MINNEAPOLIS — Autumn doesn’t officially start until Sept. 22, but it already looks like the beginning of fall in parts of northern Minnesota.

The U.S. Forest Service’s regional fall color report last week singled out the Chippewa National Forest, where it said the transition already is striking: “Trees show hints of yellow, orange and ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The number of Minnesota pheasants counted in a recently completed August roadside survey jumped nearly 50% from the tally recorded last year, coming in 21% above the 10-year average, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Steven Woodley, acting DNR upland game research scientist, said all regions of the pheasant range...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Ron Schara was hired by the Minneapolis Tribune in 1967 to pen that newspaper’s outdoors column. He was making $6,000 a year writing for the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department, and the Tribune offered him twice that amount.

“I took it,” Schara said. “Part of my interview was over lunch with the sports editor, ...Read more

Giving new meaning to the fishing term “catch and release,” a Tennessee angler reeled in something bat shaped that proved to be an undetonated explosive from World War II, officials say.

It happened Wednesday, Aug. 27, and resulted in an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team being dispatched to the Sequoyah Hills boat ramp in Knoxville, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — “We stand guard over works of art, but species representing the work of aeons are stolen from under our noses.” — Aldo Leopold

That early teal and over-water goose hunting seasons will be offered beginning Sept. 6 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, followed by a Youth Waterfowl Weekend, is evidence of just ...Read more

DENVER — When I first started fly-fishing in Colorado four summers ago, I quickly learned that not all outfitters and guide services are set up for every angler — or any female anglers at all.

Sometimes, that meant tripping over borrowed men’s waders that were three sizes too large, or face-planting in the Eagle River because the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Challenging as it is to think about deer hunting when Pronto Pups beckon from the State Fair, a license buying deadline looms for perhaps hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans who hope to fill their freezers with venison for the coming winter.

Sept. 4 is the cutoff date for whitetail hunters to apply for special hunts in parks ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania Game Commission, along with hiking and land conservation groups, officially opened a new game land in Indiana Township on Friday.

Large, new parcels of public land for hikers and hunters are a rarity in Allegheny County.

The game land's grand opening is special because of its proximity to Pittsburgh and location...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The nonprofit Hunters Sharing the Harvest anticipates more growing pains as donations of deer from hunters increase.

The wildly successful program accepts deer from hunters, then pays to process the venison into ground meat and distributes the meat to food banks, soup kitchens and other charitable organizations across the state. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — One of the unhealthiest lakes in Minnesota is 5 1/2 miles long and stretches into three pools that, when viewed from above, look like a wasp about to sting. It’s a few miles north of the Iowa border in the city of Worthington, where its waters, cloudy with muck and festering algae, choke out the sun.

In Lake Ocheda few plants ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In the far north of Crow Wing County, about 30 miles beyond Brainerd, there’s a heart-shaped lake that locals don’t want anyone else to know about.

A stony brook runs through it, pouring in from the northwest shore and exiting over gentle rapids on the southeast, where the water is so clear that one could count the pebbles ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Count bird hunters among those baffled by the angst Minnesota Twins enthusiasts have demonstrated over the club’s trades and announcement the team won’t be sold.

If anyone should complain about wins and losses in Minnesota since Calvin Griffith moved his scrappy outfit here in 1961, it should be those who will go afield in ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota deer farmers have been denied a second time in their fight to stop a 2023 state law that will bring an end to their industry in Minnesota after another generation.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the group’s lawsuit, rejecting their argument that they have the right to pursue...Read more

SOLDOTNA, Alaska — A trio of anglers leaned on the edge of Jordan Carter's boat in shallow water on the Kenai River last month, victoriously enjoying a cold beverage.

Their ride with Carter, a local fishing guide, was brief but bountiful. The group pulled in 18 sockeye salmon in a flash, easily reaching their limit with time left to enjoy the...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — For the second summer in a row, Florida wildlife officials said they are suspending the popular scallop harvest along all state waters in Pasco County over worries of unsafe toxins from harmful algal blooms.

Water samplers have detected potentially harmful levels of an algal bloom called Pyrodinium bahamense and the toxins it ...Read more