The harvest included 101 bulls and 35 cows. A total of 3,919 parties consisting of 10,055 individuals applied for moose hunting licenses in 1999. There will be no elk season in northwest Minnesota this year, said Paul Telander, DNR manager of Thief Lake Wildlife Management Area. Aerial surveys in February and general observations indicate the herd is within range of the population goal of 20 to 30 adults. In recent years, elk hunting has been permitted within this 56 square-mile WMA to keep the herd within population goals and to reduce damage to agricultural crops.
Hunters apply in parties of two for a permit lottery.
In recent years 13 elk were taken. Future hunts will take place when the population exceeds goals, Telander said. Parasite spreads to walleye, northerns The fish parasite hetersporis, first discovered in yellow perch, has been found in fish from 25 lakes and recently was found in a walleye and a northern pike. The parasite was discovered in 1999 in Leech Lake and Wisconsin's Eagle Chain of Lakes. The microscopic organism turns a fillet an opaque white and can be seen only when the fish is filleted.