Some things are just hard to understand; like the fact that even though the temperatures have been at mid-summer highs for the past week or so I still get the same feeling I get when fall is in the air. It is kind of hard to describe, but whenever I feel a breeze I sense a breath of coolness that says fall is lurking in the shadows. With that being said September is just around the corner and for the hunters out there the season is about to begin.
The early fall goose season starts on September 1st and youth waterfowl day follows on the 7th. The small game season for rabbit and squirrel starts on the 14th of September along with Sharptailed Grouse, Ruffed and Spruce Grouse & Hungarian Partridge. The deer hunting archery season also starts on the 14th.
The small game season is a great way for our youth to get started on the great lifelong sport of hunting. I started hunting as a youth with my trusty Daisy Red Ryder BB gun. I wasn’t taking down any deer, bear or mountain lions with my high powered gun, but in my imagination I was that rugged mountain man surviving in the wilderness of the local slough. Actually all critters both big and small were pretty much safe from me and my trusty BB gun. I don’t recall anyone ever calling me “sure shot” when I was growing up, but then to me it’s always just been about being there. I really believe that a lot of today’s youth are not taking advantage of what the great Minnesota outdoors has to offer them. As adults we need to encourage youth’s participation in outdoor activities whether it is hunting, fishing, canoeing, hiking, disc golf or some other outdoor activity.
Just a reminder: there are 11 WMAs (Wildlife Management Areas) in Freeborn County alone that are there for public use. In the event you don’t have access to private land, you can visit one of these areas that are sprinkled throughout the county. If you are unsure where to find them go to the DNR Web site www.dnr.state.mn.us/wmas and select Freeborn County.
Remember that whether hunting private or public land, you need to respect it and leave it as good as or better than you found it. There is an old saying that goes like this: Abuse it - you lose it.
Deer licenses now on sale; lottery applications due Sept. 5th
Hunters should carefully review the list of lottery areas, particularly in extreme Northwestern Minnesota and the Iron Range area of Northeastern Minnesota. The following permit areas are designated as lottery this year but were not last year: 176, 101, 105, 111, 267 and 268. Elsewhere, other permit area designations have changed too in response to local deer population changes.
Regulations are detailed in Minnesota’s 2013 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook and Deer Season Map, which now are available wherever hunting and angling licenses are sold, online at www.mndnr.gov/regulations and in many DNR offices across the state.
Fifty-eight of the state’s 129 permit areas are lottery areas. The number of permit areas designated as lottery is unchanged from 2012. The number of either-sex permits available has increased about 10 percent.
People can purchase a deer license and apply for the lottery or a special hunt at any DNR license agent, by telephone at 888-665-4236 or online at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense. Lottery winners will be notified in October.
Hunters can apply for lottery deer areas and special hunts using both their firearm and muzzleloader licenses. Although a hunter can be selected for both licenses, successful applicants can only take one deer in lottery permit areas. In the case of special hunts, a person may draw both a firearm and muzzleloader permit, in which case he or she must adhere to the bag limits established by each special hunt.
Lottery deer areas in 2013 are permit areas 101, 103, 105, 108, 110, 111, 118, 119, 122, 169, 171, 172, 176, 183, 184, 197, 199, 234, 237, 238, 250, 251, 252, 253, 260, 261, 262, 263, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 288, 289, 290, 291, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298 and 299.
DNR encourages hunters to review new deer hunting regulations, permit area designations and boundary changes before applying. Current and up-to-date information is available online at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/deer and www.mndnr.gov/regulations/hunting.
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Until next time, whether you are a hunter or not, visiting one of our counties WMAs can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors.
Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.