Winners chosen for 2025 trout and salmon stamp, walleye stamp contests
Shakopee artist Mark Thone won the Minnesota trout and salmon stamp contest with an acrylic painting of a rainbow trout and Lakeville artist Stephen Hamrick won the walleye stamp contest with an acrylic painting of a walleye. Judging for both contests was held on Aug. 1.
In the trout and salmon stamp contest, which had 11 eligible submissions, the runner-up was Stephen Hamrick of Lakeville with an acrylic painting of a brown trout. Third place went to Eric Wallace of Maple Grove with a harboard/gesso/acrylic oil/lacquer painted rainbow trout.
In the walleye stamp contest, which had seven eligible submissions, the runner-up was Mark Thone of Shakopee with an acrylic painting of a walleye. Third place went to Stuart Nelson of Cloquet with an acrylic painting of a walleye.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses revenue from voluntary purchases of walleye stamps to purchase walleye for stocking in Minnesota’s lakes. Revenue from trout and salmon stamps, which are required for anglers ages 18-64 who fish in designated trout water or possess trout, is dedicated to trout and salmon management and habitat work. Visit the stamp webpage of the Minnesota DNR website for more information about habitat stamps and contest guidelines.
Apply through Aug. 16 for special youth deer hunts
Hunters can apply for special youth deer hunt permits through Friday, Aug. 16. The number of permits for each hunt is limited. Individual hunts will be held in several state parks on various dates in the fall. These firearms hunts are for youth who are ages 12-15 at the time of the hunt and are accompanied by an adult.
The youth archery hunt in the Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area in Sherburne County is for youth ages 10-17. Youth archery hunters at the Camp Ripley Archery Hunt in Morrison County can be ages 12-17.
Special youth deer hunts are different from the statewide youth deer season, which takes place Oct. 17-20 and does not require an application. More information about special youth deer hunts is available on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.
In most instances, hunters may only possess and use nontoxic ammunition when participating in a special hunt in a Minnesota state park; however, nontoxic ammunition requirements do not apply to special youth hunts if hunters remove all parts of harvested deer from the field, including the entrails.
Where nontoxic ammunition is required, bullets, slugs, muzzleloader ammunition and other single projectiles must be made entirely of nontoxic material approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For deer hunting, this typically means copper ammunition. More details about nontoxic ammunition can be found on the Minnesota DNR website.
Apply through Aug. 16 for prairie chicken hunt lottery
Hunters can apply through Friday, Aug. 16, to be chosen for one of 125 permits for the 2024 Minnesota prairie chicken hunting season. The nine-day prairie chicken season begins Saturday, Sept. 28, and is open to Minnesota residents only. The hunt takes place in northwestern Minnesota from St. Hilaire south to Breckenridge. Hunters who are awarded a permit in the lottery are required to purchase a prairie chicken hunting license prior to hunting. Hunters can find details about the season on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.
Minnesota DNR webinars focus on tracking kestrels, tree stand safety
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invites people interested in wildlife and outdoor skills to check out the summer program schedule for the Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series.
In a webinar on Wednesday, Aug. 7, Kristin Hall, DNR nongame wildlife program supervisor, will talk about DNR research on the American kestrel and crowd-sourced data that are being collected to advance the understanding of many small, yet highly mobile, wildlife species.
In a webinar on Wednesday, Aug. 14, Kraig Kiger, Minnesota DNR shooting sports program administrator, and staff from the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association will discuss tree stand safety. They will cover what to do before deer season, during the season, and post-season to make sure your stand remains a safe place to hunt.
The Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series webinars are free and offered year-round, though registration is required. Visit the Outdoor Skills and Stewardship webpage of the Minnesota DNR website for the registration portal, more information about upcoming webinars and recordings of past webinars.