Outdoors

A VOLUNTEER with the Ely Igloo Snowmobile Club cuts a downed tree on the Tomahawk Trail. The Igloo Club is responsible for clearing, brushing, grooming and maintaining the Tomahawk Trail which runs from Ely to the North Shore Trail. The Tomahawk connects to the David Dill Taconite Trail in Ely as well as to the Taconite Spur from Babbitt and the Yukon Trail from Two Harbors. Another connection allows riders to reach Finland. Photo by Mike Banovetz.

District 6 - Two Harbors
CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) spent the past week focusing on angling and snowmobile enforcement. The snowmobile trails in the Ely area are still poor to fair, but most are useable. Violations included angling without a license in possession and operating a snowmobile with no trail sticker.

CO Mary Manning (Hovland) reports a relatively quiet end to the fisher/pine marten season. The area finally got enough snow to allow for snowmobile operation, although riders should use caution on rougher sections of trail as the base layer is sufficient to conceal but not fully cushion some rocks. Manning worked with DNR Parks and Trails staff to improve signage on snowmobile trails, followed up on ATV issues, and answered questions about snowmobile operation, registration issues and angling.

by Nick Wognum
One of Ely’s oldest resorts will soon be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kawishiwi Lodge, which opened in 1924, has been recognized by the National Park Service with having 18 structures of historic interest.
Located on the shores of Lake One, Kawishiwi Lodge is well known among canoeists traveling from the Lake One entry point to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
“The resort is a rare reminder of the small-scale, family-owned resorts that were once ubiquitous in the state,” the report states.
Owned and operated by Frank and Nicole Udovich, “The resort continues to offer a visitor experience reminiscent of a bygone era.”
For the Udovich family, the award recognizes the work done by the Zgonc family to build a resort when there wasn’t even a road to get there.

The new camper cabins at Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park between Ely and Tower are ready for visitors. Campers can begin making reservations at 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 28 for stays beginning on Dec. 31 (four cabins) and Jan. 13 (the remaining four cabins).
These eight new cabins, which will be open year-round, reflect the latest in green-building practices. The cabins feature rustic tamarack interiors and are equipped with heat, electricity and Wi-Fi, and an outdoor food prep counter, fire ring, and table.
Outfitted with either three full-size bunks, or two full-size and two twin-size bunks, each cabin can accommodate up to six people. A new shower and restroom building, as well as an adjacent vault toilet, serve the cabins.
In honor of the history and culture of the area’s Indigenous people, the cabins are named with the Ojibwe words for the four seasons and four cardinal directions.

District 6 - Two Harbors
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked on Upper Red Lake with area officers and CO Lawler. High levels of activity were observed, and many violations were encountered such as extra lines, unattended lines, overlimits of walleyes, too many walleyes over 17 inches, possession of dressed fillets, unregistered recreational vehicles, no shelter tags, and drug paraphernalia. Additional time was spent checking anglers, grouse hunters, muzzleloader deer hunters, and ATV activity in the station, with enforcement action taken for insufficient blaze orange, land-use trespass, and youth ATV violations.

CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) attended in-service training and instructed firearm qualifications at Camp Ripley. He monitored ice fishing and followed up on complaints of early trout fishing and trapping violations.

Reports from area trail administrators show work will continue on developing ATV trails until the snow is deep enough to groom for snowmobiling.
“Contractors are working on the Taconite State Trail from the Raven Lane crossing (2.5 miles west of Ely) going west on the trail for approximately four miles. Work will continue and this portion of trail will be closed until enough snow is received to pack and groom the trail,” said Brad Dekkers, Assistant DNR Area Supervisor.
The Taconite Spur from Babbitt is also under construction by Mesabi Bituminous as part of the Prospector Loop ATV trail system.
“We’re going to get as much done as we can as long as the weather holds,” said Prospector Alliance President Nick Wognum.

The firearms deer harvest was down 23.1% in permit area 118, which includes much of the Ely area.
Tower area DNR wildlife manager Tom Rusch said, “Buck kill is down the highest in permit areas on the north and east end of the Tower area consistent with winter severity and deep snow winters over the last eight years.
“Hunting conditions improved considerably after the record setting high temperatures experienced on opening weekend. Colder temperatures improved day time deer movement and rutting activity after opening weekend
“Hunters who were persistent and continued to grind it out on stand had higher success rates than hunters on the opening weekend,” said Rusch.

District 6 - Two Harbors area
CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) reports hunting success continued to taper off at the end of the regular firearms season as we drifted further from the peak of the rut. More issues with hunters wearing very little or no blaze orange were addressed over the week and became the No. 1 violation seen for the season. Hunters are reminded that although they may feel like they have a wide expanse of wilderness to themselves, other hunters may be closer than they know. Blaze orange and pink laws exist to protect hunters from accidents.
CO John Velsvaag (Ely #2) checked deer hunters this past week.He also followed up on deer-baiting violations and had multiple questions on party hunting and using electronic devices while hunting. Hunting success was slow and a couple of people were seen out on ice fishing on thin ice.

by Nick Wognum
Make no mistake, the 2020 deer season will go down as one of the tougher ones for firearms deer hunters.
The 2020 deer harvest is down 17.2% compared to 2019 in the nine Deer Permit Areas within the Tower DNR Area (117, 118, 119, 130, 131, 132, 176, 177, 178).
DNR wildlife manager Tom Rusch said the buck kill, the best indicator of population change over time, is down 16.4% in the same permit areas
Buck kill is down the highest in permit areas on the north and east end of the Tower area consistent with winter severity and deep snow winters over the last eight years.
In permit area 118, which encompasses much of the Ely area, there were 557 bucks shot at this point last year compared to 419 this year, a drop of 33 percent.
Buck kill is down the least in the more productive deer permit areas to the south and west consistent with winter severity and deep snow winters over the last eight years.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources likes to point out that 50% of the firearms deer season happens in the first three days.
If that holds true this year, look for a drop of over 20% for the season.
Deer numbers are way down despite weather that was perfect for sitting in deer stands.
Hunters in the Ely area reported seeing few bucks and more wolves.
Statewide the harvest is down 16% and for permit area 118, the first four days of the hunt is down around 28% from last year.
“Two factors contributed to the poor opening weekend harvest,” said Tom Rusch, the DNR wildlife manager in Tower.
“Unseasonably warm temperatures reaching into the low 70s negatively impacted daytime deer activity and harvest on both Saturday and Sunday. And A low deer population and low numbers of antlerless deer permits resulting in a ‘bucks only’ season for the majority of hunters,” said Rusch.