Minnesota Mixed Bag: Bear hunters reminded to buy licenses, check regulations – Outdoor News
St. Paul — Bear hunters who entered the lottery for bear-hunting licenses should watch their mail to see if they were selected for a license. The Minnesota DNR has mailed postcards to lottery winners.
Hunters may also look on the DNR’s website to see if they were selected. The deadline to purchase a lottery bear license is Thursday, Aug. 1. Unsold lottery-awarded licenses will be available at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 6, to any eligible person.
Bear baiting may begin Friday, Aug. 16, and the hunting season is Sunday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Oct. 13. Hunters should note that the hunting season begins on a Sunday this year.
Find more details on the Minnesota DNR’s bear-hunting webpage.
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Apply Through Aug. 16 for Special Youth Deer Hunts
St. Paul — Hunters may apply for special youth deer hunt permits through Friday, Aug. 16. The number of permits for each hunt is limited. Individual hunts will be held in several state parks on various dates in the fall. These firearms hunts are for youth who are ages 12-15 at the time of the hunt and are accompanied by an adult.
The youth archery hunt in the Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area in Sherburne County is for youth ages 10-17. Youth archery hunters at the Camp Ripley archery hunt in Morrison County can be ages 12-17.
Special youth deer hunts are different from the statewide youth deer season, which takes place Oct. 17-20 and does not require an application. More information is available on the DNR’s website.
Prairie Chicken Hunt Lottery Deadline is Aug. 16
St. Paul — Hunters may apply through Friday, Aug. 16, to be chosen for one of 125 permits for the 2024 Minnesota prairie chicken hunting season. The nine-day prairie chicken season begins Saturday, Sept. 28, and is open to Minnesota residents only.
The hunt takes place in northwestern Minnesota, from St. Hilaire south to Breckenridge. Hunters who are awarded a permit in the lottery are required to purchase prairie chicken hunting licenses prior to hunting.
Hunters can find details about the season on the DNR’s website.
Reminder: Archery Permits at Camp Ripley Available Aug. 1, with Changes for 2024 Season
Little Falls, Minn. — Starting Thursday, Aug. 1, archery deer hunters may purchase permits to hunt on the Camp Ripley military installation. This archery season, there will be several hunting changes at Camp Ripley:
Camp Ripley will be open to archery hunting by permit only during the entire Minnesota archery season (Sept. 14-Dec. 31), rather than a single weekend.
RELATED STORY FROM OUTDOOR NEWS: Substantial changes in place for Minnesota’s Camp Ripley hunt this fall
Hunters will purchase their permits for Camp Ripley through the iSportsman website rather than through the Minnesota DNR’s special hunt lottery.
After registering on iSportsman, hunters will be able to purchase permits, check in and out daily from the hunting area, and view areas that are open to hunting. State license and registration requirements are unaffected by these changes.
Camp Ripley will allow up to 150 permitted hunters onsite per day during the archery season. Hunters will still need to purchase their archery licenses and bonus permits in person wherever DNR licenses are sold, by calling 888-665-4236, or by purchasing online.
The bag limit, licensing options, and registration requirements for Deer Permit Area 248 will apply for those hunting at Camp Ripley.
Zebes Confirmed in Grove Lake in Pope County, Charlotte Lake in Todd County
St. Paul — The Minnesota DNR has confirmed the presence of zebra mussels in Grove Lake, near the town of Grove Lake in Pope County, and Charlotte Lake, near Long Prairie in Todd County.
A lake property owner contacted the DNR after finding a zebra mussel attached to a native mussel in Grove Lake. A DNR invasive species specialist later found another zebra mussel at the city park access, about one-half mile from the location of the initial discovery.
After receiving two reports of zebra mussels from people recreating at the public beach on Charlotte Lake, a DNR invasive species specialist found multiple zebra mussels in the beach area. Charlotte Lake is about 1 1⁄2 miles upstream of the Long Prairie River, where zebra mussels were previously confirmed.
More information is available on the aquatic invasive species page of the DNR website.
Swan Hunt Applications Being Accepted in N.D.
Bismarck, N.D. — Hunters applying for a 2024 swan license may submit an online application through the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov.
North Dakota residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply. The resident swan license is $10, while the nonresident fee is $30. The application deadline is Aug. 21.
The statewide tundra swan hunting season opens Sept. 28. A total of 2,200 licenses are available. Because swans are classified as waterfowl, nonresidents may hunt them only during the period for which their nonresident waterfowl license is valid.
