RYDELL REVIVAL Partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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1 Spring 2013 Special points of interest: Win Mitchell Family Project Dedication Wetlands Conservation s Hidden Gem in MN Minnesota DU Sponsorship Record RYDELL REVIVAL Partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tricked-out DU Chevy Truck Inside this issue: Chairman s Chatter Win Mitchell Family Dedication MN DU at Northwest Sportshow Minnesota Artists Corner Rydell Revival Projects Project Hall of Fame RIM WRP Partnership State Convention Photos Minnesota DU News Otter Lake (above) during the first drawdown in spring 2012 and in the fall (below) showing the vegetation response. Otter Lake is a Living Lakes Initiative project on Rydell National Wildlife Refuge. More on Rydell NWR and its DU Living Lakes projects on Page 6

2 Page 2 Spring 2013 State Chairman s Chatter Greetings, My name is Tim Roble and I am honored to be the new State Chair of Minnesota Ducks Unlimited. I reside in rural Frazee with my wife, Carrie; our two boys, Jacob and Ryan; and our chocolate lab, Remmie. Tim Roble, State Chair Your Minnesota DU State Committee State Chair Tim Roble Frazee, MN tcroble@yahoo.com State Council Chair Dave Flink Hutchinson, MN dflink@mnducksvolunteer.org State Chair Elect Brian Ross Baxter, MN bross@mnducksvolunteer.org State Treasurer Dan Scheffler Northfield, MN danielscheffler1@gmail.com State Volunteer Recruitment Coord. Scott Christensen Litchfield, MN lfd116@yahoo.com State Convention Chairs Myron and Cathy Stevens Garrison, MN cntycare@brainerd.net State Major Gift Chair Jim Demgen East Gull Lake, MN james.demgen@gmail.com I would like to start out by thanking Dave Flink, our past state chair, for his great leadership and service to Ducks Unlimited. Dave has helped MNDU grow and has laid the path for future success. It is a great time to be a part of MNDU and I am honored to be the state chair of such a great organization with such great people. As I write this, we are well into the busy spring event season in the winter that just won t quit. Many of the DU volunteers are busy with events as the spring event season is our busiest fundraising time here in MN. This time of year is also very busy for our legislators in St. Paul. Policy issues can affect how Ducks Unlimited can be effective in doing habitat work right here in Minnesota. There have been some issues with some of our legislators tinkering with the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund that we Minnesotans voted on to have tax dollars set aside for conservation. Some of the changes that are being proposed would affect our ability to provide critical waterfowl habitat here in MN. Many DU members have voiced their concern with the legislators, and it has made a difference. Thank you, and please keep letting your legislators know how you feel I am finding out that they do listen. Thank you, Governor Dayton, for preserving the integrity of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council! I hope you will be able to get out and enjoy the change of season, as spring slowly makes its way here. Have fun at your local DU event and don t forget to bring a friend along. Thank you for your support of Ducks Unlimited! Here is the new State Chair in one of his first duties, presenting a framed sponsor print and a mallard pair award to Matt Lemke of Flint Hills Resources to honor their ongoing commitment to Minnesota DU and the DU Living Lakes Initiative.

3 Spring 2013 Page 3 Win Mitchell Family Project Dedication Record cold and deep snow greeted attendees at the Win Mitchell Family Project Dedication on Saturday, April 20, Who would have thought that late April in southern Minnesota would have temps in the low teens and 14 inches of snow on the ground? Even so, more than 40 people waded through the snow to the dedication site, located at Cory Lake in Lac Qui Parle County. The previous days snowstorm was done and the sun had come out to start melting the frozen terrain. Win Mitchell has been a long-term volunteer for Minnesota DU, being involved with Minnesota DU for over 30 years. He has held many positions with the organization, including State Chair for 2007 and A tribute event was put together in his honor because of his numerous contacts, popularity, and rugged good looks. The Win Mitchell Family Project came about through a DU 75th Anniversary Tribute Event in July The tribute event included the Northfield DU Annual Golf Tournament, a fun shoot/hog Roast, and a tribute dinner. The three-event tribute qualified as a 75th Diamond Anniversary Event for Minnesota and raised $58,000 for the ducks. In addition, pledges in honor of the Win family are over $225,000. Cory Lake is a shallow lake on the DNR s Hamlin Wildlife Management Area. In cooperation with the DNR, DU built a pump-out system and water control structure at the outlet. DU also purchased a small portion of the shoreline and dontated it to the DNR, to allow them to better manage the lake. During the ceremony, Jon Schneider sent his son down to the lake through the snowdrifts to see if ducks were using the lake. The thick vegetation had been hiding more than 1,000 waterfowl that erupted from the cover, but then came right back into the lake. Deb and Win Mitchell poise behind the newly unveiled project dedication cairn. Congratulations Deb, Win, and Family! Win has been involved with Minnesota DU for more than 30 years. Project dedication attendees gather for a photo opportunity at the cairn, with the snow, blue skies and flags as a backdrop. Mallards, pintails, and white-fronted geese return to Cory Lake during the project dedication event. More than 1,000 waterfowl were using the lake that day.

4 Page 4 Spring 2013 We estimate 18,000 attendees came through the Minnesota DU room during the four-day show. A Greenwing with her painted decoy Minnesota DU at the Northwest Sportshow By Scott Schmidt, Special Events Chair The 2013 Northwest Sportshow at the Minneapolis Convention Center was a great success. The show ran for four days (March 20-24). This year s show attendance was 36,138, up from last year s show by over 7,000 people. We estimate 50% of the show attendees visit the DU room, which would add up to approximately 18,000 people through the DU room over the four-day show. The 4,400 square feet of floor space that we have for this show is truly amazing because it allows us to promote Minnesota DU in so many ways. One of our main focus areas for the show is DU conservation efforts in Minnesota, with displays focused on our DU s Living Lakes Initiative and Grassland Forever programs and information on actual projects that seem to be a great way to show people what is being done here in Minnesota. Of course we continue to work at our volunteer recruitment and promote our memberships during the show, but the big attention getters bringing people into the room are the SBAs and the silent auction items. A lot of people that visit us have never been to a DU event, so seeing all the prints, decoys and other DU items on display is very attractive. We do gain some membership and pick up a few new volunteers, but the big thing that is happening with this show is that it has turned into a great money maker. This is the fourth year we have been at the Northwest Sportshow. The first two years did not produce and the return was little to none. In fact, the second year, we had a loss, so we needed to make a change in the format going from a Sportsman s Night Out event to an open forum with more family focus. In just three short years, we have gone from an event that had a net loss to an event that will make some nice revenue. I don t think anyone thought that this would be this successful this fast! Over the course of the this year s show we had 600 greenwings participate in our painting activity. This year they could paint a duck decoy. It was a huge hit with the kids. Next year we will be looking for someone to underwrite the kids activity, so if anyone knows of someone who would be willing to do that please let me know. We also gave waterfowl ID posters, DU pins and Greenwing stickers to all kids that visited the DU room. The Sportshow also has a kids scavenger hunt and we are one of the stops for that activity. We teamed up with American s Woodshop again this year as well. Their staff set up a number of displays showing some of the projects that are available through their shop. They also gave duck-call-making demonstrations showing how to make a duck call from start to finish. To make an event like this work, you need some dedicated volunteers. We have over 50 volunteers Northwest Sportshow attendees fill the DU room, with may being to help cover the show and make sure that we have Greenwings working on painting their decoys. someone staffed in the following areas: 1) Main counter area (silent auction and sales), 2) Greenwing activities area, and 3) Conservation info/volunteer recruitment area (someone available for interaction with the public). So a great big THANK YOU goes out to TEAM DU! The preliminary numbers for the show, which would include the silent auction, SBAs, gun raffles and merchandise sale - Another Greenwing indicate we will be over $20,000 net/net! works on the painting activity.

5 Spring 2013 Page 5 Minnesota Artists Corner Thomas Moen Thomas Moen has been painting since early childhood, when his grandmother introduced him to oil paints at the age of eight. She let him use her art supplies and gave him instruction regularly. During his high school years, with unwavering support and encouragement from his parents and art teacher, he began to think about a career as an artist. Having a lifelong love for the outdoors, painting animals and natural landscapes is a challenge he relishes. Spending hours observing and photographing nature provide him with inspiration and a desire to share those experiences with others through his paintings. Seeking growth as an artist, he is continually experimenting with different mediums and artistic styles. Moen is a two-time winner of the Minnesota Duck Stamp contest and had done annual sponsor prints for MN Waterfowl Association, MN Ducks Unlimited, and T.I.P. He has placed second in the Minnesota Duck and Pheasant Stamp contests and has three times finished in the top six in the Federal Duck Stamp contest. Tom lives in Montrose, MN, with his wife, Sarah, and daughters, Allison and Evelyn, close to the prairie landscapes he enjoys above all others. Artwork provided courtesy of Thomas Moen and Wild Wings, LLC, Lake City, Minnesota Many of Tom s paintings focus on ducks, including this unique perspective of canvasbacks descending into a prairie wetland, titled Dakota Bulls Moen shows a different style with a scene of divers coming into a lake in Northern Royalty Redheads. He indicates, Redheads are my favorite of all ducks. To me, no bird represents the truly wild places of our northern forests and prairies more. Tom also does a lot of landscape paintings of mountains, rivers, and lakes. Here is an example in a landscape acrylic titled, Christmas Eve, showing hoarfrost and a rising sun the day before Christmas.

6 Page 6 Spring 2013 Rydell Revival Partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlfe Service The Rydell National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwestern Minnesota, south of the town of Mentor, near Maple Lake (see map below). It was established in 1992 and covers over 2,120 acres of prairie pothole habitat, including ten shallow lakes. DU has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enhance many of these shallow lakes. Originally, the refuge land had been acquired over many years by the Rydell family as a farm and hunting preserve. They planted trees and built water control structures. The Rydell family eventually sold the land to the Richard King Mellon Foundation, which donated it to the USFWS. The editor was given a tour of the refuge this spring (after the snow FINALLY melted!) by Refuge Manager Dave Bennett. The day of the tour, the headquarters area was alive with schoolchildren as refuge staff and volunteers provided an outdoor learning experience to kids from local schools. (continued on next page) DU has been partnering with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Minnesota for 27 years. Otter Lake was in full drawdown last fall, but the limited runoff this spring did put a little water in the basin. The lake will be kept in drawdown for another year to allow the vegetation to stabilize and grow better roots. The vegetation on the floor of Otter Lake was varied, extensive, and thick and will provide a good hemi-marsh condition when the basin is reflooded. A hemi-marsh is a mix of about 50% emergent vegetation and 50% water.

7 Spring 2013 Page 7 Rydell Revival Partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (continued) Dave explained that the facilities at Rydell currently provide visitor interpretation and contact for both Rydell and nearby Glacial Ridge NWR, which also has many DU project wetlands on it. As described by Dave Bennett, DU s work on the refuge started with an elevation survey of the entire refuge to understand the topography and where the water flowed. The water control structures built by the original owners were built for fish management and did not allow drawdown of the lakes to simulate drought conditions. The USFWS learned years ago, to make marshes and lakes most productive, they must be drawn down periodically, and they do this all over the country. DU then designed a structure on the outlet of Sunset Lake that allowed control of both Sunset Lake and Golden Pond. There was an existing channel that connected these two lakes. The new structure was built in In 2011, Ducks Unlimited installed a total of four new water control structures on High, Otter, Round, and Church lakes. Dave said future plans are for two more DUbuilt structures on two other shallow lakes on the refuge. Eventually, they will be able to manage water levels on eight small lakes on the refuge. He added, We really appreciate the help DU has given us here at Rydell. DU appreciates having the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a partner! This structure is small by DU standards, but allows refuge staff to flood a small pothole downstream from the High Lake structure. Funding for DU s construction of the control structures was provided by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources and a state grant from the Outdoor Heritage Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. A photo of the DUconstructed control structure on the outlet to Sunset Lake and Golden Pond. The structure allows the lakes to be pumped down. We really appreciate the help DU has given us here at Rydell. Round Lake was also in drawdown this spring. The basin will be reflooded when the emergent wetland vegetation is established. The DU-built control structure on Church Lake shows a new feature, a chain-link fence around the inlet to prevent debris and beaver from plugging the inlet.

8 Page 8 Spring 2013 PROJECT HALL OF FAME BIG STONE POOLS #3 & #5 The diversion channel to Big Stone pools #3 and #5 from the Yellow Bank River, where it crosses Lac Qui Parle County Highway 40. Ducks Unlimited has been doing projects in Minnesota since There are literally hundreds of DU projects scattered across the state. In fact, many of the water control structures on national wildlife refuges (NWRs), waterfowl production areas (WPAs) and state wildlife management areas (WMAs) were designed and built as Ducks Unlimited projects. This column is a regular feature devoted to describing some of these older DU projects. The Big Stone Pool #3 and Pool #5 project was one of DU s first projects in Minnesota, being completed in the fall of The project consisted of construction of a sluice gate and three 30- inch pipes to control flow out of the Yellow Bank River, a diversion channel to route water to Pool #3 and Pool #5, outlet half-pipes control structure for Pool #3, 500 feet of dike, and a castin-place stoplog control structure for Pool #5, which is 125 acres at full pool. Big Stone Pools #3 and #5 are located in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge, near the small town of Odessa in far western Minnesota. The project is one of the largest DU projects in Minnesota and cost about $250,000 in The project was visited this spring and was in great shape, with hundreds of ducks mainly mallards, scaup, and canvasbacks using it for spring migration habitat (see photos below). Canvasbacks were using Pool #5 during spring migration on April 20, Mallards stream east after getting up from the west end of Pool #5. The Pool #5 control structure (right) is a substantial structure built into the large dike at the east end of the pool. This photograph shows the structure this spring, more than 25 years after it was constructed. Diversion Channel Yellow Bank R. Pool #3 Main Flood Control Impoundment Half Culverts Dike Pool #5 Fritz poses by the halfculvert control structures for Pool #3, which is 21.8 acres at full pool. This 2012 aerial photograph shows the extent of the project, which is almost two miles in length (source Google Maps). Control Structure

9 Spring 2013 Page 9 Now Here is Chevy Truck Any DU Member Would Love! This tricked-out 2013 Chevrolet Silverado greeted banquet attendees during the spring Paul Bunyan Chapter DU banquet held at Maddens Great Hall at Madden s Resort on Gull Lake. The trucks were provided courtesy of Dondelinger Chevrolet Cadillac in Brainerd/Baxter to celebrate the opening of their new dealership on Highway 371 North. Visit their website at The Brainerd DU banquet had 300 members in attendance and raised $40,000.

10 Page 10 Spring 2013 Minnesota Wetlands Conservation s Hidden Gem RIM-WRP Partnership The hidden gem in Minnesota s wetlands conservation scene is the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) - Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) partnership to restore wetlands and grasslands on private lands. The RIM program, which is administered by the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), was set up by the Minnesota legislature to protect soil and water quality and support fish and wildlife habitat. WRP is a federal government program to restore wetland areas on agricultural land funded through the U.S. Farm Bill. The two programs obtain conservation easements on land to restore wetlands and associated uplands. In Minnesota, DU assists the USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with administering the RIM-WRP partnership in several counties. Here is how it works: DU hires contract employees to assist landowners with preparing the program application, facilitating the conservation easement purchase, designing the control structures, coordinating the construction contractor, observing the construction, and monitoring the results. NRCS provides office space, equipment, and vehicles at no charge to DU. DU has seven contract personnel scattered throughout Minnesota s farm counties to do this work. The funding for the contract easements comes from RIM and WRP together the easement rates are attractive to landowners and demand continues to be high. Duck broods on a WRP wetland last summer in Douglas County (photo courtesy of Aaron Weinandt). Jon Schneider, DU s Manager of Conservation Programs in Minnesota, set up a meeting for the editor with two of DU s contract employees for a look at what they do. Aaron Weinandt and John Hansel are based in the Fergus Falls NRCS office. Aaron is an engineer-in-training doing the design and construction work. John is a planner/ project manager with a wildlife biology background who works withland owners and other agencies on the application and easement process. DU has been partnering with the NRCS to assist them with administering the RIM-WRP Program for 10+ years. You would think an engineer and biologist would spend a lot of time outdoors on their jobs, but most of the time is spent in the office working on the files (see photo to the right) with applications, maps, plans, and phone/ coordination. Just like many of us, we have to spend time in the office to get the actual project work completed. Aaron Weinandt looks up from one of the files he is reviewing for another NRCS office. John Hansel shows how the Land Eligibility Acreage Calculator spreadsheet program works.

11 Spring 2013 Page 11 RIM-WRP Partnership (Continued) Aaron and John first provided me an explanation of what they do and showed me examples of some the project application files. Aaron presented some of the construction plans he was reviewing for other NRCS offices and allowed me to view several pre-construction, construction, and post-construction photographs. John walked me through the application process by showing me the several spreadsheets he fills in to prepare a project evaluation scoring. Their work area includes the counties of Otter Tail, Douglas, Pope, and Stevens, but they also help some for projects in other counties as well. At any one time, they are working on 15 to 25 different project sites. John indicated there is still a lot of landowner interest because many property owners, including farmers, value the wetland wildlife drawn to these projects. Aaron and John did have enough time during their busy spring season to provide a tour of some of their projects in Douglas and Otter Tail counties. The plan was to visit a few project sites and walk around to see the control structures, wetlands, and birds. Guess what? it rained!!! Imagine that, in Minnesota, this spring. It seemed like every time we stepped out of the vehicle, another downpour would start. Finally, we just said heck with it and slogged through the rain and mud to see the Brutlag site wetlands that were restored This photo taken during a downpour shows an enhanced wetland in Douglas County, near Lake Christina. Water levels have been restored, a cattail bog has been removed, and the upland had just been burned. last year. The wetlands were full and the grassland vegetation was starting to grow. John explained that they work with the landowner for a few years to get the vegetation fully established. Funding for DU s work has come from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which gets its money from the State Lottery. DU and BWSR are transitioning the funding to come from the Outdoor Heritage Fund. Look for more info on the DU RIM-WRP work in future issues of. Above is the construction plan for the Brutlag site in Otter Tail County. The blue areas are the recently restored wetlands. It is amazing how many wetland restorations these guys are working on. This restored pothole on the Brutlag-site will provide a good redhead nest and brood pond. The control structure outlet on one of the Brutlag site wetlands is designed to be beaver proof. Time will tell.

12 Page 12 Spring State Convention Photos The Minnesota DU State Convention was held on February 9 10, 2013, at Cragun s Resort in Brainerd. Photos courtesy of DU Volunteer Barb Sizer Attendees fill the hall for the Friday night MN DU Family Get- Together Party in the Sport Centre. The Minnesota DNR Commissioner, Tom Landwehr, a former DU employee, pumped up the convention attendees on Saturday. Outgoing State Chair, Dave Flink, received the top DU Award, the Jimmy Robinson Award, from DU CEO Dale Hall (left) and Terry Kostinec (right), Central Minnesota Regional Director. Scott Schmidt, the State Special Events Chair, received the Tommy Nelson Award for his great work on the Northwest Sportshow and Game Fair events.

13 Spring 2013 Page 13 Sponsors Record at Southern Minnesota Event The small town of Sherburn, Minnesota, was the location of a record-setting event for DU in Minnesota. The March 30th spring membership banquet scored 116 sponsors from a total 241 members in attendance. Sherburn has a population of only 1,130 people, so having this big a banquet is a huge success in itself. Chapter Chairman Doug Hartke attributed the sponsor record to great teamwork by the committee. Before the event even started, they had 89 sponsors because all committee members were working to get past and new sponsors. In addition, he said they had one member who, the night of the banquet, was fearless in asking everyone at the event to be a sponsor. The race to be a sponsor became contagious and sponsors just kept signing up and signing up. Many of the new sponsors used the monthly giving option for paying for their sponsorship. As you can imagine, they had a very productive banquet for the ducks. One reason for the event s success is the recent DU projects completed in the area. One is the Four Corners Wildlife Management Area, just out of town. DNR recently purchased the area, which includes drained shallow lakes. DU restored the wetlands on the property last year, which is a great advertisement for our conservation programs. 116 sponsors at one event is going to be hard to beat. Volunteer Spotlight Ross McHugh Ross started duck hunting in junior high school with a few close friends. He grew up on the Snake River in Pine City and always enjoyed seeing the ducks and geese in his backyard. He said, I would say that, after my first hunt, I was definitely hooked into waterfowl hunting. Ross started volunteering with DU in his second year at UMD. It was a relatively new chapter and he found out that it was a great way to meet some people that had the same interests. The group began doing a lot of hunting in the Duluth area and even made a couple trips out to North Dakota (when they were not doing homework.) As Ross s years went by at UMD, he moved to a leadership role with the chapter. He really enjoyed getting younger people to join and tried to make it a fun, lighthearted time to make some money for DU, but also to enjoy the camaraderie of other duck hunters. Upon graduation, Ross joined up with the St. Croix River Valley DU Chapter and got to see what one of the best chapters in MN could accomplish, raising over $100,000 from their event last year. He also saw the need for DU to return to the area where he grew up. Ross indicated, By mixing DU veterans and young guns, our Kettle River Ducks Unlimited Chapter had a very successful chapter restart event, and is poised to do some great things next fall. To sum up his volunteer experiences, Ross said, I really enjoy volunteering with DU because you get to meet great people that are committed to the same cause. It is also the best way to give back to the sport which I love. One of the greatest things about DU is the dedication of its volunteers. Ross and DU CEO Dale Hall at the Minnesota DU State Convention this past February

14 You are Ducks Unlimited MINNESOTA DUCKS UNLIMITED 6101 Kaymar Drive Edina, MN Phone: Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres, thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. What a difference a year makes. In spring 2012, after a very warm winter, there was very little snow cover. In spring 2013, the opposite was true, with much of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada covered by 20-plus inches of snow. Especially promising was the over 40 inches of snow in the prairie provinces of Canada. This should fill the wetlands of the duck factory, giving us a potential record fall flight. ducks.org For articles and inserts please send to Editor: Brian Ross Memorywood Drive Baxter, MN Phone: bross@mnducksvolunteer.org