'06 Trout stamp winner

[Renneberg]

An under water scene of a brown trout pursuing a wet fly will be featured on Minnesota's 2006 Trout and Salmon Stamp. John House of Evansville painted the winning oil design, his first entry in the Trout and Salmon Stamp contest. A professional wildlife artist, House is a past winner of Minnesota's Waterfowl and Pheasant Stamp contests and placed second in the 2006 Turkey Stamp contest, which was won by David Chapman.

Chapman, who won this year's pheasant, turkey and waterfowl stamp contests, finished second in the Trout and Salmon Stamp contest. Other finalists were Richard Goodkind, St. Louis Park, and Jason Granggroth, Monticello. There were 15 entries in this year's contest.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which conducts the annual stamp contest, offers no prizes. The winner, however, retains print reproduction rights to the work, which is usually reproduced as a limited-edition wildlife print.

The Minnesota Trout and Salmon Stamp is required for those who fish in designated trout streams, designated trout lakes, Lake Superior, or who possess trout or salmon. They must also purchase a regular Minnesota fishing license.

The DNR sell approximately 95,000 stamps every year for $10 each, according to Mark Ebbers, DNR Fisheries Trout and Salmon Program consultant. He said proceeds are used for trout and salmon habitat improvement and stocking programs for streams and lakes.

Judging was held Aug. 11 at the DNR Headquarters in St. Paul. Judges were Bob Trevis, Ideal Printers; Joe Albert, staff writer for Outdoor News; Elliott Olson, Trout Unlimited; Dr. Ray Newman, University of Minnesota; and John Hiebert, DNR Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

[WxGuy]

Thanks Renneberg!

Good to see you around.

[hanson]

Thats awesome!

John is a fairly close relative of mine.

I believe his pheasant stamp is this years stamp and the state duck stamp was a couple years back. I have a print of that duck stamp hanging on my wall and still need to order up the pheasant stamp print, now I need a trout stamp print too.

He definitely does some nice work. He originally started out doing woodcarvings of waterfowl and then took up painting. Some of his older woodcarvings are a site to see.

Some day, I feel the federal duck stamp will come his way. If it weren't for those darn Hautman brothers winning it every year.

[matthothand]

Anybody have an idea how much money from trout stamps and fishing licenses goes into MN's salmon program? I'm pretty sure it's nothing but we still need a trout stamp to fish salmon. I'm disappointed in our DNR once more for issues such as this. Wisconsin has a salmon stocking program and the fishing there is great. If we need a stamp to fish for something shouldn't the DNR be using that money towards maintaining that fish? Who knows what's next...maybe a stamp for muskies or bass?

How do you guys feel about it?

[captjon]

Matt,

Here is the link from the MNDNR on the Trout and Salmon Stamp, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout_streams/stamp.html I like you believe that the money is not entirely earmarked for Trout and Salmon but rather ends up in the general fund. I do have data from the MNDNR on the 2004 Trout Stamp purchases by Minnesota County if you are interested in seeing that.

[matthothand]

The following quotes were taken from the MN DNR's webiste. Specifically from the trout stamp page and link that CaptJon posted in the preceding.

Quote:

---

Without this operation, improvements to southeastern Minnesota's trout fishing resource would not be possible.

---

What about us up nort' eh?

Quote:

---

Funds raised through the sale of trout and salmon stamps go into an account that can be used only for trout stream and lake habitat development, restoration, maintenance, identifying easements, or for rearing and stocking trout and salmon.

---

As I've heard from a creel survey employee of the MN DNR there is no salmon stocking in MN. Is that fact? If it is why does the DNR say that they are are stocking salmon? And does anyone know of any habitat improvements made to the north shore streams within the past few years.

I will research my own questions but am just loooking to see if anyone on the site can offer any helpful information.

Thanks Jon for the response and the link. If you don't mind I would like to see that other info you have. If possible drop me an e-mail at [email protected]

Thanks!

[WxGuy]

From speaking to some DNR folk, there was some considerable stocking of salmon on one of the North Shore rivers, but for some strange reason the fish were not returning to their home river, so they could be cutting back considerably on the stocking if it's deemed a failure.

I'll do some searching on details, but there is a lot of stamp dollars that goes into stocking on North Shore trout streams. I believe that much of the stocking is of rainbow trout for the purpose of harvest.

The SE has spring creeks that provide for excellent wild stream trout reproduction, and it has taken a lot of money to buy easements and fund habitat improvement projects to maintain the ever-increasing amount of stream where natural reproduction is occuring and wild trout can be caught.

The discussion of a separate stamp came up here a while back, and I don't think it's that bad of an idea. I do think it would be a tough pill to swallow for some anglers who fish in both places, but I would pay another $12 to fish the North Shore if I ever made it up there...which I would love to do for steelhead, salmon, and loopers someday.

[matthothand]

WX thanks for the reply and the info.

I'm still curious as to the habitat work done to the north shore streams. Perhaps with some better quality streams the salmon would be more inclined to return to the streams? I must commend the DNR for their success with the Kamloops. Loopers porvide slow fishing for months all along the shore. I say 'slow' cause that's what it is but it keeps us busy and other than the few salmon that do show up in the fall the Loopers are all that we've got. There is no season for Steelhead or Rainbow trout in the streams or the lake (MN side only of course).

[captjon]

Matt you have mail

[trico]

HI is a tougher proposition on the North shore vs. southeast Mn (topography being a main concern). You have a granite based layering unlike southeast Mn where you have limsetone, valleys, meadows, etc. Accessibility is not as easy to garner up 'Nort.

Personally, I know what they do for H.I. here (see the intensive H.I. TU has done on the Middle Branch of the WW and Trout Run), but I couldn't even offer a guess as to what they would do for H.I. in the North Country. Beaver Dam removal aside, that is.

Just my 2 cents,

D.A.

[WxGuy]

Quote:

---

Matt,

Here is the link from the MNDNR on the Trout and Salmon Stamp,

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout_streams/stamp.html

I like you believe that the money is not entirely earmarked for Trout and Salmon but rather ends up in the general fund. I do have data from the MNDNR on the 2004 Trout Stamp purchases by Minnesota County if you are interested in seeing that.

---

I did some double-checking on the funds from trout/salmon stamps in MN, and all the money from trout stamp sales goes directly into (the following is quoted from MNDNR)

"Funds raised through the sale of trout and salmon stamps go into an account that can be used only for trout stream and lake habitat development, restoration, maintenance, identifying easements, or for rearing and stocking trout and salmon."

[hcrider]

On face value, if you read the DNR's web page (the link provided by Captjon and quoted by WxGuy), you would think that all that money collected from the sale of trout stamps is diverted straight into a fund for trout and salmon. And then one assumes that you can have enough faith in your state government to not distribute the funding unfairly.

I guess if I'm reading Matthothand and Captjon correctly, they are calling into question these notions. I agree, it's hard to know exactly how that money is being used unless some type of audit were done. I would be interested in seeing that audit!

That's HC's view anyway.

[WxGuy]

I don't disagree with you, or with the other guys. I'm trying to get some recent info on stamp dollar expenditures and I'll post that when I get it. I'm interested to see how and where the $'s are spent.