Minnesota Mixed Bag: Archery deer season begins Saturday

St. Paul — Minnesota archery deer hunters are expected to have plenty of harvest opportunities this season, which begins Saturday.

“We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable archery season,” Paul Burr, acting big-game program coordinator for the Minnesota DNR, said in a news release.

While parts of northern Minnesota continue to experience lower deer numbers than those of recent decades, many farmland areas need help reducing local deer populations and allow hunters to harvest multiple antlerless deer.

Each year, the Minnesota DNR receives about 230 formal complaints from landowners experiencing deer damage, particularly from agricultural producers, because damage to crops and stored forage can result in lost revenue to producers.

“Hunting is one of the best ways to balance the size of the local herd with the available natural forage and habitat conditions,” Burr said. “Early archery season is a great time to go out and harvest a doe or two.”

Many archery hunters do harvest antlerless deer. In 2024, 52% of archery-harvested deer were antlerless, and archery hunters were responsible for one-fifth of all antlerless deer harvested in Minnesota. The number of archery hunters also rose from approximately 99,000 in 2008 to 110,000 in 2024. In that time, the percentage of deer harvested by archery hunters also rose from 10% to 16%. Since 2023, crossbows have been allowed for deer hunters with an archery license, and through approved legislation, crossbow use has been extended through at least 2026.

Visit the DNR’s deer hunting webpage for information about regulations, bag limits, and chronic wasting disease sampling information.

MORE COVERAGE FROM MINNESOTA OUTDOOR NEWS:

Minnesota pheasant harvest up, duck harvest and overall hunter numbers down in 2024 small-game survey

Minnesota counties now digging into implications of change to shotgun zone for deer hunting

Chance encounter in the woods leads to completing potential record-breaking set of moose antlers from Minnesota

ZEBES, LARVAE CONFIRMED IN SCOTT’S CEDAR, WASHINGTON’S BIG MARINE, BECKER’S FOX

St. Paul — The Minnesota DNR has confirmed zebra mussels and zebra mussel larvae in Cedar Lake, near New Prague in Scott County, Big Marine Lake, near Forest Lake in Washington County, and Fox Lake, near Detroit Lakes in Becker County.

A lake service provider notified the DNR after finding zebra mussels attached to a dock on Cedar Lake. A contract diver found no adult zebra mussels in Cedar Lake, but water samples analyzed by the DNR contained zebra mussel larvae – veligers.

DNR and conservation district watercraft inspection staff found adult zebra mussels on two watercraft exiting Big Marine Lake at different locations. No adult zebra mussels were found during subsequent dive searches, but water samples analyzed by the DNR contained veligers.

A Fox Lake resident contacted the DNR after finding a zebra mussel attached to a native mussel. A DNR invasive species specialist confirmed the report and found additional zebra mussels in Fox Lake.

More information is available on the aquatic invasive species page of the DNR website (mndnr.gov/ais).

IN N.D., PHEASANT NUMBERS STEADY; PARTRIDGE, SHARPIES DOWN

Bismarck, N.D. — North Dakota’s roadside surveys conducted in late July and August indicate pheasant numbers are relatively the same as last year, while gray partridge and sharp-tailed grouse numbers were down.

Total pheasants observed (91.6 per 100 miles) were down 3% from last year and broods (11.4) per 100 miles were down 1%. Sharptails were down 38% statewide (12 sharptails per 100 miles), and were 30% below the 10-year average. Partridge observed per 100 miles were down 26% (16 partridge per 100 miles).

The North Dakota grouse and partridge seasons open Sept. 13 and continue through Jan. 4, 2026. The pheasant season opens Oct. 11 and continues through Jan. 4, 2026.

WOLF.REPORT ALLOWS HUNTERS TO SHARE WOLF SIGHTINGS

Grand Rapids, Minn. — Wolf.Report, a community science website, is giving Minnesota hunters and outdoor enthusiasts the opportunity to share their wolf sightings through trail camera photos and location data. Now in its second year, the project collects reports statewide and provide a hunter-driven picture of the gray wolf population in Minnesota.

“The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has been instrumental in getting this project off the ground,” said Jim Cochran, creator of Wolf.Report. “Without its financial backing, this type of initiative to push for reasonable wolf management would not be possible.”

Hunters, landowners, and outdoor enthusiasts are encouraged to participate by submitting their own wolf sightings or browsing the growing collection of reports. To learn more or contribute your own sightings, visit www.wolf.report