In the Midwest, Hunt Is On for Elaborate Deer Stands

Boyd

Boyd

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324073504578107301509037788.html

GNESEN TOWNSHIP, Minn.—Driving down a dirt road recently, Jason Meyer spotted a parking area neatly cut into some scrub brush. He pulled in and followed a manicured path snaking thousands of feet into the woods.

His hike ended at an increasingly familiar sight: A wooden platform nearly 15 feet tall, topped by a hut with plywood walls and a pitched roof. The structure was new, ready for the opening of deer-hunting season this month.

"We're seeing this all over now," said Mr. Meyer, area land manager for St. Louis County, an orange hunting cap on his head. "I bet you it's going to have windows, given time."

The tower is part of an unwanted building boom deep in the woods here. Foresters for St. Louis County, who oversee a vast swath of aspen and spruce stretching from Duluth to the Canadian border, are finding bigger and more elaborate deer stands on public lands. The structures—free-standing or built into trees—give hunters a cleaner shot at a buck, while hiding them and providing protection from the cold.

Deer stands have been growing increasingly cushy and elaborate on private lands in recent years—sometimes featuring heat, satellite television, carpet and decks. But hunters are also getting bolder on public lands, officials say, hauling plywood, windows, insulation and easy chairs, often on the back of their ATVs.

These mortgage-free country cabins are a problem for public land managers across the Upper Midwest, from the county-controlled timber tracts here to Ottawa National Forest in Michigan and Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin.

Deer stands are a long-standing tradition in the region, but St. Louis County officials say they have gone too far there. They are developing rules to curb construction and warning hunters of a coming crack down. Other public lands in the region, including federal forests and state lands, already have rules on the books, with some banning permanent structures and handing out fines for them.

"Permanent stands are a claim of ownership. It has just gotten more and more extreme," said Kristian Jankofsky, an avid hunter and outdoors instructor in Angora, Minn.

The 37-year-old has permanent stands on his own land, but hunts on public lands with a portable perch—a seat that can be temporarily attached to a tree—that he carries on his back.

When he is out hunting, Mr. Jankofsky says he has stumbled upon tree stands with narrow alleys cut through the forest with a chain saw to provide a clearer shot. He said he has started looking on Google Maps for asterisk-shaped clearings in the woods, which can indicate a permanent stand, so he can avoid the areas.

In St. Louis County and elsewhere, the trees on public land are government property, sold to logging companies for harvesting. Nails and screws can kill the trees and make them dangerous to cut down, forestry officials say. Foresters have also found areas cleared of trees and planted in clover to attract deer. Once abandoned, large deer stands create a mess, with pressure-treated lumber, Plexiglas and shingles littering the forest.

"There are some pretty good eyesores out there," said Curt Cogan, forestry enforcement coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Last spring, an angry hunter came into the office of Joshua Stevenson, land commissioner of Cass County in Central Minnesota, to report a theft—a deer stand he had constructed on county land. The stand had taken some work to assemble and used several hundred dollars worth of lumber, Mr. Stevenson said. Then it was gone, although it likely took four or five men to move it.

Mr. Stevenson says he told the man you can't have something stolen if you have abandoned it in the woods. "That's part of the deal when you're hunting public land," he said.

More recently, Mr. Stevenson has been fielding phone calls from Larry Ruikka. The 64-year-old county resident estimates there are at least 15 tree stands on a tract of public timberland near his house. He says he has confronted some hunters who camp and hunt there during deer season and was told to mind his own business.

Mr. Ruikka says the stands are killing trees and keeping him from getting a chance to hunt the land. "Every year they bring in more boards," he said.

In Michigan, conservation officers have set up cameras to catch hunters who have built deer stands. They also have staked them out during hunting season to see who shows up, said Gary Hagler, chief of the law-enforcement division for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Michigan requires that hunters put their names and addresses on stands and can ticket those who don't. But for government officials in many parts of the region, the approach tends to be more about education than enforcement. Many are hunters themselves and know they need average Joes out killing deer to keep the population in check.

"I have to have deer hunters," said Bob Krepps, land commissioner in St. Louis County. "But I don't have to have deer condos on stilts."

Mr. Krepps, who hunts on foot rather than from a deer stand, says he will propose new rules in the coming months to outlaw elaborate deer stands. Until then, his staff is talking to hunters about the planned crackdown and posting notices on structures they find on the 900,000 acres of forest land the county manages.

On a recent afternoon, Mr. Meyer's SUV bumped along a logging road as he followed up on a complaint. About a mile from the main road, he found a newly built tower poking out from a marshy area that had started to freeze over.

The squat structure smelled of fresh lumber. A price tag from a home-improvement store was still on one of the windows. Inside was a wingback chair with wheels fastened to its feet so the hunter could move around while holding a rifle. Each window had a string and pulley system for easy opening to take a shot.

Mr. Meyer left behind a notice about the county taking a harder look at deer stands. He handwrote an additional warning not to cut the surrounding spruce trees, which the county had planted.

"To do this much work, you'd think it has to be a pretty good spot," he said.
Click to expand...
 
46er

46er

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Mar 24, 2004
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The squat structure smelled of fresh lumber. A price tag from a home-improvement store was still on one of the windows. Inside was a wingback chair with wheels fastened to its feet so the hunter could move around while holding a rifle. Each window had a string and pulley system for easy opening to take a shot.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but did it have a wood stove and a privy :eek:
 
Boyd

Boyd

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Why in the world would you assume that? I thought the Wall St Journal article was interesting since we often discuss tree stands here and many photos have been posted. The article says that other hunters as well as the Dept of Natural Resources are concerned about the the trend there in Minnesota. As far as that second link, I just thought it was funny.

I don't hunt myself but am certainly in favor of thinning the deer population. I would like to see a longer season or higher limits, there are way too many deer IMO.
 
RednekF350

RednekF350

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Feb 20, 2004
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We saw one on the last PBX outing that appeared to be a high end, commercial kit. It would seat many and had 360 degree visibility. There was a thin cable extending downward from the center that was attached to driven earth anchors.
This was the Saturday before Sandy.
It would be very interesting to see if it survived the gusts.
 
Hewey

Hewey

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Mar 10, 2005
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RednekF350 said:
We saw one on the last PBX outing that appeared to be a high end, commercial kit. It would seat many and had 360 degree visibility. There was a thin cable extending downward from the center that was attached to driven earth anchors.
This was the Saturday before Sandy.
It would be very interesting to see if it survived the gusts.
Click to expand...

That was a nice stand! I found it online after the hike, I can't remeber where. It was a few thousand dollars for the setup. Not my style, but I bet it would make for a comfortable sit. Box blinds are also good for containing human scent. I do wonder if it did survive the storm? I do not think that cable and anchor would have helped it much.

I left all of my gear out for the storm. Multiple treestands, multiple cameras, and a ground blind. I was sure I lost some gear to storm damage. Nothing, it was all fine. I was surprised when I checked on the ground blind Tuesday morning and it was still standing! The woods I hunt in Barnegat are decimated! The land is only .50 miles in off the bay. Judging by the amount of tree damage, the wind was vicious! The woods have a new look to them. I didn't get any deer on camera there for just about a week after the storm. I though most of the deer may have perished in the storm. Their patterns are back to normal now. It must have rocked their world! A camera I have in the pines captured a picture of a nice seven pointer at 2:30 am Tuesday around the time the storm was pulling out of the area. The storm had little effect on the deer in the pines.

Chris
 
Teegate

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Nice article Boyd. Thanks!

Imagine having names and addresses on deer stands as the article mentions :)

Guy
 
dogg57

dogg57

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Jan 22, 2007
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Southern NJ
southjerseyphotos.com
220px-American_Beaver.jpg

Beavers Rule:clint:
 
Jersey Jeff

Jersey Jeff

Explorer
Jun 22, 2012
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This is New Jersey. It won't be long before local tax assessor discovers your McMansion in the trees and slaps a $5,000 property tax bill on it! :p
 
ecampbell

ecampbell

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Jan 2, 2003
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It doesn't look as though the fancy stand at Parker has been visited reciently. It is starting to fall apart. These pics are from yesterday.
P1020436s.jpg
P1020437s.jpg
 
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