Deer Hunt in Minnesota State Park
Deer hunting season is a much-anticipated time of year in Minnesota. Whether or not a hunter has his own private hunting land or not, he can take the opportunity to apply for a special permit allowing him to hunt for deer in some of Minnesota's state parks.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
In 1978, the State Park Resource Management Program was established as a part of the Minnesota DNR's Division of Parks and Recreation. One of the objectives of the program is to ensure flora and fauna species are preserved and maintained in Minnesota's state parks. Annually since at least 2005, the DNR has opened some of the state parks under its management to special deer hunts to fulfill this mission.
Significance
-
The Minnesota Department of Resources allows deer hunters with special permits to cull deer herds in state parks where a deer overpopulation has been reported. When a state park has more deer than it can sustain, two results occur. Car collisions with deer are more likely inside and outside park boundaries. And in an effort to avoid starvation, the deer herd damages more of the state parks' flora than a smaller herd would. Pine seedlings, wildflowers and other flora are susceptible to being damaged or permanently lost from deer browsing.
-
Types of Deer Hunts
-
Hunters may use muzzleloaders as well as regular deer hunting firearms during the special deer hunts in the specified Minnesota state parks. There will be one or two special deer hunts for those who hunt with bows and arrows. Some parks have special deer hunts just for youth.
In some state parks, a hunter may get an opportunity to bag a buck if they get an antlerless deer. This program is called Earn-A-Buck and requires that both deer be taken at the same Minnesota state park.
Another program in select state parks requires the hunter to harvest bucks with three or more points on at least one side of its antler rack.
Time Frame
-
Special deer hunt permits must be requested by the first week of September. The first of the special deer hunts is held as early as the last weekend in September and the last might be finished the first weekend in December. Most of the hunting times are during the month of November.
Restrictions
-
During special deer hunts, the individual state parks might be entirely open or entirely closed to the public. Hunters as well as park visitors should check to see whether or not the park has restrictions during the hunts.
Some Minnesota state parks will have sections most used by visitors open but other sections closed. For example, state parks along the Lake Superior shore, which hosted special deer hunts in 2009, restricted hunting to the sections north and west of U.S. Highway 61.
The areas along the shore which included beaches, visitor centers, Split Rock Lighthouse and other structures were kept open to the public. Visitors are advised to wear blaze orange for their own safety during special deer hunts.
-
