2005 Minnesota hunting and trapping seasons announced:

[Rick]

2005 Minnesota hunting and trapping seasons announced

More opportunity to harvest deer, additional upland bird hunting and expansions in youth hunts were among good news items Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Gene Merriam noted today when he announced the 2005 hunting and trapping seasons.

"Hunting and trapping is enormously important to many Minnesotans and to the state's economy. The DNR is committed to conserving and managing natural resources to provide those opportunities in a sustainable manner," Merriam said. "In addition we're working to keep youth active and involved in the outdoors."

Several youth deer hunts that pair young hunters with mentors in controlled areas will be held again this fall. Youth opportunities for small game include Take-a-Kid hunting weekend (Sept. 24-25), Youth Waterfowl Day (tentatively Sept. 17) and Future Pheasant Hunters Weekend (Oct. 29-30). More details about youth hunting opportunities are available in the 2005 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook, available online at www.dnr.state.mn.us and where hunting licenses are sold.

DEER SEASON CHANGES

This fall, hunters will have more opportunity than ever before to harvest deer, thanks to regulation changes that include the opportunity to tag deer with both a firearm and archery license, an early antlerless season, zone realignments and the creation of a metro deer-hunting zone.

The new regulations, announced earlier this summer, were discussed at 15 public meetings held across the state. More than 800 comments were considered in finalizing the regulations. Details about the regulations are available in the 2005 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook.

"We hope to increase deer harvest in areas with high deer populations," said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator. "To do this, we're offering hunters more flexibility with deer licenses and more hunting opportunities."

The changes begin to take effect with the Sept. 17 opening of archery deer hunting. Firearms deer hunting begins statewide on Nov. 5 and the muzzleloader season starts Nov. 26.

UPLAND GAME

There will be additional pheasant, grouse and Hungarian partridge hunting opportunities this year as the season has been extended one additional day, through Sunday, Jan. 1. "This extension will allow families and friends to hunt during the New Year's holiday weekend and it will not harm pheasant numbers," Merriam said.

Populations of ruffed grouse remain near the low of their 10-year cycle. Many hunters were hoping this year's count would be higher, indicating an upswing in the grouse population, which tends to rise and fall in an approximate 10-year cycle. Counts have been at the low end of the scale for the past five consecutive years. At the peak, Minnesota's annual harvest often exceeds 1.2 million birds. The average annual harvest is 600,000 birds.

This will also be the second hunting season for mourning dove, the most widely dispersed and abundant upland game bird in North America. Last year, an estimated 15,000 hunters bagged 100,0000 birds. Because Minnesota's dove hunt is regulated under federal guidelines that also govern southern states, the season will stay open for 60 days. However, doves tend to leave Minnesota when temperatures begin to drop near freezing, usually around the middle of September.

Populations of sharp-tailed grouse remain relatively low in their remaining range in northwestern and east-central Minnesota.

WATERFOWL

Minnesota's breeding waterfowl populations were down 37 percent while pond numbers were up 22 percent in the May annual breeding duck survey. Duck numbers are very close to the state's long-term average since surveys began in 1968. However a look at the last 10 years shows that duck abundance is down 24 percent from the 10-year average, with duck numbers at the lowest since the drought of the late 1980s.

Continental duck counts are down 1 percent, according to preliminary estimates. Fall hunting success in Minnesota will depend on water conditions to the west and north of the state and on weather during the season. In addition, the DNR continues to work with other agencies and organizations to improve the quality of fall migration habitat and to provide more areas for waterfowl to feed and rest during migration. The goal of this effort is to restore to its historic level Minnesota's share of the Mississippi Flyway duck harvest.

Giant Canada geese that breed locally in Minnesota remain abundant and, along with migrant geese, provide Minnesota waterfowl hunters with excellent goose hunting opportunities. More Canada geese are taken in Minnesota than in any other state in the United States.

Liberal September goose hunting regulations will continue in many areas of the state in order to harvest as many local geese as possible before the migrant population begins arriving.

More details will be announced prior to the Oct. 1 regular waterfowl season opener.

MOOSE

Moose populations in northwestern Minnesota are still very low and the season is still closed in that area. However, the northeast Minnesota moose population remains stable and 284 moose licenses were offered this year, up from 246 licenses in 2004, when state licensed hunters killed 127 bulls and 24 cows, for a party success rate of 62 percent.

ELK

A limited season with five permits will be held. The deadline for applications has passed.

NEW REGULATIONS

Merriam advised Minnesota hunters to be aware of several new law and regulation changes in effect this fall. They include:

- Feathers, head and feet must remain intact until wild turkey are registered. Once registered, fully feathered head, wing or foot must remain attached during transport.

- Persons under 12 may hunt wild turkey if accompanied by parent or guardian.

- Those drawn in the landowner turkey lottery may hunt anywhere within the permit area where their qualifying land is located.

- Those registering fisher, otter, bobcat and pine marten must be at least five years old.

- Starting March 1, 2007, trappers born after Dec. 31, 1989 must have a trapper education certificate or a previous trapping license.

- Raccoons may be pursued and treed in the closed season without a permit.

- .30 caliber M-1 carbines are now legal for big game hunting.

- Pheasant, Hungarian partridge, spruce grouse and ruffed grouse seasons open through Jan. 1 2006.

- Regular waterfowl season opens Oct. 1.

- No person may leave waterfowl decoys unattended on public waters for more than four hours during the day, except on waters adjacent to private land under control of the hunter where there is not sufficient vegetation to conceal the hunter. Decoys may not be left on public waters between sunset and one-hour before legal shooting hours.

- Motorized decoys are prohibited on Wildlife Management Areas throughout the duck season and until Oct. 8 on public waters.

- Computer-assisted, remote operated guns are prohibited for taking any wild animals.

- Hunters may purchase a bear license in both the quota and no-quota areas.

- Deer permit area boundaries around Duluth have been changed.

- Hunters may now tag deer with both firearms (including muzzleloader) and archery deer licenses (one buck allowed statewide, including the northwest five-county area).

- A two-day antlerless deer season will be held Oct. 15-16 in permit areas 209, 210, 225, 227, 236, 252, 256, and 257. Hunters must have a license valid for the appropriate zone and an early antlerless deer permit ($14 at any ELS license agent) to participate. The bag limit is two deer.

- Permit areas 205, 211, 214, 283 and 284 have been moved to Zone 1 and renumbered.

- Permit areas 110 and 283 are combined into permit area 110.

- Permit areas 401 through 409 have been moved to Zone 2 and renumbered.

- Permit areas 228 and 337 now comprise the metro deer management zone. Any firearm license is valid and the season dates are Nov. 5-27.

- New special regulations apply to deer hunts at Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, Great River Bluffs State Park, Itasca State Park, Lake Elmo State Park, Maplewood State Park, St. Croix State Park, Savanna Portage State Park and Wild River State Park.

2005 MINNESOTA HUNTING AND TRAPPING SEASONS

SMALL GAME HUNTING

Cottontail rabbit, jackrabbit, snowshoe hare, Sept. 17 - Feb. 28; gray and fox squirrel, Sept. 17 - Feb. 28; ruffed and spruce grouse, Sept. 17 - Jan. 1; sharp-tailed grouse, Sept. 17 - Nov. 30; gray (Hungarian) partridge, Sept. 17 - Jan. 1; Take-a-Kid Hunting Weekend, Sept. 24 - Sept. 25; ring-necked pheasant, Oct. 15 - Jan. 1.

WATERFOWL AND MIGRATORY BIRD HUNTING

Mourning doves, Sept. 1-Oct. 30; early Canada goose (statewide, except Northwest), Sept. 3 - Sept. 22; early Canada goose (northwest Zone), Sept. 3 - Sept. 15; waterfowl opener, Oct. 1; youth waterfowl hunt, Sept. 17; common snipe (Wilson's of Jacksnipe), Sept. 1 - Nov. 4; sora and Virginia rails, Sept. 1 - Nov. 4; woodcock, Sept. 24 - Nov. 4; crow, March 1-31 and July 15 - Oct. 15.

BIG GAME HUNTING

Deer - Archery

Northeast Border Zone (permit areas 116 and 127), Sept. 17 - Nov. 20; remainder of state, Sept. 17 - Dec. 31.

Deer - Firearms

Zone 1A (northeastern Minnesota), Nov. 5 - Nov. 20; Zone 2A (Lake of the Woods to Twin Cities), Nov. 5 - Nov. 13; Zone 3A (southeastern Minnesota), Nov. 5 - Nov. 11;

Zone 3B (southeastern Minnesota), Nov. 19 - Nov. 27; Zone 4A (southern and western Minnesota), Nov. 5 - Nov. 6; Zone 4B (southern and western Minnesota), Nov. 12 - Nov. 15; deer - muzzleloader, Nov. 26 - Dec. 11.

Black bear, Sept. 1 - Oct. 16.

Moose (northeast zone), Oct. 1 - Oct. 16; moose (northwest zone), closed.

Elk, (bull season), Sept. 17-25; (cow season) Dec. 3-11.

FURBEARER HUNTING/TRAPPING

Raccoon and red fox, continuous through March 15; gray fox, badger, opossum, Sept. 17 - March 15; bobcat, Nov. 26 - Jan 8; pine marten and fisher, Nov. 26 - Dec. 11; mink and muskrat (north zone), Oct. 29 - Feb. 28; beaver (north zone), Oct. 29 - May 15; otter (north of Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 10), Oct. 29 - Jan. 8.

[Finlander]

Oh Boy, 2005!

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