Make a plan for deer hunting season
As deer hunters enjoy current hunting seasons, and 400,000 hunters prepare for the opening of firearms deer season on Saturday, Nov. 5, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds them to plan ahead for a safe and enjoyable hunt.
The DNR’s online make a plan tool provides a comprehensive step-by-step list of information hunters need to consider before heading to deer camp. Using the tool, hunters can review hunting regulations, plan for deer processing, learn where to get deer sampled for chronic wasting disease if required to do so, how to get a deer sampled for CWD where sampling is optional, and ways to be safe and make the most out of their hunt. To use the online tool, hunters need their deer permit area number, which they can find on an interactive deer map.
In Minnesota, archery deer season began Sept. 17 and continues through Saturday, Dec. 31; youth deer season is Thursday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 23; early antlerless season is Oct. 20-23 in select DPAs; firearms deer season begins Saturday, Nov. 5, with various closing dates depending on a hunter’s DPA; and muzzleloader season is Saturday, Nov. 26, through Sunday, Dec. 11.
DNR webinars cover CWD testing and related information,
and the tundra swan migration
The DNR invites people interested in wildlife and outdoor skills to tune in to upcoming webinars that will discuss chronic wasting disease testing and other deer hunting information, as well as the tundra swan migration.
The first webinar is at noon Wednesday, Oct. 19. Logan Neu, with the DNR wildlife health program, will highlight changes to Minnesota deer hunting permit areas, new hunting opportunities, CWD testing requirements and options, and other important information related to deer hunting in areas with confirmed or suspected cases of CWD.
The second webinar is at noon Wednesday, Oct. 26. Mary Stefanski, Winona district manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will share information on the fascinating migration of tundra swans, their life story and how people can view them up close before they head south for the year. The tundra swan migration is a highlight of the fall on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. At its peak, which usually occurs the second week of November, there can be as many as 50,000 swans on the refuge, primarily between Wabasha and Brownsville.
The webinars are part of the DNR’s Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series. The webinars are free but registration is required. More information is available on the outdoor skills and stewardship page of the DNR website.