Moldy birdseed and unclean bird feeders can make birds sick.

Docks and dock platforms provide access to Minnesota’s lakes and rivers, and are regulated to help protect public safety as well as aquatic habitat.

May 25

The rapid whistling of the downy woodpecker greets me this early morning as I settle in by the slowly-receding flooded Red River. Papa downy is calling for a mama downy to fit in with fast-approaching Mother’s Day.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending xxx 2014. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

Anglers fishing for northern pike in Minnesota should know that the Department of Natural Resources is committed to reviewing all existing special regulations that went into effect last season.

Seven deer from a Merrifield deer farm herd have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

Minnesotans with an all-terrain vehicle registered for private or agricultural use won’t need to pay the additional registration fee ($53.50 for three years) to ride the state’s public ATV trails, June 7-9.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending May 6, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

Work on an extensive habitat restoration project will take place this summer in the St. Louis River estuary, where the river enters Lake Superior.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending April 29, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

Feeling that tug on the line, an angler sets the hook and reels in a small sunfish, then asks the perennial question: Should I keep it?

American crow sails across my line of vision above the oaks and elms here by the Red River to greet the morning. He promptly sails out of sight beyond the treetops, finding no business in this spot at the moment.

Homeowners are reminded to be aware of bears this spring and check their property for food sources that could attract bears.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending April 22, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments through May 22 on an environmental assessment worksheet to address proposed expansion of recreational trails at Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area in Crow Wing County.

The America white pelican is making a comeback in Minnesota, not only for the season, but also in terms of its population.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending April 15, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

The river has broken free. The Red River has taken possession of the land around it, and there is virtually nothing the human can do about it except sigh and wait and get out of the way, until Old Man River gets good and ready to retire within his banks again.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will conduct three informational webinars in late April and early May about Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline replacement project.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending April 8, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

Applications for bear hunting licenses are being accepted now through May 3, wherever Minnesota hunting and fishing licenses are sold, online at mndnr.gov/buyalicense, and by telephone at (888) 665-4236.

Deep Portage Conservation Reserve east of Hackensack has scheduled two spring shooting sports events for youth and adults.

Hunters, wildlife watchers, landowners and interested groups can provide their thoughts about deer populations, proposed hunting and trapping season changes, including expanding the youth deer hunting season across the state, allowing smaller-gauged shotguns for wild turkey hunting, and vari…

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending April 1, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

The sun has set to work on the snow. At first, seeing the snow in the bright sun this early morning by the still-frozen Red River is deceiving.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is seeking comments on a proposal to revise the requirements governing off-highway vehicle access to certain areas of the Togo Forest Recreation Area in the George Washington State Forest in northeastern Itasca County.

Last year more than 20,000 Minnesotans volunteered their services to assist the Department of Natural Resources in accomplishing its conservation mission.

While anglers fishing Upper Red Lake this spring will again be able to keep four walleye, a change in the size regulation will allow them to take one fish over 20 inches — making potential keepers out of considerably more of the lake’s walleye population.

Warm weather and significant rainfall in parts of the state have resulted in slush and standing water on many water bodies, leading to rapid ice deterioration and making travel over the ice difficult and extremely unsafe, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

The calendar reminds me that we are in the early part of the migration season. The robins, bluebirds and grackles, that intrepid advance guard, would be arriving in small numbers.

Following the pattern observed in neighboring states, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reporting a substantial but expected decline in the number of bats in Minnesota.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending March 25, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Sarah Strommen has big plans for the first weekend of summer break: Fill as many Minnesota state parks campsites with school-aged kids and their families as possible.

Here are highlights from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer (CO) reports for the week ending March 18, 2019. The complete report is available at www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/co_report/index.html

A new “I Can!”program offers participants the chance to learn the outdoor skills necessary to take an overnight canoe camping trip.

A youth paired with an adult can join other youth-adult pairs to learn the basics of fly fishing from experienced instructors over the course of a spring weekend, April 26-28 near Lanesboro.

The deep cold hangs like a silver screen upon the woodlands on the banks of the Red River. A brilliant sun burns through the morning air, challenging the cold.