DNR and Wildlife

Treatment of Weeds in the Harbor.  Usually , the "third leg" of the harbor is treated to ensure members who have slips at the end of the harbor are able to navigate to and from them. The chemical treatment should be applied in mid-June. Signs will be posted when the treatment was applied.

Bears

We wanted to share some good reminders and resources that the DNR has provided regarding "living with bears":

Remember to clean and store grills in secure locations after each use, feed pets indoors or remove dishes from their kennels if fed outdoors, remove bird feeders, and just be alert and aware when out and about knowing that bears do live around our community.  The Minnesota DNR website link below has a lot of information about bears.

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/livingwith_wildlife/bears/index.html

Approximately 85-90% of the nuisance bear calls the DNR receives have some relevance to bird feeders. The best thing to do is make sure that there is nothing of interest to bears in your yard/community.

The publication below is from Colorado and also has information for deterring bears using various methods (i.e., motion detected lights, the radio, scent deterrents, etc.). Bleach and ammonia could be harmful to bears (and humans), so if you decide to try the balloon method mentioned in the article, you can substitute vinegar or hot sauce as the solution for those. Either one will still leave an unpleasant taste with the animal but it won’t cause any long-term harm to them. It is also safer for humans who might come into contact with it while putting the balloons out. The balloon option is most useful when a bear is just hitting a single feeder location.

http://www.woodmoormountain.com/PL/Documents/BearDeterrents.pdf

If it's not possible to store attractants (eg, food, bird seed) in a secure location, bear canisters like the ones in the link below work well in locations (eg, screen porches) where smells are difficult to mask: 

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bear-resistant-canisters.html

In addition to the links provided, the DNR also provided the attached publication from Bear Wise (https://bearwise.org/) with some good reminders.

Beavers

At times we have nuisance Beavers in the Harbor and on the Bog road and special permits are used to trap them.  Please be aware and keep your pets on a leash.  This is the law as both areas are within city limits.  It is not common practice to post when traps are sent so please be responsible and keep your pets on a leash.

Zebra Mussels 

Several owners have reported zebra mussels on their watercraft. The Board has tried to contact the DNR aquatic invasive species specialist multiple times with no response, including a request for a label for our boat launch sign.