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Northern Minnesota hit particularly hard
To the surprise of few, if any, hunters, the total deer harvest during the 2023 season was down across Minnesota—particularly in the northern half of the state.
Officials from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are laying the blame for that on the usual suspects: Habitat conditions, severe winters, and wolf predation.
All those things influence northern deer numbers, which saw the overall harvest (which includes archery, firearms and muzzleloader seasons) drop 21% in the northeast region.
The DNR reported recently that hunters statewide harvested 158,678 deer during the 2023 hunting season, a lower total harvest than in recent years.
Harvest was down 8% compared to the 2022 season and 14% less than the fiveyear average.
The greatest decreases were in the northern part of the state, where deer harvest compared to 2022 was 21% lower in the northeast region and 8% lower in the northwest region.
Other regions saw smaller decreases in harvest: 3% lower in central and southeast Minnesota, and 4% lower in southern Minnesota.
“In recent years, deer populations have been lower in northern Minnesota, particularly following the severe winters of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023,” Todd Froberg, big game program coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said in a news release. “Several factors can drive these declines, resulting in fewer deer on the landscape during subsequent hunting seasons.”
Jessica Holmes, DNR Wildlife Manager for the Tower Wildlife Areas, said the most dramatic declines could be found in Permit Areas (PA) 176, 177, and 178.
“Those permit areas that have remained Bucks Only for some time now, we are seeing minimal changes to the harvest,” she said.
Hunters harvested 576 deer in PA 176 compared to 714 in 2022 (a 19% drop); 1,272 deer in PA 178 compared to 1,474 in 2022 (a 14% drop); and 562 deer in PA 177 compared to 647 in 2022 (a 13% drop).
Harvest this past season was down 11% in PA 132 and 5% in PA 118. It was up slightly in PA 119 (2%) and 130 (3%).
Holmes echoed the sentiments of DNR officials in St. Paul, citing similar reasons behind the drop.
“For more than a century, Minnesota’s deer population has changed significantly from the influence of several factors, usually in combination. These factors include habitat conditions, winter severity, hunting, predators, and disease. Average annual deer harvest helps illustrate this change,” she said.
Hunter numbers were also down 8% across the Tower Wildlife Area, but that is the continuation of a trend across the state and nation.
“I would imagine it’s a multifaceted answer to the 8% decrease. The nationwide trend of hunting licenses indicates a decline in hunters as baby boomers are aging out of the sport,” Holmes said. “Additionally, the Minnesota license sales trend is decreasing.”
On the positive side, Holmes said the mild winter conditions should allow for good fawn production with healthy birth weights.
“Does should also be in good condition to meet the physical demands of nursing. That being said, we have a had a string of severe winters (8 out of last 10) it is going to take several mild winters in a row to see a significant population increase,” she said.
Holmes said April is when she will provide deer permit area recommendations to St. Paul for the 2024 seasons.
“However, since last season we have been taking public input, documenting field observations, analyzing 2023 harvest data, and most importantly watching the winter severity,” she added. — DNR officials say deer numbers can suffer during prolonged severe winters, especially in areas with deep snow or insufficient winter habitat. In these conditions, deer must expend more energy to acquire food, making them more vulnerable to predators.
Wolves play a large role as a predator of deer, especially in winter, but there is little evidence to suggest that northern Minnesota’s low deer numbers are directly due to wolf predation.
The influence that wolves play in influencing deer populations likely change over time and space, and can be exacerbated in response to other changing conditions, like poor quality wintering habitat.
According to a news release from the DNR, Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, also hit hard by severe winter, saw similar declines in deer harvests in 2023.
“This year’s extremely mild conditions do bode well for deer in northern Minnesota, but deer populations in the far north will need several mild winters to start to recover,” Froberg said.
Crossbows were allowed for all deer hunters for the first time in 2023. Archery harvest totaled 24,088 deer which was a similar total compared to 2022. In 2023, crossbows accounted for 43% of the total archery harvest.
“During this first year of crossbows being legal for all hunters, we sold 6% more archery licenses and youth licenses made up most of that increase,” Froberg said. “Lots of kids who weren’t archery hunting in the past were able to use crossbows and go hunting during the archery season.”
Analysis of the 2023 deer harvest is available in a final deer harvest report. This report and past season harvest reports are available on the Minnesota DNR website.
The Minnesota DNR sets hunting seasons with projected harvest levels designed to move deer populations closer to established goals for each deer permit area throughout the state. These goals are reached through goal setting processes informed by public input and guided by Minnesota’s deer plan. Many of the permit areas in the northern part of the state have conservative regulations to support increases in deer populations. A midpoint review of the white-tailed deer management plan, with a variety of opportunities for public engagement including questionnaires, webinars and meetings, is planned for this summer.
