Deer harvest up 7% thus far

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From the MN DNR

Deer advisory committee members chosen

The DNR has selected a 20-member advisory committee to provide the agency with feedback and advice on deer management as it develops a statewide deer plan.

During the next year, the deer management plan advisory committee will review technical information and public input that will be collected this winter through regional public meetings, online and through written comments. The committee will make recommendations to the DNR for the plan, which will be effective for 10 years.

The plan is expected to be finished by the spring of 2018. Learn more about the committee members and groups represented at www.mndnr.gov/deerplan.


Deer harvest up 7 percent

The statewide deer harvest total as of Nov. 29 is 161,624, which is up 7 percent from last year.

In Zone 1, 44,696 deer have been taken compared to 36,208 last year. The Zone 2 total this year thus far is 95,367 deer compared to 92,439 in 2015. The Zone 3 harvest stands at 17,239, down from last year’s comparable number at 18,719.

Buck harvest is up over 20 percent in zone 1 compared to this time last year, while zone 2 buck harvest is off about 2 percent, and zone 3 buck harvest is down almost 8 percent.

These preliminary harvest statistics suggest that the deer herd in the northern forest has grown substantially from its low population following the severe winters of 2012 and 2013; populations in the agricultural portions of the state have remained relatively flat; and populations in the southeast likely are down.