In This Issue
A weekly list of news briefs about fish, wildlife, and habitat management.
Make a plan for deer hunting season
As deer hunters enjoy current hunting seasons and 400,000 hunters prepare for the opening of firearms deer season on Saturday, Nov. 5, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds them to plan ahead for a safe and enjoyable hunt.
The DNR?s online make a plan tool (mndnr.gov/DeerHunt) provides a comprehensive step-by-step list of information hunters need to consider before heading to deer camp. The tool covers topics including hunting regulations, deer processing, chronic wasting disease sampling, safety and how to make the most out of a hunt. To use the online tool, hunters need their deer permit area number, which they can find on an interactive deer map.
In Minnesota, archery deer season began Sept. 17 and continues through Saturday, Dec. 31; firearms deer season begins Saturday, Nov. 5, with various closing dates depending on a hunter?s DPA; and muzzleloader season is Saturday, Nov. 26, through Sunday, Dec. 11.
Deer hunters invited to share wildlife observations
Minnesota deer hunters can use an online questionnaire (mndnr.gov/Mammals/Deer/Management/Hunter-Field-Log.html) to report wildlife they see while hunting. Data from the observation logs help the DNR estimate population level trends for deer and track wildlife distribution for other species across the state.
Using a mobile device or desktop computer, hunters can enter information on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/Mammals/Deer/Management/Hunter-Field-Log.html) about wildlife they see each day of hunting, including deer, turkeys, bears, fishers and other species. They?ll also be able to report specific information about any deer they harvest. Hunters are encouraged to fill out a report after each hunt, even if they don?t see any deer that day. The online questionnaire will be available until Jan. 15, 2023.
Know the difference between white-tailed deer and elk
Individual elk sightings are beginning to be reported in a wider geographic area outside of far northwestern Minnesota. Hunters need to make sure they know the difference in the field. The DNR website (mndnr.gov/Hunting/Deer-Elk-ID.html) has drawings and traits listed to help distinguish elk from white-tailed deer. Additionally, people are encouraged to report elk sightings using the DNR?s online elk sighting reporting tool (mndnr.gov/Elk/Elk-Sightings.html).
DNR webinars cover the tundra swan migration,
preserving your harvest
The DNR invites people interested in wildlife and outdoor skills to tune in to upcoming webinars that will discuss the tundra swan migration and preserving your harvest.
The first webinar is at noon Wednesday, Oct. 26. Mary Stefanski, Winona district manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will share information on the fascinating migration of tundra swans, their life story and how people can view them up close before they head south for the year. The tundra swan migration is a highlight of the fall on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. At the peak, which usually occurs the second week of November, there can be as many as 50,000 swans on the refuge, primarily between Wabasha and Brownsville.
The second webinar is at noon Wednesday, Nov. 2. Kraig Kiger, DNR shooting sports specialist, will discuss what to do with a harvest after a successful hunting or fishing trip. The webinar will cover ways to keep a harvest and how to prepare, can or freeze meat from a harvest.
The webinars are part of the DNR?s Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series. The webinars are free but registration is required. More information is available on the outdoor skills and stewardship page of the DNR website (mndnr.gov/Discover).
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 An angler caught a one pound 12-ounce hybrid sunfish from Green Lake in Kandiyohi County that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has certified as tying the weight-based state record. The record fish?s weight ties that of a hybrid sunfish caught from the Zumbro River in 1994.
Aaron Ardoff caught the sunfish on Sept. 18 when he was fishing with his brother and a friend. He was catching bass and pike with a black and orange spinnerbait when the sunfish bit his lure.
?As soon as I started reeling, I could tell this wasn?t fighting like a pike or bass,? Ardoff said. ?When the fish got closer I could see that it was a sunfish and I started panicking! I kept telling myself to not go crazy and just get it in.??
Ardoff brought the fish to a local tackle shop, where he met the local fisheries supervisor who identified the fish as a hybrid sunfish and witnessed the fish weighed on the shop?s certified scale. A hybrid sunfish is a cross between two species of sunfish.
The DNR announces state records in news releases, on social media and on the DNR website. Find current records and guidelines for each type of state record at on the DNR record fish page (mndnr.gov/recordfish).
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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is conducting CWD sampling in the CWD surveillance zone that includes deer permit areas 110, 184, 197 and the portion of DPA 169 west of Minnesota Highway 6.
CWD sampling is mandatory in the surveillance zone on opening weekend of firearms season A (Nov. 5-6) for all hunter-harvested deer one year of age or older.
Sampling stations, either staffed or self-service, will be available Nov. 5-7. Hunters should check the DNR?s CWD page (mndnr.gov/CWD) for the most current list of sampling locations. Deer must be registered before sampling.
Hunters who harvest a deer in this surveillance zone outside of the firearms opening weekend, when sampling is mandatory, can make an appointment to have their deer tested by contacting the Park Rapids area wildlife office at 218-732-8452, or the Grand Rapids area wildlife office at 218-328-8860.
A self-service sampling station will be available throughout all deer seasons at the Bemidji area wildlife office, 2114 Bemidji Ave. in Bemidji. Hunters should call the Bemidji office at 218-308-2339 to notify them a sample has been dropped off or if they have questions.
A limited number of free, mail-in kits are available for hunters throughout Minnesota whether they hunt in a CWD zone or not. If interested, hunters are encouraged to request a kit in advance of their hunt so that they can collect and mail lymph node samples on their own. Some taxidermists are participating in the DNR?s partner sampling program to collect CWD samples. Taxidermists may charge a fee for these services. To order a free kit or find a sampling partner, visit the DNR website (mndnr.gov/CWD/CWD-Testing.html).
Surrounding area feeding and attractant ban restrictions
Deer feeding is prohibited in Beltrami, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods and Roseau counties. Bans on both deer feeding and attractants are in place for Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Marshall, Pennington, Polk and Red Lake counties. For a full list of counties affected by feeding and attractant bans, visit the DNR deer feeding and attractant ban page (mndnr.gov/CWD/FeedBan.html).
More information
More information on CWD, sampling sites, other opportunities for CWD testing and accessing interactive maps that show hunters DPA information and CWD sampling information are available at the DNR?s CWD page (mndnr.gov/CWD). Hunters also should refer to the 2022 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations, available at the DNR deer hunting page (mndnr.gov/Hunting/Deer) and wherever licenses are sold.
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