welcome to attend. The club will discuss its normal business, upcoming trail rides, the ATV convention, trail building and Mud Run 2000, which is scheduled for June 17. For more information call Jeff Kinney at 829-5598.

DNR recognizes safety instructors

The Brainerd office of the DNR recently paid tribute to several area safety instructors who have donated many years of service in teaching youngsters how to safely operate firearms and snowmobiles.

Recognized for 30 years of volunteer service in snowmobile safety instruction were John Wallin and Ted Dullum.

Recognized for 10 years of volunteer service in firearms safety training were Marty Anderson, James Bautch, Rod Carlson and Mark Wheeler.

Recognized for five years of volunteer service in firearms safety training were Joe Adams, Donna Aune, Brian Bachman, Curt Brown and Tim Goeman.

Nordic Ski Club to host dinner

The Brainerd Nordic Ski Club's annual spaghetti dinner is scheduled for 4 p.m. on April 2 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter. Attendees are asked to pre-register by March 31. The cost is $5 per adult and $3 for persons 13 and under. The guest speaker will be Dr. Paul Milloy.

Mail your check to Jennifer Pedersen, 222 Memorywood Drive, Baxter, MN 56425. Or call and leave a message at 828-9109.

Coyour named top Conservation Officer

The DNR posthumously named Conservation Officer/Pilot Grant Coyour Conservation Office of the Year during a ceremony March 8 at Camp Ripley.

While flying a moose telemetry survey in the Red Lake Wildlife Management Area June 11, 1999, Coyour was killed in a crash that also took the life of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer Eric Cox. Coyour was 43. Cox was 29. It was the DNR's first fatal air crash. The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet determined the accident's cause.

Coyour had been a conservation officer since 1988 and a DNR pilot since 1997. He received the DNR's "Meritorious Service Award for Valor" in 1993 for his actions in an armed hostage situation. Prior to joining the DNR, he was a deputy with the Redwood County Sheriff's Department. He had been a Minnesota Army National Guard pilot for 15 years.

Mlynar named DNR Boat and Water Safety Officer of the Year

Minnesota Conservation Officer Bob Mlynar, who serves Crow Wing and Aitkin counties, was named DNR 1999 Boat and Water Safety Officer of the Year during a ceremony March 8 at Camp Ripley. The honor is based on demonstrated leadership abilities and outstanding achievements in boating safety education, Boating While Intoxicated (BWI) enforcement, and service to other law enforcement agencies.

Firearm Safety Instructor of the Year hits his target

Since 1963, Harold Kick of Pine City has taught nearly 3,000 students the importance of firearm safety as a Minnesota DNR hunter education instructor. His classes were so effective that they were video taped and used by state agencies as an example of how to organize and conduct a successful firearm safety program.

Kick, a longtime member of the Snake River Valley Conservation Club, has also been praised for his comprehensive hunter education field trips. At the end of each firearm safety class, students are invited to Kick's property for an "in-the-field experience" of real life hunting scenarios. Mounted deer, birds, blaze orange coats, deer stands, and other hunting items most students have never seen are strategically placed throughout the area. The students practice crossing a fence or a creek while carrying a firearm. He also labels trees, flowers and other vegetation so students can learn their names and appreciate their beauty.

Kick was named the Minnesota Firearm Safety Education Volunteer Instructor of the Year by the DNR during the recent Northwest Sport Show in Minneapolis, the award culminated Kick's nearly 50 years of service and firearm safety education to the people of Minnesota.

DNR names recipient of Randy Olson Memorial Award

Keith Carlson of Anoka was honored by the Minnesota DNR as the Randy Olson Memorial Advanced Hunter Education and Bowhunter Education Instructor of the Year during an awards ceremony at the recent Northwest Sport Show in Minneapolis.

Randy Olson was an enthusiastic and hard-working volunteer instructor who contributed a great deal to the Advanced Hunter Education and Bowhunter Education programs. After Olson's untimely death in 1981, his wife set up a memorial to his contributions for others to emulate. Keith Carlson will be the 18th recipient of the award, which was first presented in 1982.

The Minnesota Advanced Hunter Education Program focuses on hunter responsibility, safety, hunt planning, outdoor survival, laws, wildlife identification, animal rights issues, and wildlife management. Bowhunter Education Program students learn about bowhunter responsibility and safety, bowhunter laws, survival techniques and first aid. They also learn about methods of bowhunting, game harvesting, game recovery and meat preservation.

Nongame Wildlife Checkoff celebrates 20th anniversary

It's hard to believe, but one of the DNR's youngest and most successful wildlife funding initiatives is now 20 years old -- the Nongame Wildlife Checkoff.

Until the Nongame Wildlife Checkoff came along, the entire budget for Minnesota's Nongame Wildlife Program was less than $30,000 per year. The checkoff was created in the spring of 1980 at the initiative of then State Sen. Colin Peterson of Detroit Lakes.

Checkoff funding has made possible the creation of a statewide inventory of nongame wildlife population data, including bald eagle nesting sites, heron colonies, and other sensitive areas in need of protection.