Minnesota Wildlife

Minnesota pheasant hunting season kicks off Saturday!

For hunters preparing to hit the fields, here are a few reminders.

You will need a valid small game license to hunt pheasants. Depending on age and residency, you may also require a pheasant stamp. Kids ages 13 and under may hunt small game, including pheasant, without a license, but must be accompanied by a licensed parent or guardian. Review youth hunting requirements on page 36 of the Minnesota hunting regulations.

Hunters can only hunt pheasants with a shotgun or a .22 caliber rimfire rifle or handgun using short, long or long rifle ammunition. Shotguns may hold more than three shells.

Pheasant hunters are required to wear at least one visible article of blaze orange or blaze pink clothing above the waist. See what qualifies on the DNR website.

The daily limit is two roosters and the possession limit is six roosters through Nov. 30. Pheasants harvested in the field and being transported must have one leg or a fully-feathered wing attached. Review the rules, limits, and roadside survey reports online.

Good luck hunters!

Public invited to land celebration Oct. 13

The public is invited to attend a celebration of new public hunting land in Steele County at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, as part of the 2023 Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener. The ceremony celebrates approximately 40 acres added to Somerset Wildlife Management Area, located southwest of Owatonna.

The ceremony will include comments from local residents, conservationists, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Sarah Strommen, Explore Minnesota Director Lauren Bennett McGinty and other local leaders. Find more details on the DNR website.

Pheasants Forever, DNR join forces to get new hunters into fields and forests

The DNR and Pheasants Forever invite Minnesota hunters to join the Hunter Mentor Challenge and take someone hunting who has never hunted or hasn’t hunted for a few years.

Minnesota hunters who participate will qualify for a discount code for ALPS OutdoorZ brand gear, and after the hunt, they have the chance to win a custom, limited-edition Pheasants Forever hunting backpack from ALPS OutdoorZ.

The program is open to all types of hunting in Minnesota that are legal and in-season — including, but not limited to, pheasants, grouse, waterfowl, deer, squirrels, and wild turkey (applies to fall and spring turkey seasons). Experienced hunters can invite a new hunter of any age, if both participants have the proper license/tag necessary and the mentee has either taken hunter’s safety or has their apprentice hunter validation.

Participation is simple: hunters visit the Minnesota DNR page on the Pheasants Forever website and take the pledge. After taking the pledge, hunters are asked to bring a novice or returning hunter on a hunt during the 2023-24 season and snap a picture or short video during the hunting trip. The last step is to submit contact information, a hunt recap and a photo or video on the submission page to be entered for prize giveaways. All online entries must be received by June 30, 2024.

The DNR has helpful information for new hunters and experienced hunters who would like to share their skills with new hunters. To learn more, visit the DNR take a friend hunting webpage.

How to find new WMAs

Are you interested in finding some new land to hunt? Try checking out new wildlife management areas. The Minnesota DNR regularly adds recently acquired land to the searchable WMA finder on the DNR website. To find these lands, check the box “new lands added/acquired in the last year” and search. 

It’s easy to make a plan for a safe and successful deer hunting season

As archery deer hunters enjoy the current hunting season and 400,000 hunters prepare for firearms deer hunting seasons, here’s a reminder to plan ahead for a safe and enjoyable hunt.

Enjoying the hunt is a lot easier after doing some simple planning. To that end, we’ve added a wealth of information for hunters on our website to assist in preparing for the season.

The DNR’s online make a plan tool provides a comprehensive step-by-step list of information to consider before heading to deer camp. Hunters can walk through the steps to consider including knowing the hunting regulations, planning for deer processing, getting their deer sampled for CWD, being safe and ways to make the most out of their hunt. To use the online tool, all hunters need to know is the deer permit area number or DPA numbers where they intend to hunt, which they can find on an interactive deer map.

Youth, early antlerless seasons coming up

The four days from Thursday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Oct. 22, feature Minnesota’s youth deer season that will take place statewide, and an early antlerless-only deer season in select permit areas.

For youth deer season details, check out the DNR website. Details about the early antlerless only season are available on page 88 of the Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations.

All deer hunters, including archery deer hunters: Keep in mind that blaze clothing requirements apply statewide during these four days.

Deer carcass movement restrictions in place in 13 deer permit areas 

Deer carcass movement restrictions are in place for 13 deer permit areas located in southeastern and north-central Minnesota and the south metro area.

DPAs 604, 605, 643, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649, 655, 661, 679 and 684 together form the chronic wasting disease management zone. Hunters are not allowed to bring whole deer carcasses outside the management zone until a “not detected” test result is received. The restrictions apply to all deer, including fawns. Hunters are allowed to move whole deer carcasses in between contiguous disease management zone DPAs.

If hunters do not submit their deer for sampling or want to transport it outside the CWD management zone before getting a test result, they must debone or quarter their deer, and properly dispose of the head and spinal column inside the zone. Meat and quarters with the main leg bone can leave the zone immediately. The Minnesota DNR provides dumpsters for hunters to use to help facilitate carcass disposal.

These restrictions are part of a comprehensive strategy to keep Minnesota’s deer, elk and moose healthy by limiting the spread of disease. Hunters can find details for the DPA in which they hunt by visiting the DNR’s CWD webpage and using the “find the requirements for your DPA” tool.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Kern

Share your input on updates to Lac qui Parle WMA master plan

The Minnesota DNR is asking people interested in the Lac qui Parle Wildlife Management Area to share their perspectives about future management at the WMA.

The Lac qui Parle WMA master plan was last updated in 1997, and it is important for this update to reflect current public values and attitudes about how the land should be managed.

The updated master plan will be used to guide management of the Lac qui Parle WMA’s prairies and grasslands, wetlands, lakes, brushlands, shrubs and forests. It will include management goals, objectives and strategies for the WMA throughout the next 10 years. An online questionnaire is available through Wednesday, Nov. 8, and you attend an online open house on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Find more details and additional ways to share your thoughts on the DNR website.

Thoughts welcome on management plan for Thief Lake in Marshall County

People interested in Thief Lake in Marshall County are invited to share their thoughts with the Minnesota DNR on proposed updates to the lake’s management plan. The updated plan will be used as a guide to maintain the high-quality wetland habitat at Thief Lake.

The draft management plan describes past management of the lake and identifies new thresholds that will guide specific actions such as periodic water level management. The draft plan is available for review on the DNR website.

Comments on the draft plan will be accepted through 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Phone, email or U.S. mail comments can be submitted to:

• Kyle Arola, Thief Lake area wildlife supervisor, [email protected], 218-633-7671, 42280 240th Avenue Northeast, Middle River, MN 56737.
• Tammy Baden, shallow lakes specialist, [email protected], 218-846-8474, 14583 County Highway 19, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501.

Be careful with heat sources that cause sparks

Planning any camping or outdoor activities around upcoming hunts? Please be careful with any heat source that can cause a spark. As vegetation dries out in the fall, wildfire danger can increase quickly. When having a campfire, clear vegetation and keep flammable items away from the campfire area, always stay by your fire and put it out cold before you leave. If using ATV/OHVs, be sure to park vehicles away from grass or vegetation, where hot exhaust systems could spark a wildfire. Conditions can and do change quickly. Stay up to date with fire danger and burning restrictions.