Special hunt, harvest to be held in northeastern Minnesota
News | Published on September 17, 2024 at 2:47pm EDT | Author: frazeevergas
0CWD sampling area changes, harvest reduced in some DPAs
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding hunters of a variety of deer hunting related changes in effect for the upcoming seasons in northeast Minnesota.
City of Grand Rapids special hunt
The annual city of Grand Rapids special deer hunt began with the start of archery season on Saturday, Sept. 14, continues through rifle and muzzleloader seasons, and ends on Tuesday, Dec. 31. All deer one year or older harvested during the city deer hunt are required to be sampled for chronic wasting disease.
Hunters have several options to fulfill the sampling requirements, including the partner sampling program through participating taxidermists, self-service sampling stations, mail-in sampling kit, or by appointment at the Minnesota DNR Grand Rapids area wildlife office.
To date, four cases of CWD have been found in adult deer within and adjacent to the city limits of Grand Rapids.
Disease management and bonus permits are available for use in conjunction with the city hunt and will allow hunters to harvest up to five deer within city limits.
The City of Grand Rapids’ special hunt is administered by the Grand Rapids Police Department in partnership with the Minnesota DNR to reduce urban deer populations, the number of vehicle accidents, and damage to vegetation caused by high numbers of deer, as well as helping to slow the spread of CWD. More information about the city deer hunt and allowed hunting zones can be found on the Grand Rapids Police Department’s webpage opens in a new browser tab.
Remainder of DPA 679 around the City of Grand Rapids
The allowable harvest per hunter for DPA 679 was reduced last year to one deer, either sex (commonly referred to as “hunter’s choice”). Disease management or bonus tags may not be used in DPA 679 outside of special hunts.
Mandatory sampling for all deer one year or older will continue this year during the opening weekend of firearms A season (Nov. 9-10), and carcass movement restrictions remain in place.
Other special hunts
The cities of Baxter, Two Harbors, and Duluth will hold special city hunts, as will Schoolcraft and St. Croix State Parks and several state parks along the North Shore. Interested hunters can find information about dates, hunt types, bag limits and additional information beginning on page 92 of the printed or online version of the 2024-25 hunting and trapping regulations.
New CWD sampling requirements near Carlton, continued near Brainerd
To help inform consideration of a proposed elk restoration project, new mandatory CWD surveillance sampling will be implemented on opening weekend of firearms A season (Nov. 9-10) in DPAs 156, 173, 181 and 199 in the Carlton area. Elk in the northwest have been extensively tested during hunting seasons and deer in the area were tested during the last hunting season, with no animals testing positive for CWD.
In DPA 604 around the Brainerd area, mandatory CWD sampling continues this year during the opening weekend of firearms A season (Nov. 9-10), and carcass movement restrictions remain in place. While CWD infection numbers remain low in DPA 604, the infection was most recently detected in 2023, prompting an additional three-year cycle of sampling.
Deer feeding and attractant ban expanded to Aitkin County
The outward movement of CWD from the Grand Rapids city limits has prompted the expansion of the deer feeding and attractant ban to include Aitkin County. Deer attractants are natural or manufactured products that can attract or entice deer, including salt, minerals, liquid food scents, or any product that contains or claims to contain cervid urine, blood, gland oil, feces or other bodily fluid.
Feeding deer for the purpose of baiting during the hunting season is not legal anywhere in Minnesota. Recreational feeding of deer is banned in 24 counties including Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca and Hubbard counties in north-central Minnesota.
Deer hunting regulations, seasons and harvest limit changes are available on the Minnesota DNR’s deer hunting webpage and in the hunting and trapping regulations booklet, which is available in print wherever Minnesota DNR licenses are sold. The Minnesota DNR provides translations of the regulations in Hmong, Karen, Somali, and Spanish. The translated versions are estimated to be available online in September and are expected in print by the end of October.