Outdoors
Madelia has long history with pheasant season
MADELIA — Besides being a Mecca for pheasant hunters during the best days of Minnesota pheasant hunters, rural Madelia was the site for one of two major pheasant hatcheries in Minnesota.
The site now serves as the Farmland Wildlife Populations and Research Group facility. The other state-operated game farm was located at what is now the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area.
In 1929, the Minnesota Department of Game and Fish purchased a 160-acre farm located five miles south of Madelia for the purpose of raising pheasant for stocking.
According to Al Berner, a retired Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist, the first broods of pheasants were hatched and raised in 1930.
The game farm, which was equipped to hatch and raise pheasants for stocking programs, remained in operation through the mid-1950s.
Originally, the state game farm raised some of the birds until they were 12 weeks-old but in its final years, reverted to raising only day-old chicks that went to sportsman’s groups to care for and eventually release.
At peak production, the facility raised more than 100,000 birds annually.
Berner said that by the 1950s, most wildlife biologists were convinced that habitat and not stocking programs were the most effective ways to boost wild pheasant numbers.
However, political and public concerns about discontinuing stocking programs kept the game farm running.
Finally, a state budget crunch in the late 1950s produced spending cuts that effectively ended state-sponsored pheasant hatching operations.
In 1974, the present research group moved into the facility. Ten years ago, the old structure underwent extensive renovations and remodeling.
While an original barn remains, the rest of the buildings have long since been removed. The farm is now the Winfred Taylor WMA, named after a longtime employee at the game farm facility, and is open to hunting.
But even more than 40 years after its original function as a game farm ended, here and there, portions of an old predator-proof fence that encircled the entire farm can be seen.
- Outdoors
-
-
Mankato native growing reputation as wildlife photographer
A mother's last wish for her son helped Mark Harlow follow his passion at life — and excel at it, too.
-
DNR floats muskie-stocking plan for Tetonka
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is looking for input on a plan to stock Lake Tetonka with muskellunge.
-
Winterkill worries for Loon, Crystal lakes
A long winter has aerators working overtime hard on some area lakes.
-
Long winter tough on fish
Early snowstorms, couple with late snow, have turned into trouble for some area lakes.
-
CRP forum goes beyond just wildlife issues
The 50 or so people who traveled to Brent and Lori Russow’s Horse Barn & Hunt Club near Lakefield last week certainly didn’t need a reminder of the value of the Conservation Reserve Program.
-
It's been a rough winter on farmland wildlife
It isn't the cold or even the difficulty of finding food that takes its toll on the pheasants, but their increased vulnerability to predators.
-
Reality TV show films at Big Bobber contest
A pair of 25-year-olds from Japan experienced a taste of Minnesota Saturday at the Humminbird Big Bobber Ice Fishing Contest.
-
Winter can bring out the worst in some anglers
Trash is always a problem at the end of the ice-fishing season, but we as anglers can do our part to help out.
-
Waseca man lands truck at Brainerd tournament
A Waseca man was the lucky winner of the grand prize at the 2010 Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza.
-
Politics taking away from spirit of wildlife amendment
I’m willing to bet that like me, you knew exactly what you were voting for when you cast your ballots in favor of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment back in November, 2008.
- More Outdoors Headlines
-
