The winter of 2013–14 will set records for cold and snow depths across the nation, yet few states have been hit harder than Minnesota. Their moose population had dropped in half in recent years, and many sportsmen fear that massive deer starvation will occur unless they step in. However, a deer’s digestion system will only accept certain foods in winter, so efforts must be well directed in order to save wildlife. Here’s the plan, as reported by Dave Orrick on TwinCities.com:
Sometime early next week, men and women will fan out across the woods of northern Minnesota, many on snowmobiles, and begin laying out feed for wild whitetail deer. A million pounds of feed, give or take. As much as $170,000 can buy.
It will be no small undertaking, and those who are taking it on
say it’s challenging. But they’re up to the task, thanks to an outpouring of support. “We’re at 130 volunteers and climbing fast,” Mark Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, said Wednesday. The MDHA is running the operation, with cooperation from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in one area.
“We had a guy walk into our office (in Grand Papids) yesterday and said, ‘I’ve got a warehouse you can use,’ ” Johnson said. “I need to figure out if he has a forklift. … One member said, ‘I’ve got my airplane ready. We can do a flyover whenever you want.’ “
