In This Issue
A weekly list of news briefs about fish, wildlife, and habitat management.
Apply through Aug. 19 for Camp Ripley archery hunts
Hunters can apply for the fall archery deer hunt at Camp Ripley near Little Falls through Friday, Aug. 19. This year, the three-day hunt will happen on Oct. 28-30 (Friday through Sunday, application code 668). A total of 2,500 permits will be made available. The bag limit is two and bonus permits may be used to take antlerless deer.
The archery hunt at Camp Ripley is an annual event. The DNR coordinates the hunt in collaboration with Central Lakes College Natural Resources Department, and the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs, which manages the 53,000-acre military reservation.
Application details, hunt rules and other instructions are available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/Hunting/Deer/Camp-Ripley-Archery-Hunt.html).
Apply through Aug. 19 for special youth deer hunts
Hunters can apply for special youth deer hunt permits through Friday, Aug. 19.
These hunts are for youth who will be 12-15 years old at the time of the hunt. Youth archery hunters in Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area in Sherburne County can be 10-17 years old. There is a limited number of permits for each hunt. Individual hunts will be held in several state parks, and in the Rydell National Wildlife Refuge, on various dates in the fall. Adults must accompany youth during these hunts. More information, including special youth hunt locations and dates, is available on the?DNR website (mndnr.gov/Hunting/Deer/Youth-Deer-Hunts.html).
Special youth deer hunts are different from the statewide youth deer season, which takes place Oct. 20-23 and does not require an application.
Hunters may only possess and use nontoxic ammunition when participating in a special hunt or disease management hunt in a Minnesota state park or Scientific and Natural Area. Bullets, slugs, muzzleloader ammunition and other single projectiles must be made entirely of non-toxic material approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Apply through Aug. 19 for prairie chicken hunt lottery
Hunters can apply through Friday, Aug. 19, to be chosen for one of 125 permits for the 2022 Minnesota prairie chicken hunting season. The nine-day prairie chicken season begins Saturday, Sept. 24, and is open to Minnesota residents only. The hunt takes place in northwestern Minnesota from St. Hilaire south to Breckenridge. Hunters can find details about the season on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/Hunting/PrairieChicken).
DNR webinars cover hunters as citizen scientists,
clay target shooting?
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invites Minnesotans interested in wildlife and outdoor skills to tune in to upcoming webinars that will discuss how hunters can contribute data to help monitor wildlife populations, and clay target shooting for beginners.
The first webinar on hunters as citizen scientists is at noon Wednesday, Aug. 10. DNR researchers are tasked with assessing the populations of many game species to inform wildlife management efforts, including efforts to set hunting seasons and regulations ? but they don?t collect all of the necessary the data themselves. In this webinar, participants will learn about two science-based surveys in which hunters are integral to contributing the data needed to help monitor deer and turkey populations.
The second webinar on clay target shooting is at noon Wednesday, Aug. 17. Sheri Brengman, DNR Becoming an Outdoors Woman program volunteer steering committee member and instructor, will talk about the basics of trap shooting and other clay target shooting games.
The webinars are part of the DNR?s Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series, which aims to give participants quick, relevant information on upcoming seasons and events, as well as skills to enjoy these opportunities. The webinars are free, but registration is required. More information, including registration information for webinars and recordings of past webinars, is available on the?outdoor skills and stewardship page of the?DNR website?(mndnr.gov/Discover).
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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has scheduled two public auctions of confiscated fishing, hunting and trapping equipment, one on Saturday, Aug. 27 and the other on Saturday, Oct. 1. The auctions, which will be held online, include 316 firearms, 67 bows and a variety of other equipment. All of the equipment was confiscated following serious game and fish violations.
The bidding catalog for each auction will be available online on the Wednesday preceding each auction date?i.e., on Aug. 24 and Sept. 28, respectively. The catalog will include a written description and photos of each item. Onsite inspection is available at Hiller Auction Service in Zimmerman from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Friday before each auction. All equipment will be sold as-is, including all defects or faults, known or unknown. Once purchased, items cannot be returned. Background checks are required for anyone who purchases a firearm.
Revenue from confiscated equipment auctions goes into the Game and Fish Fund, which is the DNR?s primary fund for delivering fish and wildlife management and law enforcement.
For more information, see the confiscated hunting and fishing equipment auctions page of the DNR website (mndnr.gov/Enforcement/Auctions). A list of equipment to be auctioned will be available about a month before each individual auction at the Hiller Auction Service website (HillerAuction.com).
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Hunters need to know about changes to hunting regulations, CWD sampling this deer season
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is inviting hunters and anyone interested in deer to a public information meeting to discuss chronic wasting disease in the Grand Rapids area (permit area 679, formerly DPA 179).
The meeting is 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, in the Chukar Auditorium at the Minnesota North College (formerly Itasca Community College), 1851 East Highway 169 in Grand Rapids.
During the meeting, DNR staff with the wildlife health and big game programs will share information about hunting regulation changes and CWD management in the Grand Rapids area and answer questions. As an alternative to attending the meeting in-person, people can register to attend the presentation virtually via Webex and virtual participation options are available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/CWD).
In March 2022, the DNR confirmed the first case of CWD in the Grand Rapids area (in what was deer permit area 179). This was in a wild deer found dead within the city limits of Grand Rapids. Culling efforts to reduce high urban deer densities in the southwest quadrant of town resulted in an additional positive deer. The two confirmed cases of CWD in wild deer prompted the DNR to designate DPA 679 as a new CWD management zone.
Hunting regulations and CWD sampling has changed for hunters this deer season in the Grand Rapids area. Hunters need to know about hunting regulations, CWD testing, carcass movement restrictions, and deer feeding and attractant bans. Hunters can find this information using the DNR?s online DPA lookup tool. Hunters enter their DPA number and can find the details they need for where they hunt. The tool is available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/CWD/DPA-Lookup.html).
More information The DNR is committed to maintaining a healthy deer herd. To find out more about what the DNR is doing to manage the disease in wild deer, check out the agency?s CWD management plan (mndnr.gov/CWD/CWD-Response-Plan.html).
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Hunters need to know about changes to hunting regulations, CWD sampling this deer season
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is inviting hunters and anyone interested in deer to a public information meeting to discuss chronic wasting disease in the Climax area of northwestern Minnesota (deer permit area 661, formerly DPA 261).
The meeting is 6-8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, in the Bede Ballroom at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, 2900 University Ave. in Crookston.
During the meeting, DNR staff with the wildlife health and big game programs will share information about hunting regulation changes and CWD management in the Climax area and answer questions. As an alternative to attending the meeting in-person, people can register to attend the presentation virtually via Webex and virtual participation options are available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/CWD)..
In 2021, the DNR confirmed the first case of CWD in a wild deer harvested southwest of Climax along the Minnesota-North Dakota border. The confirmed case prompted the DNR to designate DPA 661 as a new CWD management zone.
Hunting regulations and CWD sampling has changed for hunters this deer season in the Climax area. Hunters need to know about hunting regulations, CWD testing, carcass movement restrictions, and deer feeding and attractant bans. Hunters can find this information using the DNR?s online DPA lookup tool. Hunters enter their DPA number and can find the details they need for where they hunt. The tool is available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/CWD/DPA-Lookup.html).
More information
The DNR is committed to maintaining a healthy deer herd. To find out more about what the DNR is doing to manage the disease in wild deer, check out the agency?s CWD management plan (mndnr.gov/CWD/CWD-Response-Plan.html).
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DNR offers tips for those new to harvesting or considering taking up the activity?
As the Aug. 15 wild rice season opening date approaches, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds harvesters that rice stands must also be ripe before they may be legally harvested.
Wild rice harvesters going out during the upcoming season will find variable conditions this year in many areas of Minnesota.
?While we?ve heard reports of good rice in some places this year, a cooler early spring meant many lakes had late ice-out and the wild rice growing season was pushed back up to two weeks,? said Ricky Lien, DNR wetland habitat team supervisor. ?Consequently, wild rice may ripen later than normal. Ricers need to remember that it is illegal to harvest green rice.?
As people consider harvesting, they need to know the regulations that help protect wild rice stands for future years. Harvesters are allowed to take ripe wild rice each year during the wild rice season that runs between Aug. 15 and Sept. 30, but Minnesota?s green rice law makes it illegal to harvest unripe or ?green? rice, even within the dates of the harvest season. So although rice beds may look like they are ready, ricers must make sure the grain is ripe and falling easily from the stalk before attempting to harvest it.
Early reports from DNR and tribal biologists on the condition of this year?s wild rice have been mixed across central and northern Minnesota.
?People interested in harvesting wild rice should do some scouting to look for good stands of rice,? Lien said. ?Although we?re hearing of some places with good wild rice this year, other areas were hit by multiple heavy storms that had negative impacts.?
Ahead of the wild rice season in mid-August, the DNR will post a wild rice conditions report online. To be notified by email when the conditions report is available, sign up for wild rice email updates (public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNDNR/subscriber/new).
The conditions report is available each year on the DNR?s wild rice management page (mndnr.gov/Wildlife/ShallowLakes/Wildrice.html), along with license, regulation and safety information. For other details that may not be in the conditions report, anyone looking for more information on wild rice in their area can contact their local DNR wildlife manager (mndnr.gov/Areas/Wildlife) or a?Shallow Lakes Program specialist (mndnr.gov/Wildlife/ShallowLakes/Specialists.html).
Harvesting tips
Harvesters usually use a nonmotorized canoe with a push pole or paddles for power, and collect rice using two sticks, or flails, to knock mature seeds into the canoe. While labor intensive, harvesting wild rice can be rewarding and finding a mentor who knows what they?re doing can make the learning process?easier.
Harvesters should keep access areas clean by packing out what they pack in. And before heading out, harvesters should make a plan for how the rice will be processed. Novice rice harvesters are often advised to use a processor rather than attempt to process themselves.
It is unlawful for any person to take wild rice grain from any of the waters within the original boundaries at the White Earth, Leech Lake, Nett Lake, Vermilion Lake, Grand Portage, Fond du Lac and Mille Lacs reservations except for Native Americans or residents of the reservation upon which said wild rice grain is taken.
The exceptions to this are Native Americans and residents of the reservations listed. In addition, all nontribal members wishing to harvest or buy wild rice within the boundaries of the Leech Lake Reservation must have a Leech Lake Reservation permit.
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