St. Paul, MN -(Ammoland.com)- Hunters in most of the state are not allowed to use bonus permits to take antlerless deer during the 2014 season, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
“Bonus permits are only allowed in seven of 129 deer permit areas this year,” said Maj. Greg Salo, DNR Enforcement Division operations manager. “You cannot use a bonus permit to tag a deer if it was harvested outside of these seven areas.”
Salo added that bonus permits are also allowed in some special hunts and encouraged hunters to review the regulations as described in the 2014 regulations synopsis.
Permit areas that allow use of bonus permits in 2014 are:
- Intensive deer areas 182, 346 and 349.
- Managed deer areas 114, 287 and 343.
- The metro deer area 601.
By design, more deer will be off limits this year as a one-deer bag limit rules most of the state and opportunities to take more than one deer are few and far between. The DNR implemented these regulations to help increase Minnesota’s deer population.
Bonus antlerless permits are different than antlerless permits that can be used in lottery deer areas. In lottery areas, bonus permits are not allowed; however, hunters had until Sept. 4 to apply for a limited number of antlerless permits for these lottery areas, where the bag limit is one.
Hunters continue to have the option of harvesting one deer in a bucks-only, lottery or hunter choice area, and also using a bonus permit in an intensive or managed area, the metro area 601, or some special hunts. The bag limit in managed deer areas is two; the bag limit in intensive areas is five; and hunters in the metro permit area 601 can take an unlimited number of antlerless deer. But regardless of area or license type, an individual hunter can only take one buck per year.
For more information on deer hunting and to see a permit area map, see www.mndnr.gov/hunting/deer.
About the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR)
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state’s natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals, wildlife, and forestry. The agency is currently divided into sections Ecological Resources, Enforcement, Fish & Wildlife, Forestry, Lands and Minerals, Waterways, Parks and Trails, and Waters.