The 2009 deer hunting season ended Dec. 31. The Department of Natural Resources deer hunter registrations handled by the Crookston office indicate and above-average harvest, with a slight drop from 2008.
Some 3,966 deer were registered by all firearms hunters in 2009. In 2008, registrations were 4,195. In the five years previous to that, registrations were at a peak of about 5,000 per year. Managers have been using October hunts (antlerless deer only) and intensive harvest (five-deer limit) during the regular season to reduce deer numbers. It appears these approaches are doing just that.
Goals for deer populations were set during public input meetings in 2005 and 2006. Generally, they were set in much of northwest Minnesota to reduce deer by about 25 percent from peak years. Hunter harvests are one way to assess populations. In Polk and Red Lake counties long-term goals are to seek registrations of about 3,700 per year.
Figures from the Crookston Wildlife office indicate that firearms hunters during the regular season took about 3,469 deer, early antlerless hunters took 394 deer, muzzleloader hunters took 103 deer, and archers took 206 deer. The sum of all firearms registration are used to make year-to-year comparisons.
The early antlerless October hunt was part of a five-year experiment to reduce deer numbers. Deer counts will be made from a helicopter in the next few weeks to assess deer numbers in various permit areas. No changes in deer hunting have been discussed yet, but it is likely the October hunt will be discontinued in the future. Population assessments are made during the winter, hunting season results are tabulated and winter weather (relatively mild to deer so far) will be considered in setting hunting seasons in June.
