Youth waterfowl weekend is Sept. 9-10
During the youth waterfowl hunt Sept. 9-10, youth hunters will have a special opportunity to learn how to hunt waterfowl with an adult who is not hunting. During the two-day hunt, waterfowl hunters 17 and younger, when accompanied by a non-hunting adult 18 and older, can take ducks, geese, mergansers, coots and moorhens from a half hour before sunrise to sunset. Hunters should review important details about participating in this hunt on page 8 of the Minnesota Waterfowl Regulations.
Throughout Minnesota, the youth waterfowl weekend happens when many people are engaged in a wide range of water-based activities, including harvesting wild rice. The Minnesota DNR urges all over-water waterfowl hunters to be aware of and cautious about people participating in other activities on the water, no matter where they hunt.
Winner chosen for waterfowl stamp contest
Albert Lea artist Mark Kness won the Minnesota waterfowl stamp contest with an acrylic painting of a ring-neck duck. Jake Levisen of Austin earned second place with a ring-neck duck painting done in open acrylics, soft body acrylics and water-mixable oils. Third place went to Stephen Hamrick of Lakeville with a painting of a ring-neck duck done in acrylic on illustration board. The winners were selected out of 13 eligible submissions. The waterfowl stamp can be purchased in combination with a hunting license, or as a collectable. Visit the Minnesota DNR website for more information about habitat stamps and contest guidelines.
Reminder: Deer lottery application deadline is Sept. 7
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds firearm and muzzleloader hunters who want to harvest antlerless deer in a deer permit area designated as antlerless permit lottery this hunting season to purchase their license by Thursday, Sept. 7. Hunters who purchase their license on or before this date are automatically entered into the lottery for the deer permit area or special hunt area they declare.
Successful applicants will receive a postcard in the mail authorizing them to take an antlerless deer using their regular license in that antlerless permit lottery area. No application is needed to take antlerless deer in permit areas with either sex, two-deer limit, three-deer limit or five-deer limit designations.
Hunters who want to participate in special firearm or muzzleloader deer hunts also need to apply for permits that are issued through a lottery. That application deadline is also Sept. 7.
More information about designations and regulations for deer permit areas, as well as details about special hunt opportunities, are available on the Minnesota DNR website and in the 2023 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook, available online and in print wherever Minnesota DNR licenses are sold.
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.
The final DNR Days at the Twins game for this season is 1:10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9 vs. the New York Mets. Promotion details, instructions for purchasing tickets, and information on buying a fishing or hunting license are available on the Minnesota DNR Days webpage. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time using a special DNR link (twins.com/dnr) to receive this offer.