Bill would close DNR loophole

Several provisions in a game and fish bill vetoed last year by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty are back this year in HF984, with a few additions.

Testimony and amendments are expected to be taken April 5 in the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee, which took no action on the bill March 31.

Highlights of the bill that Rep. Tom Hackbarth (R-Cedar) sponsors include: allowing two lines when fishing and adding sandhill cranes to the list of game birds able to be hunted.

Another key provision would allow crop owners who experience elk damage to crops to also claim the cost of repairing fencing that surrounds the land damaged by elk.

In 2009, there were 16 reimbursement claims totaling $70,501 in elk damages, a 10-year high. Last year, the Department of Natural Resources authorized the reduction of the elk population in herds that were causing the most damage. DNR officials said individual claims should slow down, although the cost of repairs keeps rising.

A new provision would close what the DNR describes as a “loophole” in the law. It expands the definition of “wild animal” to include dead animals. It stems from an incident when an elk with valuable antlers died of natural causes and the property owner claimed it was rightfully his because a dead animal did not meet the statutory definition of a wild animal, that currently is defined as “living creatures.”

Sponsored by Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria), the Senate companion, SF943, awaits action by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.