DNR implements special CWD deer zone in the southeast

The DNR has set a new 23-day firearms season in the southeast in the area where CWD was found in an infected wild deer last fall.

Submission of samples for CWD testing will be required. Carcass import/export restrictions also will apply to the area.

Sale of deer licenses will begin Monday, Aug. 1, but because of the recent government shutdown, printed regulations for fall hunting seasons won't be ready until about the middle of the month.

Meanwhile, details about the new CWD hunting zone and other regulations can be found at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense.

This year's archery season opens Saturday, Sept. 17. The general firearms season begins Nov. 5. The deadline for lottery permit applications is Thursday, Sept. 8.

In another significant regulation change, a new "hunter choice' deer management designation has been established that will allow hunters in certain areas to take one either-sex deer per year in one of these areas. These areas function like lottery areas, except that hunters do not need to make a lottery application or possess an either sex permit to take an antlerless deer.

In hunter choice areas, the license is automatically valid for an either-sex deer.

Bonus permits are not allowed in hunter choice areas. If a deer is taken in one hunter choice area, a hunter cannot take another deer in another hunter choice or lottery deer area. The designation was created because the majority of deer permit areas are within their established goal ranges, and DNR managers believe one either-sex deer without a lottery would allow those areas to stay within goal without going back and forth between lottery and managed areas.

Hunter choice was not created to increase antlerless harvest rates, the DNR said, but to make it simpler to take one either-sex deer in the area. Overall, 30 percent of Minnesota's 127 deer permit areas are designated hunter choice this year.
A lottery will still be used in areas where antlerless deer harvest is restricted. Also, managed and intensive harvest designations will be used when additional antlerless deer harvest is needed.

This year, 27 percent of permit areas are managed and 17 percent are intensive.
Hunters can again apply for either-sex or special hunt permits in both the firearm and muzzleloader seasons. In a change from previous years, hunters successful in the lottery can use their permit in either the firearm or muzzleloader season, provided they have a valid license for that season.
Although a hunter can be selected for both licenses, successful applicants still can only take one deer. In the case of special hunts, a person may draw both a firearm and muzzleloader permit, in which case they must adhere to the bag limits established by each special hunt.
This year's lottery deer areas are: 103, 108, 119, 234, 235, 237, 238, 250, 251, 252, 253, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 288, 289, 290, 291, 294, 295, 296 and 299.
OTHER CHANGES

• There will be no early antlerless deer season this year, and no youth-only antlerless areas available this year.

• The 16-foot height restriction for permanent deer stands has been eliminated.
Deer hunters are encouraged to review new regulations, permit area designations and boundary changes before the Thursday, Sept. 8 application deadline for either-sex deer permits in lottery areas, and for all special hunts.
More at www.mndnr.gov/deer