Occupation: DNR assistant wildlife manager, Two Harbors.
First dog: A rescue mixed breed named Raider. He had no hunting instincts, but was a great companion.
Did you grow up hunting? No. While in college at Bemidji State, I was hired by the DNR as an intern in the shallow lakes program. That’s when I started hunting ducks, mostly in smaller rice ponds in the Brainerd area. That’s also when I got my first hunting dog, a golden retriever I named Gandalf. I also hunted grouse and woodcock with him, and pheasants.
One dog turned into? My next dog was a small Munsterlander, which is a versatile breed, in that they point and also can be used like a Labrador to retrieve. I didn’t know at the time they can be slightly harder to train than some other pointing breeds, which was challenging because for banding woodcock, which I do in spring, I need a dog that is steady to wing, shot and fall. Today, my husband, AJ, and I have three English setters, Hatchet, Riffle and Osier, and the small Munsterlander, Mogul.
Favorite bird to hunt? My husband and I have hunted various birds, and just now we’re headed to eastern Montana for sharp-tailed grouse. But my favorite is ruffed grouse. The bird numbers were good in northeast Minnesota last year. I’m slightly less optimistic this year because of the rain we’ve had. But I still think there will be a good carryover of adult birds this fall.
Julie Sandstrom, 53, of Grand Rapids, Minn., shown here with two of her dogs, Titan and Roxie, has been around hunting dogs her entire life. Now the national chairperson of the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, she started bird hunting when she was 19. (Provided by Julie Sandstrom)
Occupation: Chief financial officer and co-owner, Sandstrom’s Inc. in Grand Rapids. National chairperson, the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, the first woman to lead the groups.