REGIONAL— Hunters are unlikely to see a repeat of last year’s phenomenal grouse season this year when they head to the forest roads and trails starting Saturday. But that doesn’t mean that hunters won’t find birds out in the woods this fall.
With millions of acres of public forest land interspersed with access roads and hiking trails, there are few places in North America that offer a more inviting opportunity for a ruffed grouse hunter than northern Minnesota— and the outlook is promising even if bird numbers will almost certainly be down from the exceptionally high numbers of the past couple years.
The big question mark remains reproductive success, since heavy June rains fell at a time when young grouse can be vulnerable to exposure and overland flooding, such as was experienced in some locations in June. “I do think the spring flooding had some impact on the broods,” said Tower DNR area wildlife manager Jessica Holmes.
Drumming counts this past spring showed adult numbers at near record levels in northeastern Minnesota, but the success of the fall hunt is often more closely tied to reproductive success than springtime drumming counts, since hunters often predominantly harvest young of the year.
That may mean hunters will have to rely more heavily on adult birds, which tend to be considerably warier than young ones.
With abundant public land, hunters in the DNR’s Tower work area will find plenty of places to hunt. The work area also maintains 83 miles of hunter walking trails, which were recently mowed in preparation for the season. Those are likely to provide excellent hunting opportunity for hunters looking to work some exercise for themselves and their dogs into their hunting plans. You can find digital maps and locations of trails in the area on the DNR’s website at www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/hwt/index.html or stop by the Tower DNR area office for hard-copy maps.
Opening weekend should be a great time to be out in the woods, with the maples starting to show color. Conditions have grown increasingly dry in recent weeks, which should help improve accessibility. The current weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and unusually warm conditions so keep yourself and your dogs well hydrated if you’re out stomping in the woods.
Minnesota has the well-deserved reputation as the nation’s top state for grouse hunting, with an annual harvest that ranges from 200,000 in a poor year, to 500,000 during a peak year.