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Author Topic: N/E MN Deer harvest up 10%  (Read 1675 times)

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Offline Lee Borgersen

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  Deer harvest up 10 percent across Northeastern Minnesota.

Up — and down.

 :reporter;
That's how Minnesota's firearms deer harvest stood after opening weekend of the 16-day firearms deer season, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The harvest was up about 10 percent across Series 100 units, which includes all of Northeastern Minnesota, based on preliminary registrations. :happy1: It was down about 7 percent statewide for the same period. :doah:

The weather was exceptionally warm across the state on opening weekend, with record highs across much of Northeastern Minnesota. Many hunters believe deer tend to move less during warm weather. Traditionally, however, hunter success tends to be greater when weather is good because hunters can stay in the field comfortably for longer periods.

In Northeastern Minnesota deer permit areas, the opening-weekend harvest was 18,473, up from 16,710 last year. The buck harvest was up from 13,878 in 2015 to 14,664 (6 percent). The buck harvest is often a more reliable indication of herd strength because it does not include antlerless harvest, which varies from year to year.

"The (overall) harvest was up in almost every permit area (in Series 100 units), some by quite a bit," said Dave Olfelt, DNR regional wildlife manager at Grand Rapids. "Overall, the adult doe harvest was up almost 40 percent and the antlerless harvest was up 34 percent."

The good weather likely was a factor in the increased harvest, he said.

"People were out in the woods and staying in the stand," Olfelt said. "The more likely they are to stay in the stand, the more likely they are to do something."

Chris Balzer, DNR area wildlife biologist at Cloquet, said the DNR had forecast a slight increase in the deer harvest.

"That's what we were expecting after a combination of two mild winters with (subsequent) good fawn crops and two conservative seasons," Balzer said. "Those are all the ingredients that would lead to herd growth."

Balzer said his own experience and anecdotal reports indicated that deer activity was decent in early-morning hours but dropped off during the afternoon warmth.

In most permit areas across Northeastern Minnesota this fall, the DNR had offered some antlerless permits after two years of mostly bucks-only designations. The deer herd has been increasing gradually in the past two years after several years that included some severe winters.

Permit area 183, which encompasses an area from Carlton south to Askov, remained bucks-only this year, and the harvest there increased about 29 percent, Olfelt said.

"That's where we were staying conservative by being bucks-only," he said. "Nonetheless, the harvest was up about 29 percent, so the deer herd must be recovering."

Reasons behind the opening-weekend decrease in statewide harvest aren't clear. Olfelt said harvest in the Series 300 units, in southeastern Minnesota, was down about 30 percent.

"Folks down there were saying the deer weren't moving," Olfelt said.

Minnesota's firearms deer harvest continues through Nov. 20 in Series 100 units. Wisconsin's gun deer season opens Nov. 19 and runs through Nov. 27.
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Offline Rebel SS

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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources header
DNR NEWS – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                       Nov. 10, 2016

Hunters register 68,958 deer during first weekend of season
Harvest down 3 percent from a year ago.