GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Pioneer PBS’s Prairie Sportsman will feature the Casey Jones State Trail and thermal drones used to locate and track fawns on its upcoming episode. “Forgotten Trail and Drone Tracking Deer” will air on Sunday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. on Pioneer PBS.
The Casey Jones State Trail was the first trail in the state to be dedicated by the Minnesota Legislature in 1967, but it was never completed. While there are almost 600 miles of paved state trails in Minnesota, only 14 are in southwest Minnesota. The Casey Jones State Trail, built on a railroad right away, runs 8 miles east of Pipestone and includes an unconnected 6-mile loop in Lake Shetek State Park. “The Trail Minnesota Forgot” also features The Friends of the Casey Jones Trail Association and their work to advocate for funding and land purchases to complete a 100-mile trail from Pipestone to Redwood Falls.
White-tailed deer in Minnesota enjoy a variety of landscapes – from big wooded tracts in the north to bounties of food in the farmlands of the south and west and backyard flowers in the metro areas. They also face a lot of danger from predators like coyotes, wolves and black bears and highways and harsh winters. Having the right amount of proper habitat is important to sustaining a healthy population of deer in the state. Figuring out what that is rests on the shoulders of wildlife biologists with the Minnesota DNR. “Finding Fawns” looks at one study being used to determine the habits of deer involves locating fawns with a thermal drone, then fitting them with a tracking device.
Finally, the “Fast Forage” segment examines staghorn sumac, a plant that is eye-catching in the fall with its colorful leaves. Nicole Zempel likes to harvest sumac berries in late summer and into fall by clipping the cone tops. Sumac berries have a tart, tangy, lemony flavor and can be used in tea and lemonade or dried and ground into a spice to be used as a rub on fish, chicken or other foods.
People in Pioneer PBS’s viewing area can livestream this episode at www.pioneer.org/live on February 12 at 7:30 p.m. “Forgotten Trail and Drone Tracking Deer” will be repeated on Monday, February 13 at 12:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. The program will also be available to stream at www.pioneer.org/prairiesportsman and on Prairie Sportsman’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/@PrairieSportsman.
About Prairie Sportsman
Produced by Pioneer PBS, Prairie Sportsman is an Emmy-awarded series that celebrates love of the outdoors by featuring stories on hunting, fishing and recreation, while promoting environmental stewardship. Prairie Sportsman’s team is Dylan Curfman, producer, videographer and editor; Bret Amundson, host and editor; Cindy Dorn, writer and producer; and Dan Amundson, videographer and editor. The 2023 season is made possible by funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, Shalom Hill Farm, Live Wide Open, Western Minnesota Prairie Waters and members of Pioneer PBS.
About Pioneer PBS
Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station, dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit: www.pioneer.org.
