Apply through Aug. 18 for Camp Ripley archery hunts
Hunters can apply for the fall archery deer hunt at Camp Ripley near Little Falls through Friday, Aug. 18. This year, the three-day hunt will happen Oct. 27-29 (Friday through Sunday, application code 668). A total of 2,500 permits will be made available. The bag limit is two and bonus permits may be used to take antlerless deer.
The archery hunt at Camp Ripley is an annual event. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources coordinates the hunt in collaboration with Central Lakes College Natural Resources Department and the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs, which manages the 53,000-acre military reservation.
Complete details on how to apply, hunt rules and other important instructions are available on the Minnesota DNR website.
Apply through Aug. 18 for special youth deer hunts
Hunters can apply for special youth deer hunt permits through Friday, Aug. 18. The number of permits for each hunt is limited. Individual hunts will be held in several state parks, and in the Rydell National Wildlife Refuge, on various dates in the fall. Adults must accompany youth during these hunts. These firearms hunts are for youth ages 12-15 at the time of the hunt.
Youth archery hunters in Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area in Sherburne County can be ages 10-17.
Special youth deer hunts are different from the statewide youth deer season, which takes place Oct. 19-22 and does not require an application. More information is available on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.
In most instances, hunters may only possess and use nontoxic ammunition when participating in a special hunt in a Minnesota state park; however, nontoxic ammunition requirements do not apply to youth special hunts in the shotgun-use area if hunters remove all parts of harvested deer from the field, including the entrails.
Where nontoxic ammunition is required, bullets, slugs, muzzleloader ammunition and other single projectiles must be made entirely of nontoxic material approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A full list is available in the Code of Federal Regulations and can be found by typing “hunting methods” in the search box and clicking “What hunting methods are illegal?”
Apply through Aug. 18 for prairie chicken hunt lottery
Hunters can apply through Friday, Aug. 18, to be chosen for one of 125 permits for the 2023 Minnesota prairie chicken hunting season. The nine-day prairie chicken season begins Saturday, Sept. 30, and is open to Minnesota residents only. The hunt takes place in northwestern Minnesota from St. Hilaire south to Breckenridge. Hunters can find details about the season on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.
Minnesota Twins offer free hats
Anyone with a 2023 Minnesota fishing or hunting license can receive a free special edition orange Minnesota Twins logo cap and a ticket discount from the Minnesota Twins, through a partnership between the Twins and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Upcoming DNR Days at Twins games this season are:
- Saturday, Aug. 19 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 6:10 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 9 vs. New York Mets, 1:10 p.m.
Promotion details, instructions for purchasing tickets, and information on buying a fishing or hunting license are available on the Minnesota DNR Days webpage (mndnr.gov/twins). Tickets must be purchased ahead of time using a special DNR link to receive this offer.
Minnesota DNR webinars cover cattails, deer season
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invites people interested in wildlife and outdoor skills to check out the summer program schedule for the Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series.
In a webinar on Wednesday, Aug. 16, Amy Schrank, Minnesota Sea Grant Extension Program Leader, will discuss why cattails are so abundant on Minnesota shorelines and how they impact lakes. Schrank will also review recent research about whether small-scale removal of invasive cattails can increase water quality and plant diversity, and benefit lake fish communities.
In a webinar on Wednesday, Aug. 23, Todd Froberg, Minnesota DNR big game program coordinator, will discuss regulations and changes for hunters in the 2023 deer season. Froberg will also discuss deer hunting opportunities, important dates and deadlines, deer populations statewide, an overview of the deer population goal setting process, and chronic wasting disease regulations. Additionally, the webinar will include information about the Offal Wildlife Watching Project with the University of Minnesota Extension, a citizen science and research project aimed at better understanding how Minnesota wildlife species use hunter-provided deer gut piles (offal) and how offal affects wildlife food webs.
The Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series webinars are free and offered year-round, though registration is required. Visit the Outdoor Skills and Stewardship webpage of the Minnesota DNR website for the registration portal, more information about upcoming webinars and recordings of past webinars.
Winners chosen for 2024 trout and salmon stamp, walleye stamp contests
Alborn artist Dean Kegler won the Minnesota trout and salmon stamp contest with an acrylic painting of a brook trout, and Bemidji artist Sam Larsen won the walleye stamp contest with an acrylic painting of a walleye. Judging for both contests happened virtually Aug. 3.
In the trout and salmon stamp contest, which had 10 eligible submissions, the runner-up was Ronald Engebretson of Owatonna with a watercolor and color pencil painting of a brown trout. Third place went to Josh Evan of Mapleton with an acrylic painting of a brook trout.
In the walleye stamp contest, which had 11 eligible submissions, the runner-up was Stuart Nelson of Cloquet with an acrylic painting of a walleye. Third place went to Stephen Hamrick of Lakeville with an acrylic painting of a walleye.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses revenue from voluntary purchases of walleye stamps to purchase walleye for stocking in Minnesota’s lakes. Revenue from trout and salmon stamps, which are required for anglers ages 18-64 who fish in designated trout water or possess trout, is dedicated to trout and salmon management and habitat work. Visit the stamp webpage of the DNR website for more information about habitat stamps and contest guidelines.