Minnesota Wildlife

Ruffed grouse counts lower this year after a strong peak last year

The DNR’s latest ruffed grouse counts found Minnesota’s spring 2025 population is lower statewide than last year. Ruffed grouse drums per stop were 1.8 statewide, down from 2.3 drums per stop last year, an expected drop considering spring 2024 was the highest 10-year cycle population peak for ruffed grouse since 1972.

The DNR and its partners have conducted spring drumming count surveys for 74 years to monitor the state’s ruffed grouse breeding population. Through decades of surveys, DNR researchers have found that ruffed grouse populations tend to rise and fall in about a 10-year cycle that typically ranges from 8-11 years.

Turning to Minnesota’s northwest sharp-tailed grouse population, the average number of sharp-tailed grouse per lek in the northwest was 12 this year, compared to 15.3 last year. In 2024, the northwest sharp-tailed grouse population was the highest it’s been since 2009, according to spring population counts conducted by the Minnesota DNR and cooperating organizations. Read more about ruffed and sharp-tailed grouse populations.

Photo courtesy of Kalli Hawkins

Please share your pheasant and turkey observations on the DNR website

Minnesotans are encouraged to report observations of ring-necked pheasants and wild turkeys in a citizen science effort by the DNR. You can report any pheasant and turkeys you see in the wild now through Sunday, Aug. 31.

Information from the reports will help the DNR monitor pheasant and turkey population trends, evaluate conservation efforts and make decisions about harvest regulations. To file a report using a mobile device or desktop computer, enter information on the DNR website.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Apply through Aug. 15 for prairie chicken hunt lottery

Hunters can apply through Friday, Aug. 15, to be chosen for one of 125 permits for the 2025 Minnesota prairie chicken hunting season.

The nine-day prairie chicken season begins Saturday, Sept. 27, and is open to Minnesota residents only. The hunt takes place in northwestern Minnesota from St. Hilaire south to Breckenridge. Hunters who are awarded a permit in the lottery are required to purchase a prairie chicken hunting license prior to hunting. Hunters can find details about the season on the DNR prairie chicken hunting page.

Apply for special youth deer hunts

Youth can hunt deer with adult accompaniment in several state parks during application-only special youth deer hunts that happen each fall.

Special youth deer hunts are meant for youth to have positive experiences and also help state parks manage their deer populations. Hunters can apply for special youth deer hunt permits through Friday, Aug. 15. The number of permits for each hunt is limited. The firearms hunts are for youth who are ages 12-15 at the time of the hunt and are accompanied by an adult.

Special youth deer hunts are different from the statewide youth deer season that will take place Oct. 16-19 and does not require an application. Check out more information on special hunts, including nontoxic ammunition requirements, on the DNR website.

Dates to mark for deer hunters

Hunting regulations: We’ll have the Minnesota Hunting Regulations available online the week of Aug. 1. Remember to check back on the DNR deer hunting page to get the details you need for deer seasons.

Antlerless lottery deadline: The antlerless lottery deadline is Thursday, Sept. 4. All hunters who purchase a firearms or muzzleloader license, and declare an antlerless permit lottery area by Sept. 4, will be automatically entered into the lottery for an antlerless permit. Sept. 4 is also the deadline for adults to apply for special hunts.

Camp Ripley: As a reminder, the Camp Ripley archery hunt will again be open to archery hunting by permit only during the entire Minnesota archery season, rather than a single weekend. Permits go on sale Aug. 1. Camp Ripley administers the hunt and you can find more information on the iSportsman Camp Ripley webpage.

Firearms safety classes: Do you or someone you know need to take firearms safety course? Sign up as soon as you can, because these classes fill quickly. Check out the certification requirements for youth, and adults 16 and older, on the DNR website.

Photo courtesy of Pamela Follett

Bear hunters: Remember to buy license, check regulations

Bear hunters who entered the lottery for bear hunting licenses should watch their mail to see if they were selected for a license. The DNR mailed postcards to lottery winners during the first week of June.

Hunters can also look on the DNR website to see if they were selected. The deadline to purchase a lottery bear license is Friday, Aug. 1. Unsold lottery-awarded licenses will be available to any eligible person on Wednesday, Aug. 6, beginning at noon.

Bear baiting may begin Friday, Aug. 15, and the hunting season is Monday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Oct. 12. Find more details on the DNR’s bear hunting webpage.

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

Habitat highlight: Roseau River WMA prescribed fire

Minnesota DNR staff were recently able to burn a 4,600 acre complex of wetland, shrubland and peatland on Roseau River WMA in Roseau county. Aerial ignitions — firing from a helicopter — served as the primary ignition method. One side of the burn was bordered by the Roseau River, allowing staff to use boats outfitted with pumps to monitor the flames and spray the bank to hold the line as necessary.

Prescribed fire is a carefully planned and controlled fire conducted to manage natural areas such as prairie, oak savanna, wetlands, and oak woodlands for wildlife and native plant communities. It is conducted only under safe conditions.

This management tool has many benefits depending on the timing and intensity of the fire. This includes:

• Stimulating or suppressing different plant species (setting back shrubs, cool-season grasses, or invasives)
• Exposing soils (stimulating the seed bank and enhancing nesting/foraging conditions for certain species)
• Reverting mesophication (the transition from a fire dependent ecosystem to a different fire resistant ecosystem)
• Increasing biodiversity and diversifying habitat density and structure for wildlife
• Reducing fuel by burning up built-up plant material (helps reduce risk of wildfire)

Northwest Minnesota’s aspen parkland and prairies are fire-adapted. These ecosystems need fire to keep trees and shrubs from taking over grasslands and wetlands. Sharp-tailed grouse, prairie chickens, moose and elk are just a few species that benefit from this practice.

The burn was made possible through the collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy. Learn more about prescribed fire on the DNR website.

Share your thoughts on how fees support natural resources and outdoor recreation

The DNR wants to hear your thoughts on the use of fees to support natural resources and outdoor recreation opportunities in Minnesota!

Please take the 4 The Outdoors questionnaire to share your values and preferences. Your input will be used to help select, design and implement improvements to DNR’s fees in the future. Access the questionnaire here.

For more information on the 4 The Outdoors initiative, visit the Engage with DNR webpage. 

Photo courtesy of Greg Schwieters

Wildlife highlight: mythical jackalope?

Is that … a jackalope?

It’s been a booming year for cottontail rabbits, and the DNR has received numerous reports of bunnies with unusual growths on their heads and bodies. These growths are caused by a virus known as Cottontail Rabbit Papillomavirus, also called Shope Papillomavirus. The virus causes warty horn-like growths on the skin and is spread mainly through biting insects.

Fun fact: This virus is believed to be the origin of the jackalope legend of mythical horned rabbits. So, if you spot a bunny in your yard sporting these curious “horns,” don’t be alarmed. While these growths may look bad, they usually aren’t harmful. As long as they don’t interfere with the rabbit’s ability to eat or move, the growths will typically go away on their own.

If you see a wild rabbit with this virus, let nature run its course — and feel free to snap a photo to document your very own jackalope sighting!

Zach Portman, iNaturalist