Walk-In Access lands open Sept. 1
Walk-In Access areas will be open for public use beginning Monday, Sept. 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026, with the purchase of a $3 Walk-In Access validation.
The Walk-In Access program pays landowners to allow public access to their property without additional landowner contact. This year, there are around 30,000 acres of private land at more than 280 Walk-In Access sites in west, central and southern Minnesota.
Of the 30,000 acres enrolled in the program, more than 20,000 acres will be open to public uses in addition to hunting, such as bird watching, nature photography and similar compatible uses. To search for Walk-In Access sites, identify sites open to all compatible uses, find digital maps for individual sites, and get more information, visit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website. Additionally, all Walk-In Access sites are shown on the DNR Recreation Compass.
Current funding for the program includes a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Walk-In Access validations purchased by hunters, a surcharge on nonresident hunting licenses and donations from hunters.
Hunters asked not to shoot ear-tagged, radio-collared research bears
The Minnesota bear hunting season opens Sunday, Sept. 1, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is once again asking hunters to avoid shooting marked research bears. These bears are marked with distinctively large, colorful ear tags and wear radio collars.
Researchers with the Minnesota DNR are monitoring 50 radio-collared black bears across the state, especially in bear hunting zones 27, 45 and parts of the no-quota area. Most of the radio-collared bears live in or near the Chippewa National Forest, Camp Ripley, the Brainerd/Baxter area, and Duluth. However, the bears can also range widely from these sites. All but three of these bears are female.
More information for hunters is available in a previous DNR news release. Photos of collared research bears and some research findings gained from them are available on the Minnesota DNR bear hunting webpage.
Reminder: Deer lottery application deadline is Sept. 4
Firearm and muzzleloader hunters who want to harvest antlerless deer in a deer permit area with an antlerless permit lottery designation must purchase their license by Thursday, Sept. 4.
Hunters who purchase their license by Sept. 4 are automatically entered into the lottery for the DPA 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 should note that DPA 183 has been split into two smaller DPAs (153 and 154), and these DPAs have last year’s designation of lottery with a one-deer limit.
Hunters who want to participate in special firearm or muzzleloader deer hunts also need to apply for permits issued through a lottery. That application deadline is also Sept. 4. More information about how to apply for special hunts is available on the DNR website.
Further information about designations and regulations for deer permit areas, as well as details about special hunt opportunities, are available on the DNR website and in the 2025 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook, which is available online and in print wherever Minnesota DNR licenses are sold.