Posted: 6/27/06
Commissioners approve hunting preserve; 3-2 vote
Board turns down Sanness feedlot application
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston County commissioners voted 3-2 on June 20 to approve a conditional use permit for a hunting preserve.
It will allow Larry Ledebuhr, Mound Prairie Township, to run an outdoor commercial recreation area ñ hunting preserve.
The board also voted 3-1 to deny an application for Scott Sanness, Wilmington Township, to expand an animal feedlot up to 480 animal units and construct a manure storage basin.
The decisions came after discussion that lasted nearly two hours at the regular county board meeting.
More conditions on preserve
Two conditions were added to ones previously added onto the application.
One new condition states that the guns used on the preserve will be the same as those mandated by local deer hunting regulations. That condition eliminates the use of high powered rifles, which was a safety concern for many people.
The other condition specifies that guns can be used from October 1-January 31. Ledebuhr had originally asked that guns be allowed from July 1-January 31. Archery will still be allowed from July 1-September 30.
The new conditions satisfied Tom Bjerke, Dave Corcoran, and Ann Thompson, who voted for the application. Larry Graf and Kevin Kelleher opposed it.
Last weekís discussion echoed the pros and cons expressed at three previous meetings: concern about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), safety, and ethics.
Ledebuhr and his attorney, Skip Wieser, talked about how the animals are monitored for CWD, as did Julie Getschmann, vice president of the Minnesota Deer breederís Association.
Wieser said the preserve was the best and most functional use for the land. It provides an alternative to people who canít afford to own land or to travel long distances to hunt, he said.
Commissioner Kevin Kelleher, who represents the district in which the preserve is located, was the most vocal board member in opposition to the preserve. He said there was an ethical issue with it. He asked at one point whether a person who shot a deer and had it mounted would keep its ear tag in.
He also said that CWD would have a catastrophic impact on the area.
Kelleher lobbied for having the hunting in the preserve coincide with that outside the preserve and follow the regular deer hunting dates.
That would not be economically feasible, Ledebuhr said.
Neighbors should have something to say about it, Kelleher said. ìThey would know when itís hunting season, itís hunting season, when itís archery, itís archery.î
The Minnesota Board of Animal health regulates deer farms, not the DNR, Ledebuhr said.
ìThe DNR regulates hunting, thatís what weíre talking here,î Kelleher said.
The shooting would significantly impact the community and neighbors, Kelleher said.
ìThis is a business,î Ledebuhr said.
ìBut itís a business that impacts the neighbors,î Kelleher replied.
Ledebuhr disagreed with that. ìItís an agricultural pursuit,î he said.
ìHunting is not an agricultural pursuit,î Kelleher said. ìAnd weíre not preserving anything either.î
Susie Goetzinger, Caledonia, asked what would happen to the wild deer inside the fenced area while it is being erected, and how they would be removed. Getschmann said they would be flushed out using a helicopter. Any deer left in would be shot, Ledebuhr added.
Thompson said she felt that CWD controls were adequate. She first said she wanted the gun use to be limited to just the regular deer season, but she later said was OK with the change because there would be normal gun use in the woods at that same time, referring to small game season.
Graf said that the fenced-in land of the preserve would impact local farmers because it would not contain any wild deer and thus would eliminate some of their territory. ìIt puts an undue pressure on them [farmers] too,î he said.
There will be two parcels of land surrounded by an 8'-high fence in the preserve. One 120-acre parcel will hold 20 deer, and one 240-acre parcel will hold 40 deer, for a total of 60 deer.
The potential economic impact of 55 deer on a Minnesota shooting preserve is $4.1 million, according to a flyer from the Minnesota Deer and Elk Breeders Association that was part of the county board packet. This figure is based on an average rate of $8,500 per hunt, using a multiplier of 8.77 from U.S. News & World Report.
The fence will be made of 14-gauge woven steel, buried four feet deep, and topped with a strand of barbed wire. Land will be cleared to a width of 75' on each side of the fence to prevent trees from falling on it, allowing deer to get in or out.
Every deer will have an identification tag visible from 50 yards away. If a deer escapes, the DNR will be notified within 24 hours and the animal will captured and killed. Any deer that accidently enters the enclosure will be killed and tested for CWD. All the deer harvested the preserve must also be tested for the disease.
There are four basic requirement of all captive deer owners in Minnesota, according to Carl Denkinger of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health: they must register their herd with the board, they must enroll in the chronic wasting disease control program, they must pay an annual fee, and they must submit an annual inventory of all their animals.
Sanness application denied
Sanness was seeking a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate a feedlot with 480 animal units, which translates to 1,200 pigs; and to construct a manure basin. A hog counts for four-tenths of an animal unit.
The 45-minute discussion repeated themes from previous county board and planning commission meetings: the potential for air and water pollution.
Opponents are not against agriculture, Gary Wilhelmson said. ìWeíre just saying this isnít the right place for it.î
Geri Worden added that it would affect her property value because she would be sandwiched between two large hog farms. ìThis will decrease the taxes for the county. It certainly wonít help the county and it wonít help me," she said.
Another neighbor, John Dahle, agreed. ìIt just doesnít make any sense. This is just the worst location, period.î
Commissioner Dave Corcoran said he had concerns about drainage in the area. Itís in a valley, it will take a lot of dirt work, its located between ponds, and there is a gully nearby, he said.
But the building would be 20 feet above the dry run, Sannes said. He said he had tried to meet all the guidelines of the ordinance.
Larry Graf, who cast the lone vote to approve the CUP, said there was no smell at a hog farm that they visited in Yucatan Township on June 13.
Smell depends on location, and it can hang in a valley, commissioner Tom Bjerke replied. He said he couldnít justify overruling the planning commission, which denied the CUP in May.
Corcoran, Thompson, and Bjerke voted to deny the permit. Kelleher said he did not vote because the chairman only votes to break a tie.
In 2005 Sanness applied for a permit to operate an animal feedlot with more than 300 animal units, and to construct a manure storage basin. It was for up to 990 animals units, or 2,475 hogs. The planning commission and county board denied the application.
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