Minnesota DNR explains how hunting seasons are determined

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) — Every now and then, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will do some tweaking to its hunting season schedule.

When determining the best time to hunt a species, the DNR thinks about a variety of biological, social and legal factors. These include the best time to hunt a species while maintaining healthy populations, minimizing potential conflict between different kinds of hunters and making sure the animal doesn’t have kin to care for.

Over the past 100 years, seasons have gotten shorter.

“They’ve often been revised as we’ve learned more about the species and think more in a conservation mindset,” said Leslie McInenly, wildlife populations and regulations manager at the Minnesota DNR. “For example, the deer season was set in early November really when we were trying to grow deer populations, and so we wanted to have bucks be more vulnerable than does. So that’s one of the reasons seasons can change over time.”

The DNR is now ramping up engagement efforts to see what people think of the seasons as they are currently constructed.

Give your thoughts by calling the DNR information line at 651-296-6157.

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