Continued: Makeover taking shape for deer hunting regulations

Some hunters joke that you need to be a lawyer to figure out Minnesota's complex deer hunting regulations.

The topic filled more than 30 pages in the Department of Natural Resource's 2007 hunting regulation booklet.

Now officials are proposing to simplify those regulations, which could affect most of the state's 500,000 deer hunters. The changes, most of which have to be approved by the Legislature, could come by fall.

"We get a lot of comments from people saying ... it's too confusing, there are too many licenses,'' said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game coordinator. A hunter survey showed 84 percent "were comfortable with the deer regulations,'' he said. "But that means 16 percent -- or about 80,000 people -- expressed some sort of angst over the deer regulations,'' Cornicelli said.

And the complaints keep coming.

So the DNR put together a 13-member citizens group comprising hunters and members of hunting organizations to examine the issue and offer advice. The group met in December and January and agreed on six major recommendations -- none of which are yet finalized. They include:

• Eliminate the all-season deer license and multizone buck license, but still give hunters the opportunity to participate in the firearms, archery and muzzleloader seasons.

• Consolidate the number of deer hunting "zones'' from six to two. The length of the state's deer hunting season will be 16, nine or seven days, varying by region. Importantly, with the exception of what is now Zone 3B, hunters could move from region to region (or what, in the end, might still be called "zones'') with a regular firearms license. Permit areas and, in some instances, their respective harvest quotas would be retained.

• Eliminate the requirement to validate a deer hunting license after a kill. Hunters still would need to validate their site tag.

• Make it easier to register deer.

• Change cartridge requirement to a centerfire .22 or larger.

• Publish an abbreviated regulations book in the Hmong language for the 15,000 Hmong hunters in the state.

"Any time you can simplify things, it will be better for everyone,'' said Mark Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and a member of the regulations advisory committee.

"Hunters just want to get out and hunt deer,'' he said. "They want to be legal, but they don't want to jump through a lot of hoops.''

Hunters will have the opportunity to weigh in on the proposals. The DNR is holding a series of meetings around the state to solicit comments on these or other suggestions for simplifying the deer regulations.

Too many licenses

The proposal to eliminate the all-season deer license is sure to get hunters buzzing. "It's very popular -- 77,000 people bought one last year -- but it's confusing,'' Cornicelli said.

The license allows a person to hunt in the firearms, muzzleloader and archery deer seasons, and to take three deer (only one of which can be a buck). It costs $78.

But Cornicelli said few hunters use all three harvest methods to hunt deer. "They're buying a license good for three seasons, but they're only using it for two,'' he said.

That's because if they want to hunt both the regular firearms and the muzzleloader season, they must buy the all-season license.

The citizens group said it and the less-popular multizone buck license could be eliminated. Instead, separate licenses for archery, regular firearms and muzzleloader could be offered (at $26 each).

"Let them buy whatever they want to hunt,'' Cornicelli said. "It makes sense.''

The move would cost the DNR revenue, Cornicelli said, though officials aren't sure how much or whether those dollars would have to be made up elsewhere.

"Zones'' disappear

Another proposal calls for major changes to the current deer zones. Also changed is the definition of what "zone'' means (the exact definition has not yet been agreed to). There are six zones now (seven counting Metro): 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B.

Importantly, Zones 2 and 4 would be collapsed into one. As importantly, the present zones would be referred to as (for the time being) "soft zones,'' because hunters with regular licenses could move from zone to zone -- with the exception what is now Zone 3B. Season lengths, meanwhile (with the exception of Zone 3B), would be designated by regions, or what could be called zones, and would vary from seven days to 16 days (see accompanying map). All seasons, with the exception of 3B, would open on the same day, the Saturday closest to Nov. 6.

Cornicelli said though hunters would be free to move around the state, he thinks they will continue to hunt their traditional areas.

"We don't see people picking up and going to other parts of the state because their license allows them to,'' he said. "Ninety percent of hunters who kill a deer kill one in the permit area where they most often hunt.''

Easier deer registrations

The committee suggested that deer registration be made easier, and Cornicelli said hunters might be able to do that through a toll-free number beginning in 2009, after the current electronic licensing system contract expires.