REGIONAL— A bit better than expected. That’s the word from the Department of Natural Resources after the agency reported a nine percent jump in the northeastern Minnesota deer harvest compared to 2023.
The region’s harvest was still below the five-year average, but it reflected an improvement over the previous two years, when deer numbers were impacted by back-to-back deep snow winters in the region. Last winter’s record mild conditions likely reduced winter mortality considerably and many hunters this past fall reported seeing more deer activity than in the prior two seasons.
Wildlife managers caution it will take more than one mild winter to help deer recover to levels set in current population goals. Bag limits are likely to remain conservative as a result, at least for the next year or two. Meanwhile, the current winter appears to be on track as another mild one, although not as mild as last year. The DNR measures each winter based on the winter severity index, which adds a point for each day with at least 15 inches of snow on the ground and each day with a below-zero temperature reading. To date, the North Country has seen no points for snow depth this winter.
Hunters in northwestern Minnesota also registered more deer – eight percent more to be exact.
Statewide, hunters harvested more than 170,000 deer during the 2024 hunting season, up seven percent from the 2023 season. The statewide harvest, however, was three percent lower than the five-year average.