DNR strict deer stand reg

[Lee Borgersen]

                         DNR eyes stricter deer stand regulations


Updated:   02/02/2015




The Department of Natural Resources wants to crack down on permanent deer stands -- those generally with four walls and a roof, or "shacks on stilts" -- on public forest lands.

The agency's division of forestry is eyeing a process that could involve proposed legislation in 2016 that would clarify and make consistent the rules on 4.3 million acres of public forests statewide, said Craig Schmid, DNR deputy director of forestry, during the DNR's annual "Roundtable" earlier in January. The invitation-only event in Brooklyn Park, attended by more than 300 hunters, anglers, conservationists and DNR staff, is a frequent sounding board for environmental and outdoors issues.

Schmid's presentation, "Deer Stands: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," underscored complaints from the hunting and non-hunting public, as well as timber companies, that such tree stands have proliferated as prefabricated models have become more affordable from retailers and as ATV use has increased. The presence of permanent stands can lead to other hunters feeling like trespassers and is associated with the illegal felling of timber for shooting lanes.

"Structures" are currently prohibited from public lands, but not deer stands specifically, and Schmid said the aim is to clarify that. Truly temporary portable stands, such as ladder stands and climbing stands, are not the target.

The agency's working proposal, which would still be subject to public input, is to outlaw permanent stands on DNR forestry lands but allow portable stands and not require they be taken down at the end of each day.

A slide show of Schmid's presentation, as well as other presentations from the Roundtable, can be found at tinyurl.com/roundtableslides.

[dew2]

 I think all knew this was coming.I hope they think it out well, Also making any stand placed on public land open to first come first serve. Owner or not! It may make some think twice of placement and the ownership that comes with "That's MY stand" Place it, get there first or lose it for the time anyone else sits in it.

[glenn57]

don't know about were you guys all hunt but up in the big woods we don't have these issues. in all my years hunting up there only once did I even get close to this type of encounter. I walked up to a sand I built, someone was in it so I found another spot.no big deal.

[Cody Gruchow]

I have no stake in this because I refuse to hunt public land, because of previous bad encounter. but my boss and my landlord both hunt way up in the big woods, they have stands up there, and never run into anyone. most times then not they see more wolves then anything else. they are only going up there this summer to tear them down, they said they are done up there because there whole time up there they didn't even see a deer track in the snow.