Lakeland Currents, your public affairs program for north-central Minnesota.

Production funding for Lakeland Currents is made possible by Bemidji Regional Airports, serving the region with daily flights to Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport More information, available at Closed Captioning for Lakeland Currents is sponsored by Nisswa Tax Service, tax preperation for businesses and individuals, online at nisswatax.com Jason: Hello again, friends!

I'm Jason Edens, your host of Lakeland Currents.

Thanks for joining the conversation today and thanks for your ongoing support of Lakeland Public TV.

Many of us are familar with, or even involved in, sporting and conservation organizations such as Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, or the Ruffled Grouse Society.

However, we are less familiar with the Minnesota Conservation Federation.

What makes it unique from other sporting organizations.

What does it do and who does it serve?

Here to help us answer those questions and others is my guest... Brad Gausman, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Conservation Federation.

Brad, welcome to the program and thanks for making time.

Brad: Good morning, and thank you for having me.

Jason: Absolutely, so first of all, for those folks who may be hearing of the Minnesota Conservation Federation for the first time, they may think it's new.

How long have you all been in business?

Brad: Yeah, absolutely.

Our organization was first started in 1936; we have operated continuously since that time and for the entire time that we have been an organization, we have been the official Minnesota State Affiliate of the National Our organization was created in 1936, when the National Wildlife Federation was started, as well, so we've been our "state for the entire time that the National Wildlife Federation has been an organization as well.

Jason: What does that mean to be an affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation?

Yeah, so the affiliate partnership with the National Wildlife Federation is a really useful partnership for our organization.

We are an affiliate, which means that they are able to provide us connection to other state affiliates, and can provide us resources from their international office, but as an affiliate, we are our own entity, and make decisions on conservation here in Minnesota and do all of our work in Minnesota.

That relationship does come with benefits of being able to talk to other state affiliates and gleam information and work with their national staff as well.

Jason: So, that's greater than 80 years, so during those 80-plus years, what have you achieved, what has the Brad: Yeah, historically our organization, and we're still active today of course, but historically, we've had quite a as an organization.

We were instrumental in the passage of things such as the Environment Natural Resources Trust Fund, the Legacy Amendment in 2008.

Something I find really interesting about our history was our involvement in the creation of some of the first "hunter safety" courses here in the state.

It's interesting to look at the history of those firearm safety classes that many of us have taken in context of accidents or incidents in the past of relating to firearms and hunting.

Between 1960 and 1969, there was 120 fatalities in the state during the hunting season due to firearm accidents.

Our organization, I found these in our office, partnered with the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company to kind of get to the point of what was happening in our state.

Here on this poster, you can see "Deer hunters, will you bag a man or a mammal?"

Jason: That's Pointed.

Brad: On this one, we see a political cartoon from the Sunday Tribune - where the gentleman is on his couch saying that he has a gun and a license and a will before he goes deer hunting.

Jason: Oh My.

Brad: So the creation of those firearm safety classes I think is a really interesting part of our legacy, and really shows the success that those programs operated by the DNR have had over the years to bring down those levels of incidents in the field.

Jason: So the Minnesota Conservation Federation is responsible for firearms training in the state?

Brad: We organized some of the first classes as we saw a need in the state to provide a safer environment for the hunting public and to make sure that we educate everyone taking part in activities in the field Jason: Sure.

Brad: to make sure we're all operating safely out there using firearms.

Jason: So the Legacy amendment, the natural, I'm sorry, the Environment Natural Resource Trust Fund, Firearm safety; with all of these achievements under your belt, why is it that the Minnesota Conservation Federation isn't really a name?

I came up in a real fin and feather family myself, and very few of my family members were familiar with this organization.

I realize that's not a scientific example, but nonetheless, why is it that more people don't know about your organization?

Brad: Well, over the last few years, I will say that our organization's kind of place among other conservation state has diminished, but due to our long history, I do know that many of the viewers will recognize our name.

We were, we are, an organization that was very active in bringing on board small sportsmen and conservation clubs throughout the state to become affiliates of OUR organization, much as we are an affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.

I think that within those sporting and conservation clubs throughout the state, our our name is known, and we are finding ourselves in a place of strength now to really kind of rebuild a lot of our organization's strengths and take on conservation causes as they arise.

Jason: So the organization has achieved a lot.

What are your current programs and priorities today?

Brad: Currently we're involved in a couple of conservation efforts and then our outreach educational programming.

A couple of conservation efforts of interest right now for our organization, we're looking at the issues surrounding chronic wasting disease, we're looking at some clean water issues up on Lake Superior near the Minnesota Point land form, and then in terms of educational experiential outdoor programming; we have a program called The Conservation Leadership Corps, which introduces college students to hunting, fishing and trapping activities.

Jason: Well, let's start with CWD, what are you doing to address the issue of CWD in the state of Minnesota?

Brad: Absolutely.

So, CWD is an urgent and pressing issue in the state of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Conservation Federation is leading a coalition of groups known as the Chronic Wasting Disease Action to combat the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in the state.

Chronic Wasting Disease is an "always fatal" disease that affects "cervid" animals, and is caused not by a virus or a bacteria, but by something called a prion.

A prion is a misshapen protein that can get into the body of the cervid, replicate itself, and then they kind of just get stuck in the brain until the deer can no longer function, start starving, and eventually will die.

Jason: You said it's always fatal?

Brad: It is always fatal.

Once a cervid animal gets the prion, it will eventually die.

Jason: So what specifically are you doing in the field, what positions are you taking about this issue?

Brad: Absolutely.

So as an organization and also as a coalition, we are advocating for four (4) things.

We would like to see a moratorium on new cervid farms in Minnesota.

We would like to see a buyout of the currently-operating cervid farms in Minnesota.

We would like to see a transport ban on Cervids being moved within the state, and also from other states into Minnesota, and we would like to see a ban on cervid-fluid products, such as hunting scents that are produced on cervid, captive cervid farms.

Jason: So most of your efforts are focused on the cervid farms, less on the wild deer populations, is that right?

Brad: Correct.

As we see chronic wasting disease spread across the state, it is obvious to our organization and the members of our coalition that the movement of captive cervids is really the main vector that is moving this disease around our state.

When we look at the prevalence in Minnesota, we will see that most of the cases of CWD found in wild animals are going to be in the southeast portion of Minnesota, and we've had chronic wasting disease - we've known it's been in the state since at least 2002, and for most of that time it's been very relegated to that southeast corner of the state.

But over the last few years, we've seen cases crop up in Merrifield, near where we are in Brainerd, and then also up in Beltrami County / northwest Minnesota.

Those outbreaks can be traced back to the movement of wild cervids to those parts of the state.

So the cervid, captive cervid, industry moves around animals for breeding and other purposes and the prion catches a ride in the trailer.

This disease is spreading through our state, not between wild deer, but on our highways and our roadways as this industry moves animals around.

Jason: Isn't there currently a moratorium on new permits for cervid farms?

Brad: I do not believe at this time that there is a moratorium on any new farms.

That is something that was discussed during the last legislative session but was not ultimately put into place.

Jason: Sure.

So speaking of the legislative session, since it's just recently convened, what are you doing with regard to the Minnesota Legislature - are you putting forth these proposals?

Brad: Yes, as a coalition we would like to see those four (4) points that I discussed taken up through legislative action by the Minnesota Legislature.

We are, as a coalition, talking amongst ourselves and with the offices of elected officials, to see how best we can get to... how best we can achieve our goal.

It is a tough situation, I- as a coalition we do not want to put people out of business.

That's not why we're doing this, but this, the industry, it has an inherent level of risk that is not acceptable when we are looking at what we could lose.

We are looking at losing our deer hunting heritage.

Last year, about 450,000 Minnesotans went deer hunting.

We have a deer-hunting economy worth about 500 million dollars in our state, and that is being put at risk through the spread of this disease.

Currently in Minnesota, there are less than about 140 farms that have white-tailed deer as a captive cervid.

There's about 250 cervid farms total, but only about 140 of those have white-tailed deer.

Brad: So there are elk farms and other exotic cervid species that are kept within the state.

Jason: So these farms that you mentioned, these cervid farms that are actually here in our viewing region, you said that they may be a culprit in the introduction of CWD into our region.

Is that right?

Brad: That's correct, when we look at the trace outs of other CWD-Positive farms, for instance, in the Beltrami County outbreak of CWD originating from a captive cervid facility there.

we know that that captive cervid facility received animals from a Winona area farm in southeast Minnesota that was shown to be CWD- positive, and then that farm in Beltrami County also sent deer to other farms, so it becomes a spider web very quickly, as they trace, contact trace, positive deer and look from farm to farm to see how it spread.

Jason: Are there any legal repercussions for those cerved farmers that are responsible for the introduction of CWD into different regions in the state?

Brad: That is a difficult question to answer.

Currently, in the Beltrami case, the individual responsible for the captive cervid facility up there that was found to have chronic wasting disease, he kind of went beyond Pause In that instance, he not only had Chronic Wasting Disease on his private farm, but moved dead animal.

carcasses onto private land.

In response to that, the DNR went in and built a $194,000.00 fence that's going to stand for at least 20 years and take 12 acres of public land off the rolls.

They are attempting to get that individual to pay for the cost of that fence and we will see how that turns out.

Jason: But that would be it?

Brad: Yes, that would be it.

So to answer your question, they can lose their operations, so certainly they would feel an impact from that, but even in an instance where you know there is a bad actor, and the farm is indemnified, the government can't take without compensation.

So the USDA provides a $3,000.00 maximum amount for those animals.

Jason: Per animal?

Brad: Per animal, now that's the same whether... that's a USDA standard that is the same for a cow or a pig or a chicken.

Right.

That's just the max, so cervids, that's what they pay as well.

But, there could be a situation where... there is a captive cervid operation, they get CWD because they aren't playing by the rules, and then they get paid for the slaughter of their herd.

Now, certainly, that may not compensate them for what they put into their business, but it is a situation where... people are getting paid, even though they have not ran their farm responsibly.

Jason: Sure, well, are you optimistic about the buyout portion of your CWD effort?

Brad: I am optimistic about it.

I think that to the deer hunting public, it's kind of common sense.

Right?

We have an industry that is quite small and has the potential to have very long-term ramifications for the way we interact with cervids in our state.

whether that's through the lens of a camera, whether that's through the lens of a scope, or simply your kitchen window, it really has the the ability to affect the health of our deer population for a long time.

When we talk about the effects of deer hunting, in that 500 million economy, yes, it's difficult to talk about ending a way of life for many of these cervid operators but at the same time, I think if we allow this disease to get out of control, we will be changing the way of life for bait store owners, hotel owners, cafes in out-state Minnesota Jason: Resorts.

Brad: Brad: Everything that goes into that deer hunting experience for so many people That comes with spending money in outstate Minnesota, we put that at risk, too, through the continuation of that industry being able to kind of transport this disease around.

Jason: Well, maybe the last question about the CWD is "Do you think that any of these proposals that you're putting forth from the Minnesota Conservation Federation could be enacted as soon as this legislative session?"

I hope so.

I think there is a path forward here, and one interesting thing I would like to bring up is, in a recent issue of The Outdoor News, Senator Ingebrigtsen was asked about a buyout, and something that he brought up that I found really interesting was a comparison to the industry buyout of commercial fishing on Lake Of The Woods, There was a commercial fishing industry up there, people were involved in it, I'm sure, for generations, and it was dearly held by those who held those fishing permits, but it just wasn't right to do when we saw the walleye population crashing.

The state came in, they purchased those licenses, they bought out the industry, and sportsmen and resort owners have all benefited from that resource coming back to Lake Of The Woods, especially in the winter time.

We see a huge increase in ice fishing in the economies up in that area of the state, so that would be, I thought that was a really interesting example, something that's been done before.

Jason: Well, I want to make sure we have time to learn about your other initiatives so tell us more about how you're introducing college students to sporting traditions.

Absolutely.

I run what's called our Conservation Leadership Core Program As an organization, we really want to make sure that the next group of natural resource leaders here in Minnesota have a connection to the outdoor experiences that are so important to so many of us, and there I'm talking kind of specifically, about fishing, hunting, and trapping.

We have decided that a great group of folks to bring along for these experiences would be college students who are really interested in these natural resources and conservation issues, but haven't had an opportunity to engage in those activities, or to engage with those who participate in them.

Through our program, over the course of an academic year, we take out, we take them out into the field.

We went on a goose hunt down by Rochester, Minnesota.

We went on a beaver-trapping expedition kind of up here in the Brainerd Lakes area, and in just- next weekend we'll be out on Lake Winnibigoshish In some sleeper houses, doing some ice fishing.

Along with the activities, we always bring in conservation professionals so that these students can kind of hear how others got involved and the path they took to their career in... conservation.

Jason: Interesting.

So what, what changes as a result of this?

How do you envision Minnesota changing, or how are you changing people's How do you envision Minnesota changing, or how are you changing people's program after program, what I see on those surveys is that people are more likely to engage in the activity, they're more likely to be a future licensed buyer, and I think, almost more importantly, when surveyed, the students tell us that when, in the future, when either hearing media portraying trapping, hunting, fishing, they are more likely to ...they have a better understanding of it, right?

They've been engaged in the activity, they know that when they hear about trapping, that it's not just somebody out there setting a trap for the first thing that comes along.

They know that the DNR here in the state of Minnesota is involved with rules and regulations to make sure that you know that the animals being targeted are harvested responsibly.

They know, they have met a trapper who is very involved in their sport and has great respect for the environment.

When we take them out hunting, they get the same of the effect, they really come away with it.

we take them out hunting, they get the same of the effect, they really come away with it.

and then they have been engaged with it and they have engaged in that activity themselves as well.

Jason: So if a college student right now is hearing about this, and wants to get involved, how do they do so?

Brad: Yeah, absolutely.

The best place to go at this point would be our website, www.mncf.org.

We typically take applications in late summer as we're gearing up for the next academic year, but if anyone is interested, they can email me directly, to Brad AT mncf.org, and we'll make sure we get you an application when we are taking them.

Jason: Perfect.

So you said that there was a third leg to this stool.

of your current programs and priorities and it involves Minnesota Point, up in Duluth, which is slightly out of our viewing region, but I'm interested.

How did, I'm interested to know how this became a priority of the Minnesota Conservation Federation?

To the best of your ability, if you can distell it down, briefly.

Well, it became a priority because it is something that we have been involved with historically, and maybe I'll get right back to that in a moment here, but just to kind of let the viewers know a little bit more about Park Point and what's happening up there.

I'll say "Park Point" is the name of the neighborhood on the landform.

The landform itself is Minnesota Point.

So if you're ever up in Duluth and you cross over the aerial lift bridge, itself is Minnesota Point.

So if you're ever up in Duluth and you cross over the aerial lift bridge, at the end of it, some scientific and natural areas down there, some parks on the south end.

Minnesota Point as a landform is the largest freshwater barrier island in the world.

It was created through forces of Lake Superior.

There is cobblestone that moves its way down the shoreline from the north shore, and sand that moves its way across the south shore and it collides at the western tip of Lake Superior, and over time, created this landform.

The landform itself is under duress from the effects of human activity over a long time frame, so from climate change, and erosion, increased storm activity, but also from the construction of the Duluth and Superior "break water" structures that were created to open up the harbor for economic activity.

Jason: Because it's a deep water harbor.

Brad: That's right, those shipping "break waters" stop the flow of that material that created it.

So the landform itself hasn't been receiving new material for quite some time, and increased storm activity due to high lake levels and climate change, have been eroding the landform very quickly.

To combat that, the city of Duluth, along with the Corps of Engineers, has engaged, is engaging, in a five-year project that's depositing a million cubic yards of dredge spoil that's taken out of the harbor when they are dredging areas for opening up for the shipping industry, and moving that to the Lake Superior side of Minnesota Point.

Our organization got involved because I got a call about 18 months ago from a gentleman who had represented Minnesota Conservation in 1978 when we had successfully sued the Corps of Engineers for doing the same thing.

For depositing that dredge spoil onto the Lake Superior side of Minnesota Point.

Our organization is involved, we really want to make sure that all the boxes are being checked, to make sure that that material coming out of a historically industrial harbor and effectively being put into Lake Superior is worthy of being put into Lake Superior, which is a national treasure.

Jason: So have you been able to enact an injunction, have you stopped the piling of the dredge spoil onto Minnesota Point or how might this unfold, briefly?

Brad: At this point, we have not.

There has been three, it is a five-year program; there has been three years of the program so far, so 2019, 2020, and 2021.

They did complete their placement this year.

We have not, received an injunction yet but are still working with local parties and the community to ascertain if this is a responsible activity to be partaking in, In Minnesota, dredge spoil, in state statute, is seen Brad: the same as industrial waste or sewage.

Jason: Interesting.

Brad: And so, we really want to make sure that this is being done responsibly.

As we look to the long term of Minnesota Point, we are seeing a situation where solutions are being sought for those problems.

It's eroding at about three feet a year, so it is a dire situation there for both the lake side and harbor side of that landform.

From speaking with representatives of the corps, and the city of Duluth, I've been told that if this continues to be a solution that people see as effective, that they may choose to do this in perpetuity.

So take a five-year project and turn it into an every year band-aid.

Jason: Excuse me, Brad, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I want to ask you one more thing about that.

Those two, those three priorities, CWD, your CLC program, and the dredge spoil issue on Minnesota Point seem very disparate.

If you're taking a position as an organization on something like dredge spoil, does the organization also take a position on pipelines or mining or or superfund sites?

Briefly.

Brad: Yes, we would be interested in taking positions on those.

As an organization, though, when you look at our capacity to do work, I'd rather do a few things, do them well, and see them to completion, than try to do a little of everything and not get much done.

I try to, as an Executive Director, I try to keep our organization involved in conservation, legislation, and education.

So when I look at those 3 projects that we're working on, certainly conservation is there.

We do legislative work, and you know CWD is part of that, and then education through our CLC program.

Jason: So my last question for you is "what motivates you, as an individual, to do this work, how did you find yourself in this role, and why is it important to you?"

Brad: I just love being outside, I'm an active deer hunter myself, I love to fish, be outside, so those activities really speak to me.

I just love the camaraderie when I do it as a group and the solace when I do it alone.

I've got 2 children that I'm excited to bring into the field with me.

I'm happy to say I was able to purchase them lifetime fishing and hunting licenses through the DNR, which is an awesome program to take advantage of, so they're set for life.

My kids are a huge part of it and I just feel it's a calling.

Jason: Thank you, Brad.

Yeah.

I really appreciate it, I really appreciate you taking the time to be with us today and thank you for the work that you do on behalf of all of us here in Jason: Minnesota Brad: I really appreciate it, thanks for your time.

Thank you for joining me once again, I'm Jason Edens, your host here at Lakeland Currents.

You can follow the conversation at currents@pbs.

Be kind and be well, We'll see you next week.