sausageheavenoutdoors Enjoy making homemade sausage, Tasty way's to BBQ, smoking meats and poultry. See how northern Minnesota was settled and the life early homesteader's lived their lives and more!!

2015 FIREARMS REGULATIONS

Well they are out for us that are excited for this years firearms season. Most of us are still in conservative hunting areas but things are looking up. In general the DNR says that there were more deer seen after last years milder winter. More does with two or more fawns are seen statewide. The antlers on bucks are growing and growing fast.

Mid-Summer reports from wildlife managers around the state place the overall deer population recovery on solid footing. However, during the 2015 season, conservative population management will allow deer numbers to rebuild across much of the state. One deer limits will apply for most hunters during this rebuilding year. For more information about the 2015 deer season, permit area maps and links to the 2015 Minnesota hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook, see http://www.mndnr.gov/hunting/deer.

BOUNDARY WATERS RESCUE

July 16, 2015. Two conservation officers with the Minnesota DNR were among the first responders to an emergency call July 7 inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. They joined other first responders from St. Louis and Lake counties after a teenage canoeist from Rochester became trapped in rapids after going over Basswood Falls near the Minnesota-Canadian border.

It took DNR conservation officers Marty Stage and Sean Williams, both of Ely, several hours by motorboat, canoe, and foot to reach the scene, where the initial team was completing rescue lines to the victim and canoe. Together rescuers were able to free the teenager’s foot, get him to shore and begin to warm him up after being submerged in rushing water for nearly six hours.

“He was extremely hypothermic, going in and out of consciousness,” said Williams. “I think his foot was fine, which was amazing-just swollen and bruised.” A State Patrol helicopter later arrived, and the victim was brought to a U.S. Forest Service float plane for transport to the ELy hospital for treatment. Officer Stage said it was a tense situation that could easily have ended badly. “Luckily it was a beautiful warm day with no wind, and there was a lot of time until nightfall.”

The lesson learned once again is not to take unnecessary chances in such a remote wilderness setting, ” Stage said. “Even with today’s technology, when something goes wrong like it did this time, basic tools, some common sense, and other people might still be your best chance for survival.”

CHILI DOGS

Just had to make some fresh chili dogs!! They are so good and have the right amount of heat. Check out my step by step process in my Homemade Sausage page!!

ZEBRA MUSSELS VS NATIVE MUSSELS

You hear a lot about how zebra mussels are bad for Minnesota’s lakes and rivers. How are native mussels different from these invasive species?

Minnesota has about 50 native mussel species, and they are specially adapted to benefit our aquatic ecosystems. Some native mussels can live for decades, while zebra mussels live only a few years. Native mussel larvae must attach to a fish host for the early stage of life, as compared to zebra mussels that simply release larvae into the surrounding water. Using sticky threads, a zebra mussels attaches itself to native mussels or other underwater objects, while a native mussel uses a foot to burrow into the river or lake bottom.

Both native and zebra mussels can form large colonies, but their effects on the surrounding ecosystem are quite different. A key difference is that invasive zebra mussels filter out food that would ordinarily be consumed by fish. Native mussels, on the other hand, primarily filter out bacteria and fungus without intercepting food for fish. In fact, native mussel colonies create biological “hot spots” that favor other macroinvertebrates, which in turn provide food for fish. They essentially function like a freshwater coral reef. Mike Davis, DNR river ecologist.