All of us who deer hunt in most of Koochiching and northwestern St. Louis counties are out of practice when it comes to applying for either-sex permits. The last time we had to do this was the fall of 2002.
This year we need to apply again, which means buying our deer license by Sept. 10. So, remember that date, and let all of your hunting party members who live out of town know about it. If you get a permit you can register a buck or an antlerless deer. If you don’t get a permit you can only register a buck.
I should note here that whenever antlerless permits are given out, any youth hunters under the age of 18 do not need to apply. They can take and tag an antlerless deer on their regular license. No one else can shoot the antlerless deer for them. This impacts how many antlerless permits we give out in each permit area, because 11 percent of our hunters are under 18. I factor that in when deciding permits.
There is an important change this year. If you buy a regular firearms license and a muzzleloader license, you can only apply for an either-sex permit for one of those seasons and can only use it during that season.
Regardless of what you choose to do in the permit areas where there is a lottery, all party hunting rules still apply, and the limit is one deer whether you shoot it with a bow, a rifle or a muzzleloader.
I would have preferred to keep our season as it has been for the last six years where everyone could register two deer if they wanted to. Unfortunately, a variety of circumstances have come together to cause me to back off on the harvest for at least one year.
First of all, we have been harvesting antlerless deer at a pretty good rate, and the kill has been gradually dropping since 2003. I think it is time to decrease that harvest for a year to let the herd recover.
Secondly, last winter was a severe one for deer. The winter severity index was our 4th worst on record. The deep snow started in late December and carried on until April 11. Spring was a little slow to come. We also have four out of the last six winters worse than average including a moderately severe winter in 2005. Combined with this winter, the effects start to accumulate to the point of creating concern.
Finally, our habitat has changed since we had the two worst winters on record in 1995-96 and 1996-97. There has been a significant loss of winter cover in my work area. Large areas of upland cedar have been harvested, mostly on private land. Also, many of the aspen forests in the area had a component of balsam and white spruce, which provided some winter cover during moderately severe winters. Many of these have been harvested in the last 11 years. While all of the young forest provides very good summer habitat for deer, the conifer cover is critical for their survival during bad winters.
Here are a few more details about the permit numbers.
I am involved with permit decisions in Permit Area (PA) 104, 107, 110 and 115. I will briefly discuss each.
PA 104: This is the western half of Koochiching County. It has a mixture of forested and agricultural lands, so is more difficult to decide how many permits. There are always more deer in the agricultural lands. We are offering 1500 either-sex permits, and there are nearly 500 youth in this area, so about 2,000 hunters out of 4,400 in this area will have a permit.
PA 107: This is the eastern half of Koochiching County and includes the part of St. Louis County west of Highway 53. This area has been significantly impacted by the loss of winter cover, has less young forest and has seen the largest decrease in deer population in my work area. There is some agricultural land with higher deer numbers. We are offering 500 either-sex permits and there are about 800 youth, so about 1,300 hunters out of 7,100 in this area will have a permit.
PA 110: This is a small permit area in southwestern Koochiching County that is most private, agricultural land. It has high deer numbers and has had a five-deer limit for six years. Due to the winter, we are changing that to a two-deer limit. Bonus permits are available, and no one needs to apply for an either-sex permit.
PA 115: This area is primarily forested land east of Highway 53. Only about 35 percent of it is in my work area, so I share the decision on permits with another manager. It has lots of young forest and has retained a fair amount of winter cover, but winters have been somewhat more severe. We are offering 2,000 either-sex permits and there are about 850 youth, so about 2,850 hunters out of 7,900 in this area will have a permit.
If not enough hunters apply to take all of the permits, the leftover ones will be available on a first come, first served basis at 5 p.m. on Oct. 12 at any ELS agent where you can purchase a deer license.
Change is always difficult. No animal populations stay the same forever, and it is my job to make adjustments where needed. This is one of those years when it was needed.
As always, call or e-mail with questions: Frank Swendsen, Area Wildlife Manager, 218-286-5434, Frank.Swendsen@dnr.state.mn.us.
