Outdoors

James Nichols was convicted last month of second-degree intentional homicide in the death of Cha Vang of Green Bay. The slaying rekindled racial tension in northern Wisconsin, where a Hmong deer hunter fatally shot six white hunters three years ago.
State picks up bill for butchering, if hunters donate their game
The gun deer hunting season begins on Nov. 3 in Minnesota. The venison donation program, in which hunters give deer meat to food shelves, has been around for three years. But this year, for the first time, the state is picking up the cost of butchering the animals.
A House committee approved the surcharge on a 10-5 vote. The money it would raise each year -- almost $500,000 -- would repay meat processors who turn donated deer into venison for food shelves.
Group files suit to block Minnesota trapping
An animal rights group has filed suit to stop Minnesota trappers from catching and often killing endangered species. The California-based Animal Protection Institute says it filed papers in federal court in Minneapolis.
Groups challenge forest certification
Does the DNR have enough resources to prevent damage to state forest by OHV users? A group that certified the agency as a sustainable forest manager isn't sure. Two environmental groups say the certification shouldn't go through until the DNR shows it can do better.
Over the next few weeks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will gather comments on its comprehensive conservation plan for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The refuge cuts through four states and spans more than 300,000 acres. The proposed changes have some users groups bristling.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is draining Swan Lake in south central Minnesota. Carp have invaded the lake and the DNR says if they're not stopped they'll destroy the lake's duck habitat.