OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK: Postal Service unveils stamp collection

Postal Service unveils stamp collection

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service this week previewed the pane of 16 National Parks Forever stamps featured in its collection celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. The stamps are arranged to approximate their locations around America and feature (top row, from left) Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Vermont and Acadia National Park in Maine.

The second row from the top includes two stamps, one on either side of the central image. The stamp on the left features Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and the stamp on the right features Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia.

The third row from the top includes four stamps, two on either side of the central image. The stamps depict San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in California, Arches National Park in Utah, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C.

The fourth row from the top includes two stamps, one on either side of the central image. The stamp on the left features Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, and the stamp on the right features Everglades National Park in Florida.

The fifth and bottom row of the pane includes four stamps featuring Haleakala National Park in Hawaii, Yellowstone National Park in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming; Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico; and Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida and Mississippi.

The image in the center is a detail of artwork from the 1-cent Yosemite stamp issued in 1934, rendered in light brown. Text superimposed over the image reads: "Our national parks tell distinctly American stories. Whether they inspire you to marvel at grand vistas, travel along scenic waterways and winding paths, or visit historic buildings and homes, discovery and exploration await."

-- National Park Service

NDGF survey shows mule deer gains

Mule deer numbers in western North Dakota increased 21 percent from last year, the Game and Fish Department said in highlighting results from its annual spring mule deer survey in April.

Bruce Stillings, big game supervisor for Game and Fish, said the increase is a result of higher adult doe survival in 2015, three consecutive years of good fawn production and overwinter survival combined with milder winter weather conditions.

"These factors, along with no harvest of antlerless mule deer during the past four deer hunting seasons, have resulted in mule deer numbers doubling since we experienced our low in 2012," Stillings said.

Biologists counted 2,880 mule deer in 306.3 square miles during this year's survey. Overall mule deer density in the Badlands was 9.4 deer per square mile, which is up from 7.8 deer per square mile in 2015.

The spring mule deer survey is used to assess mule deer abundance in the Badlands. It is conducted after the snow has melted and before the trees begin to leaf out, providing the best conditions for aerial observation of deer. Biologists have completed aerial surveys of the same 24 study areas since the 1950s.

-- N.D. Game and Fish Department

DNR to conduct sandhill crane survey

The Department of Natural Resources will conduct an aerial survey of sandhill cranes beginning this week in northwest Minnesota.

With appropriate conditions, the survey could begin Thursday. The survey will occur in an area from Crookston north through Thief River Falls to the Canadian border.

The survey will count both nesting pairs and nonbreeding cranes to better monitor breeding populations. It's timed to count the cranes while most are incubating eggs in their nests.

Because the cranes can be difficult to see, researchers will use the DNR aviation program helicopter, which allows them to fly at a low level. Flights, which will consist of 4-kilometer-square plots, should be completed within a week or two in each of the survey areas.

For more information on sandhill cranes, go to www.dnr.state.mn.us/birds/sandhillcrane.html .

Last year's crane survey report is available by selecting Wetland Wildlife at: www.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/wildlife/populationstatus2015.html .

-- Minnesota DNR

AIM weekend series expands to N.D.

The Anglers Insight Marketing walleye tournament circuit has expanded this year's AIM Weekend Walleye Series to include a North Dakota division.

"We are excited to bring the fishermen of North Dakota an opportunity to become involved in a

grassroots tournament circuit again," Jim Carroll, AIM board member and native North Dakotan , said in a news release. "It's been quite a few years since we've had a walleye tournament circuit in our state, and we have a great group of competitive anglers up here."

Weekend series tournaments are held mostly on Sundays and feature AIM's catch-and-release format in which anglers measure, photograph and immediately release all walleyes they catch. The format allows the circuit to hold events on waters with restrictive slot limits or other regulations that traditionally impede tournaments.

The first tournament in the North Dakota weekend series was held April 24 on the Missouri River in Bismarck-Mandan. Upcoming events are set for June 26 on Lake Sakakawea at Fort Stevenson State Park, July 10 on Devils Lake at Woodland Resort and the championship Aug. 5-6 on Lake Sakakawea hosted by Four Bears Casino of New Town, N.D.

Info: Jim Carroll, (701) 720-8614 or national tournament director Denny Fox, (920) 505-0122.

-- Herald staff report

Pronghorn hunters successful in 2015

Hunter success during last fall's pronghorn hunting season in North Dakota was 81 percent, according to statistics provided by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

The season was held in units 3-B, 4-A and 4-C. Game and Fish issued 409 licenses (266 lottery and 143 gratis), and 385 hunters took 312 pronghorn, consisting of 286 bucks, 15 does and 11 fawns. Each hunter spent an average of 2.4 days afield.

The 2016 pronghorn hunting season will be determined in early July.

-- N.D. Game and Fish Department

Did you know?

• An open house and welcome night for anglers interested in participating in the Red River Valley Catfish League is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the North Landing on the Red River in Grand Forks. There'll be an opportunity to meet other anglers, ask questions, join the league and get signed up for the season. Fishing also is on the agenda, but it will be just a fun night and not competitive. Info: rrvcatfish.com.

• Interior Secretary Sally Jewell this week said the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has approved $48.8 million in federal grants to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners to "buy, lease or otherwise conserve" more than 275,000 acres of wetland and associated habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and other bird species across North America. The grants, made through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, will be matched by $86 million in partner funds.

-- compiled by Brad Dokken