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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNR) has released a series of changes ahead of the 2020 firearm deer hunting season.
The coming season is affected by the state’s ongoing battle against Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which is deadly to deer, as well as the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to contact issues created by COVID-19, MNR says sampling for CWD will be voluntary this year, with hunters submitting samples at “unmanned” stations to allow for social distancing.
Those who hunt in Disease Management Areas, Control Areas and the Surveillance Area may drop the head of a deer one year old or older at these stations, and are encouraged to do so to assist MNR in monitor the spread of CWD.
There are now seven management, control or surveillance areas in Minnesota where sampling is encouraged, four of which are new this year after new cases of CWD were detected in wild or farm deer.
They are as follows:
- South metro CWD management area—Created after CWD was detected in a wild deer in Dakota County. This area is referred to as the 605 Deer License Area.
- South metro surveillance zone—Created after CWD was detected in a wild deer in Dakota County. The zone corresponds to permit zones 292, 293, 338, 341 and 701.
- Central East Surveillance Zone—Created after CWD was detected on a deer farm in Pine County. This zone includes parts of permit zones 157, 225, 235, 236 and all of permit zone 159.
- Central West Surveillance Zone—Created after CWD was detected on a deer farm in Douglas County. The zone corresponds to permit zones 213 and 273.
- North Central Management Zone – identical to last year, covering the 604 permit area.
- Southeast management zone – same as last year, covering permit areas 643, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649 and 655
- Southeast Control Zone – like last year, covering permit areas 255, 343 and 344).
DNR
There are also mandatory carcass movement restrictions in all management and control areas, which does not allow deer carcasses to be removed from the areas until an “undetected” test result for CWD. be received.
“If the hunters do not submit their deer for sampling, they must debon and quarter their deer in order to transport their harvest,” said the MRN.
There are no restrictions on the movement of carcasses in the surveillance areas.
“While sampling is voluntary, we would like to point out that our carcass movement restrictions remain mandatory in disease management areas,” says MNR Wildlife Health Program Supervisor Michelle Carstensen.
“This action is essential to prevent the disease from spreading further into the state.”
In July, the MNR expanded its ban on deer feeding and attractants to include Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Rice, Scott and Washington counties. You can find a full list of counties with food bans here.
You can find the 2020 MRN Hunting Regulations booklet here.
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