OUTDOORS NOTES

The Minnesota DNR Enforcement Division recently announced that state conservation officer Joyce Kuske of Little Falls was promoted to second lieutenant and has accepted the assistant training coordinator/officer training position at Camp Ripley.

Kuske started her new duties Wednesday. Kuske has been a conservation officer since 2001.

Also, at the recent Minnesota Peace and Police Officers Association State Bull's-eye Championship pistol match in St. Cloud, Jim Guida of Brainerd took first place grand aggregate honors in the marksman classification along with first marksman in the classification match, timed fire match and first place in the marksman two-officer team match. The MPPOA competition involves law enforcement agencies from throughout the state.

Deep Portage fall schedule set

The Deep Portage Learning Center near Hackensack has released its fall schedule. Events remaining:

Rifle sighting for hunting season, 1:30 p.m., Oct. 13 and 27, no charge.

Tune up your GPS skills, 9:30 a.m., Oct. 27.

Weave your own snowshoes, 9 a.m., Nov. 3, $120.

Family climbing on Deep Portage's 35-foot climbing wall, 1:30 p.m., Nov. 10 and Dec. 8, $10 per climber (must be 8 or older and large enough to fit equipment).

Open house, Dec. 1, no charge.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, fees are $5 for adults, $3 for children 12 and younger and $3 for Deep Portage members. Deep Portage is located 10 miles east of Hackensack, off Cass County Road 46. For more information and reservations, call (218) 682-2325 or e-mail portage@uslink.net. Visit the Web site at www.deep-portage.org.

Group to survey Lake Mille Lacs

The entire Lake Mille Lacs shoreline will be sampled for juvenile fish Monday through Friday.

The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission will conduct the survey to determine if juvenile fish have entered the population at the lake. Up to three electrofishing boats per night will be used to complete the survey. After collecting data, all fish will be released.

Conservation partners celebrate

As dawn broke over Lake Onamia on Sept. 15, six youth waterfowl hunters and their mentors ventured to strategic spots on this wild-rice-filled lake not far from Lake Mille Lacs.

Later in the day, the teens, their mentors and others from a number of Minnesota's conservation groups would celebrate the 30th anniversary of the state's migratory waterfowl stamp and unveil a monument at this special lake commemorating the event. But the real focus was on hunting and Youth Waterfowl Day.

Since 1996, hunters age 15 and younger have been allowed to hunt from sunrise to 4 p.m. on the Saturday two weeks before the waterfowl opener if accompanied by an adult. The adult mentors are not allowed to hunt.

With the hunt wrapped up, DNR officials and others celebrated the 30th anniversary of the state waterfowl stamp, the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, the 70th anniversary of Ducks Unlimited Inc., and the completion of habitat restoration efforts on Lake Onamia.

Representatives from the Minnesota Chapter of Ducks Unlimited Inc., the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibway and a number of local people attended the event.

State lands to be offered

The Minnesota DNR announced plans to hold the state's 29th sale of metallic mineral exploration and mining leases on lands located in portions of Carlton, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Lake and St. Louis counties.

The sale is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 24 at the DNR Central Office, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul.

Bid forms, instructions on how bids are to be submitted, copies of the rules (Minnesota Rules, parts 6125.0100 through 6125.0700) and copies of the Mining Unit Book, listing the land areas designated by the commissioner as mining units, may be obtained from the Transactions Section, Division of Lands and Minerals, DNR Building, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4045. E-mail inquiries may be sent to kathy.lewis@dnr.state.mn.us.

The Mining Unit Book will be available at least 30 days prior to the sale. Application for each copy of the Mining Unit Book must be accompanied by a check or money order for $20 payable to the DNR plus shipping and applicable Minnesota sales tax.

DNR question of the week

Q: The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive insect that is destroying ash trees in states to the east of Minnesota. What can people look for in their own ash trees as early signs the bug is here?

A: Before you see the beetles, you're going to see symptoms of dying ash trees. The first thing to look for is die-back in the crown. That means that at the top of the tree, you will see yellowing, you will see leaf loss and this will occur year after year with more and more dying each year.

Once the tree starts to die, it will send up these shoots from the base or from just an unusual spot on the tree - they're called epicormic sprouts - and this is sort of the tree's last attempt to send out shoots and stay alive and grow as its dying.

When the infestation gets bad, you will be able to see, upon close inspection, very tiny "D" shaped exit holes, and this is where the beetle comes out of the tree. It's shaped like a "D" because the beetle is flat on top and rounded below.

If a homeowner believes that he or she has seen an emerald ash borer, call the Department of Agriculture at its "Arrest the Pest" hotline at (651) 296-6684 or (888) 545-6684.