By Sam Cook
Published in the Duluth News Tribune, August 2, 2009
Last fall’s decreased deer harvest in Northeastern Minnesota and a harsher than normal winter have prompted wildlife officials to lower the number of over-the-counter either-sex deer permits in Northeastern Minnesota this fall.
Those permits have been issued liberally in recent years to bring the deer population down to goals set after broad public input meetings, said Jeff Lightfoot, Department of Natural Resources regional wildlife manager at Grand Rapids.
This fall, 10 deer permit areas across Northeastern Minnesota have been designated “lottery” units, up from just one last fall. In those units, hunters will have to apply by Sept. 10 in a lottery for permits to harvest antlerless deer.
Last year, 10 permit areas in Northeastern Minnesota were designated as “managed,” meaning hunters could take up to two deer. This year, 16 areas are designated “managed.”
Last fall, there were 17 permit areas in Northeastern Minnesota designated for “intensive” harvest, allowing hunters up to five deer. This year, there are three of those areas in Northeastern Minnesota.
That means hunters, when buying their deer licenses this fall, should carefully check the new deer-zones map. Most hunters will find that the permit area in which they hunt will have a different harvest designation than it did last year.
“Hunters can get used to seeing us walking that tightrope between too many deer to too few from a hunter’s perspective,” Lightfoot said.
In another change, muzzleloader hunters must apply for an either-sex permit by Sept. 10 if they want to have a chance to harvest an antlerless deer in a lottery permit area. In previous years, muzzleloader hunters who did not purchase a regular firearms license could take an antlerless deer in a lottery area without a permit. This year, even people who only hunt the muzzleloader season must apply for an either-sex permit.
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