articles from August, 1992 newsletter:
President's Message
May I bend your ear just one more time? My term of office will soon conclude at the annual meeting in August and I want to express my gratitude to all you Sportsmen's Club members for putting up with me for so long. Without your counsel, recommendations and guidance I surely would have spun myself, long ago, right down through the bedrock and into the dismal swamps of inactiveness. Be assured, being an SCLV officer, board member or volunteer will allow for none of that. So before I plunge down into the depths of my leather heart-saver chair, I want to say thank you; thank you to all who helped, all who cared, all who will always do it over again for so long as it is needed and will help Lake Vermilion.
And there are special thank you's. Rick, Doug, Patty, Harold, Pat, Dale, Leon, Paula, Ray and all who have served in the past, thanks. Thanks to a board of directors who managed to keep things calmed down enough to get some things done. And now for a SPECIAL, special thank you to Barbara Shook, you are everybody's definition of a Lady. Thank God for people like you. To us, you are the Jewel of Vermilion.
Thanks to all the members who have writien, called or talked to us with suggestions, ideas and recommendations. We have tried to act on them where time, money, merit and manpower will allow. If your idea has not been implemented, perhaps you should bump us again. We are just a tad shy of perfect and maybe we didn't understand.
Thanks to all you folks who have peeled out from under the goose downs on a cold, rainy morning to go kiss a sucker goodbye, check the lights or feed the deer, or whatever it is we all do on those mornings. Well, our rewards are in knowing we are part of the best Sportsmen's Club there has ever been, ever will be; and we are doing our part in the enhancement of Lake Vermilion and the community it serves.
And now, from me to you, thank you for the opportunity to serve as the president of the Club. It.has been one of the most meaningful things that I have ever done. I intend to stay active with the group and you can count on me, as I have counted on you. It works. And now from the very bottom of my heart --- saver, Thanks.
See you on the Lake,
Sparky
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TIP to be at Annual Meeting
This year at the annual meeting, Saturday, Aug. 8, the Club has asked that TIP Inc. present a program explaining the purpose and function of their organization. As we know, TIP or Turn In Poachers as the name implies, is a private group that is working diligently to protect the natural resources here in Minnesota. They work very closely with the DNR.
Karen Kelly from TIP will present the program, complete with a video. There will also be, available for purchase, a beautiful wildlife print to add to our collections. So sign up early, as you know seating is limited. You won't want to miss this young lady and what she has to say.
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24th Annual Meeting ... Tower - Saturday, August 8
The 24th annual meeting of the Sportsmen's Club will be held at the Tower Civic Center on Saturday, August 8. The seating capacity at the Civic Center is Ilmited, so reservations must be received NO LATER than Wednesday, August 5. The social hour will begin at 6 p.m. with the dinner to follow at 7p.m. The buffet dinner wrll be catered by Zup's of Ely. Cost of the dinner wlil be $6.00 for adults and $1 for children under age 6.
The following directors will stand for re-electlon: Paula Bloczynski, Harold Korpela and Leon Long.
Nominations from the floor will be accepted, but please have the potential nominee's permission before presenting his/her name.
The program will consist of a review of the past year's activities and a presentation by a representative from TIP (Turn in Poachers). Members will also have an opportunity to bring up matters of personal concern regarding club business or problems around the lake.
To make resenrations (by August 5, please) call: Virginia Daggit, 753-9738; Paula Bloczynski, 753-2107; or Vi Harris, 666-2300.
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Robert B. Olson Memorial Scholarship Awarded
Julia Ann Schlotec, 1991 graduate of Cook High School, has again been awarded the Robert B. Olson Memorial Scholarship. Announcement of the award was made at the June meeting of the board of directors of the Lake Vermilion Sportsmen's Club. Last year Julia Ann was the first recipient of the scholarship, which was established to honor the memory of Robert B. Olson, a Tower civic leader and Lake Vermilion resident who died Oct. 5, 1990.
Julia Ann is a sophomore attending Gustavus Adolphus College. She is studying environmental science, business and French, with a career goal of using a degree in environmental engineering to work within an international environmental organization. As a freshman she was named to the dean's list for her academic performance.
Julia Ann has worked as a Forest Service volunteer and as a naturalist at Pehrson Lodge on Lake Vermilion. She is an avid outdoorswoman, enjoying fishing, camping, canoeing, jogging and swimming. After a brief visit home this summer, she returned to Gustavus Adolphus to begin student work on a bio-chemistry project awarded to the college by a national food manufacturer.
The Robert B. Olson Memorial Scholarship is available to either a Cook or Tower-Soudan High School graduate who is intending to study a college curriculum relating to conservation or the environment. The scholarship's $200 cash award is made jointly through the Robert B. Olson Memorial Fund and the general fund of the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion. Bob Olson was a director of the Sportsmen's Club at the time of his death, and the club is responsible for selecting the scholarship recipient and for the administration of the scholarship fund.
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Sportsmen's Club Forced To Cease Operation Of Navigation Lights
After a struggle which lasted over two years, the board of directors of the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion, in a unanimous vote at the July 8, 1992 board meeting, decided it has no choice but to cease operation of the navigation lights.
The reason for this unprecedented move is the Club cannot secure a liability insurance policy to cover any Club activities so long as it maintains and operates the navigation lights. Without liability insurance the Club's substantial financial assets could be lost if some sort of claim and subsequent lawsuit was brought against the Club. This is certainly a sad commentary on the state of our society but is a reality with which the board must deal.
This problem first surfaced about two years ago when the Club's insurance agency, Francis Insurance of Cook, informed the board that the liability insurance carrier would not renew the policy because it felt the Club's operation of the navigation lights exposed it to an unacceptable amount of liability exposure. Francis Insurance conducted an exhaustive search and finally found another insurance company from Wisconsin who ended up writing the policy.
When the policy renewal date came up again in 1990, that insurance company refused to renew it for the same reason. It should be noted the Club has never submitted an insurance claim.
The Club's insurance agency again searched for another carrier, this time for almost a year and unfortunately without success. We had run out of options.
Board members Dale Lundblad and Barb Shook took on the task of exploring some unconventional options.. State Senator Doug Johnson was contacted and asked to help. Senator Johnson had the Department of Commerce contact Dale and offer its assistance in searching for liability insurance in the private market. An extensive search turned up no companies who were willing to write a liability policy as long as the navigation lights were operated.
The State Insurance Pool was then contacted because it was suggested by the Commerce Department that the State of Minnesota might write a liability policy for the Club if it could be established that the operation of the navigation lights is a necessary public service. This avenue was studied, but it was finally concluded that the State could not legally provide insurance unless the operation of the lights was mandated by law.
At this point, the board of directors of the Club concluded no other options exist and it was decided to cease operations of the navigation lights.
It is the intention of the Club to encourage anyone interested in preserving this valuable boating resource to form a new organization with the sole purpose of operating the lights. The Club will sell the equipment, supply technical assistance and may even provide partial funding.
Club members will be asked for input on this matter at the annual meeting. Anyone interested in helping to save the navigation lights should contact a board member for information.
Dale Lundblad, Board Member
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Muskies in Vermilion -- Watch Out!
Fishing offers many things to many people. For some it's a chance to get away from the hectic work place, catch few fish, listen to the loons and enjoy Mother Nature. To others its spending time pursuing a fish that has big teeth and is as long as your leg.
Northern pike have been in Lake Vermilon for many years and some record-class fish in the 20-pound plus range have been caught. The great thing about our fishery is that in the past years muskies have been introduced and are starting to show up in the 35-40 inch class. These fish are strong and beautiful and can't be mistaken for northern pike. The muskie has a dark on light barred or spotted pattern. In other words the bars are a dark green and the background color is a light, almost aqua-green color. The northern pike has a darker background color with whitish spots.
Muskies and northern pike are both great trophy fish and the legal inch limit of the muskie is 36 inches, although muskies and northerns should be released for several reasons. There isn't anything more exciting than hooking and fighting a large fish. If we don't let these fish go, they won't be around to give another fisherman this thrill. Also the bigger fish of any specie are female fish and to insure the future fishery of any lake these fish have to be released!
A couple things to remember concerning releasing fish. The quicker you unhook the fish and get it back in the water the better. When releasing a northem or muskie, try to hold the fish in the water and move it back and forth in the water before letting them swim off. Lures without treble hooks make it much easier to release a fish unharmed. It's very hard on a fish to be kept in a live well too long. If you have to take the fish in, remember to keep the live well circulating and get in quickly, get your picures or whatever and release the fish as soon as you can. The best way, of course, is to let the fish go right where you caught it
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I had a great experience this week. I fished two days with an Illinois couple. In those two days we caught and released 20 northern pike. The highlight of the trip came when Jackie hooked a big fish off the front of the boat. Things got pretty hectic and she basically "held on." When she got the fish in I could see it was a nice muskie and was able to get it in the boat for her, with a lot of coaching from Jim, her husband. They were both very excited and as soon as we got pictures they asked me to release the flsh, which I did. This was a l0-pound fish and the biggest she had ever caught. I noticed another hole in the muskie's mouth, which showed it had recently been released. I would like to thank the fisherman or lady who released this fish. It gave this Illinois lady a chance to catch a fish most people will never see.
This muskie is still in the lakel Next time you hook a nice fish of any species, think of the fact that someone may have already released this fish once. Wouldn't it be nice to let it swim away unharmed and provide someone else the chance for this exciting experience? Who knows, it might be you or your fishing partner next time? Good luck and good fishing.
Doug Knoer
Vermilion Guide Service
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Wolf Bay Forest Fire Update
Mike Hanson, DNR District Forester, Cook
District personnel returned to the site of the Wolf Bay forest fire on June 30, 1992, to determine the success of their tree planting efforts in the summer of 1991. As you recall, the Wolf Bay fire started as a shore lunch fire on Labor Day weekend in 1990. Sept. 4 a stiff wind kicked up on a hot, dry day and the action started. The end of the day, saw myself as the fire boss, crews from adjacent DNR districts, Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Forest Serice, two Beavers (one dropping water, the other flying in crews) and a helicopter fighting the flames. Resort owners, cabin owners and fishermen all lent a hand on the initial suppression action too. The end result was 10 acres of charred Lake Vermilion shoreline, several thousand dollars spent and untold damages to the visual quality of Lake Vermilion. We were fotunate the location is fairly remote and no cabins were in danger.
It was the DNR's responsibility as the landowner to revegetate the burned area as quickly and efficiently as possible. My job was to determine what was the most suitable specie of tree and how to work around the charred slash and water access problems. Jerry Schoon and Dale Gustafson volunteered to log the burned area during the winter months of 1990/91 for a salvage rate on the stumpage value.
My original thoughts were to aerial seed the site with -jack pine. Jack pine is a pioneer specie that is propagated by fire and would be a natural choice for this location. I changed my mind after reorganizing my thoughts from a timber production mode to an aesthetic mode. Jack pine is a relatively short-lived specie (65 to 85 years) and not very pleasing to the eye whereas Norway pine (our state tree) is longer lived (150-200 years) and is very desirable in a landscape. I decided Norway was the tree for this site; the.next problem was how to deliver 8,000 seedlings to the site and who was to plant them?
The Norways that were selected for planting are known as "tublings", meaning that styrofoam blocks with approximately 200 finger-sized holes in each block are filled with potting soil and a seed. This process takes place under a controlled environment in an enclosed tree nursery green house. This type of tree has a higher survival rate than a bare root seedling, but due to the size of each container, are very bulky for delivery to inaccessible areas. I felt that delivery was a minor problem. The trees could either be sling-loaded into the site with a helicopter or simply hauled over in a large boat.
I contacted Barb Shook of the Lake Vermilion Sportsmen's Club and inquired if the Club would be interested in replanting the burned-over shoreline. The Club embraced the idea with enthusiasm, but because of logistical problems, they could not plant on the planned day. I was able to attach the planting job onto an active planting contract and the trees were planted as scheduled.
Now, one year later, the first of a regular series of plantation checks was implemented. The next check will be in 1997 and then a final check will take place in 2001.
The checks allow us to follow the growth progress of the trees, monitor mortality and replant if necessary. We also determine whether other vegetation is competing for sunlight and nutrients with the young trees.
This first check showed that even though the area was incinerated by the intense heat of the fire, new growth is abundant. Most of the plants are low-growing herbaceous plants and do not present long-term problems for us. The Norvay seedlings are doing very well; average height is 1-1/4 feet and one foot of the height was put on this year.
This is an excellent height growth for the first year. Seventy-five percent of the burned area had 500 stems/acre of Norway and l2% of the burned area had 187 stems/ acre of jack pine. The jack pine naturally seeded in from the scattered jack pine originally on the site. When the area bumed, the fire prepared a seedbed and the heat opened the cones and released the seeds. Both species combined brought the stocking up to 88% with a total of 687 trees per acre. These numbers are exactly what we are striving for when we plant logged or burned areas. It appears one small section of Lake Vermilion's scenic shoreline will have a young, thrifty stand of pine for all of us to enjoy. Hopefully this scenario will not be re-enacted by some careless person leaving his fire still smoldering.
If you have questions on the DNR's tree planting program or planting trees on your own land, feel free to contact my office at 666-5385 or the Tower District office at 753-4500. We are all eager to help when it comes to planting a tree.
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Restitution
New law sets values for fish and game
People who unlawfully take game and fish should pay more than a fine. They should, in fact, make restitution, which is a payment to restore lost values to the people of Minnesota as opposed to a criminal penalty designed to punish the violator.
A law to this effect was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 1989. During the past two years the exact details of this law have been studied and agreed upon. In the future, poachers may face not only fines, but restitution payments as well.
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Some base values
Crappie -- $5
Perch -- $5
Rabbit -- $20
Walleye -- $30*
Northern pike -- $30*
Mink -- $30
Raccoon -- $30
Geese -- $50
Ducks (except canvasback) -- $50
Grouse -- $50
Pheasant -- $50
Partridge -- $50
Otter -- $100
Canvasback duck -- $200
Tundra swan -- $200
Wild turkey -- $400
Black bear -- $400
Prairie chicken -- $500
Deer (non-trophy) -- $500
Muskie -- up to $1,000
Moose -- $1,000
Trumpeter swan -- $3,000
Bald eagle -- $4,000
Endangered birds -- $4,000
*Values increase with size
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DNR Enforces Motorboat Operating Noise Law
You're out on the dock, enjoying the peaceful solitude of a weekend at the lake. Without warning, a low rumble starts in the distance and builds to a roar nearly as loud as a jack hammer or heavy-metal rock group. Is it an F-15 jet fighter taking a low pass over the lake?
Chances are, it's a boat with an inadequate or nonexistent muffling system, or "cut-outs" which allow the operator to select whether or not the exhaust passes through the muffler by means of a switch on the dash.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is warning owners of boats with loud motors that the state has strict laws regulating watercraft noise, and offenders are being fined. "Every summer we get a number of calls from lakeshore owners and other water recreation enthusiasts about noisy boats, and the situation seems to be getting worse," said Tim Smalley, DNR boating safety specialist. "I guess you can't blame folks for being upset when they go to the lake for peace and quiet, and a few boaters with extremely noisy motors roar up and down the lake all day," he added.
Minnesota's watercraft noise laws state that a motorboat has to have an efficient muffling system that prevents excessive or unusual noise. and keeps the noise level below set limits. (Eighty-two decibels at 50 feet or equivalent levels at other distances for boats built after Jan 1, 1982, or 84 decibels for boats built before that date.) You may not sell or operate a boat that exceeds the noise standards or one that is equipped with cut-outs or any other device designed to increase the motorboat's noise. It is also unlawful to modify a boat to exceed the noise limits.
According to Smalley, the only exemptions to the motorboat noise laws are for boats that are operating under a written permit from the county sheriff or U.S. Coast Guard for a marine event such as races or trials for a specified area and time.
DNR conservation officers, as well as a number of county sheriff's departments, are using sound level meters to enforce the motorboat noise laws.
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State Bird Needs Help
The common loon, Minnesota's State Bird, needs your help. During the nesting season loons are unable to tolerate disturbance near their nest. Too much human activity in the vicinity of a loon nest often times leads to the loon nest being abandoned. The result being no young loons to enjoy during the summer and fewer adults in the future.
Loons typically nest near the edge of the water usually within a few feet of the water's edge. The nest is quite inconspicuous, but a lone bird on the water, close to shore, appearing to be on guard, is a giveaway to a nearby nest.
While enjoying our area lakes, please avoid loons and stay away from loon nests. The regular loss of loon nests due to human disturbance will mean no loon calls echoing on our lakes in the future.
Help our State Bird be a part of every suitable lake, leave loons and loon nests alone!
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