From muzzleloader to youth hunters, nearly 460,000 licenses were bought last year for the firearms deer season in Minnesota. A new season across the state begins Nov. 4 (Wisconsin's opener is Nov. 18).
The Department of Natural Resources issued its annual preview. Here is a snapshot of useful information:
CWD and your permit area
Testing for chronic wasting disease is required for deer one year and older, depending on the deer permit area (DPA). The DNR has a helpful interactive map to explain requirements at mndnr.gov/cwd. Also, some DPAs have changed numbers, owing to the discovery of CWD and to expanded work to mitigate its spread.
Previews, by region
Northeast: Deer are struggling after another harsh winter, when deep snow limited their forage supply and made them susceptible to predation.
Northwest: The report is better in parts of the region, with a more stable population. Still, there are lower harvest limits in some deer permit areas because of back-to-back severe winters.
Central: Deer numbers are strong, according to the DNR, and bolstered by a bumper acorn crop. Hunters can take as many as three deer in many DPAs and in some CWD management zones.
South: The deer population is healthy, and habitat conditions are prime in some areas, like floodplains, which haven't had major flooding like previous years.
Some new rules
Tags: The DNR says a youth in a hunting party cannot tag an antlerless deer or legal buck taken by another individual in that group.
Stands can stay: Portable stands may be left overnight in some wildlife management areas in northwestern Minnesota.
Nontoxic ammunition: It's required for hunters participating in a special hunt or disease management hunt in a state park or Scientific and Natural Area (SNA). Likewise for a regular hunt in an SNA where hunting is allowed.
What else is new? Go online to dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/deer.
