The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources expects a good deer harvest for this year’s firearms deer hunting season.

Minnesota’s firearms hunting season opens Saturday, Nov. 9.

500,000 – Deer hunters last year.

186,000 – Deer harvested last year.

DNR biologists report deer populations are stable across much of the state.

“Minnesota’s deer population is largely stable in the southern half of the state because of mild winters and generally conservative deer management,” said Leslie McInenly, DNR big game program leader. “Mild winters result in more survival of adults, more fawns being born, and more deer in the state’s fields and forests the following hunting season.”

However, hunters may find farmland conditions more challenging because of the year’s later corn harvest, which results in a substantial amount of standing corn.

Last year, Minnesota’s nearly 500,000 deer hunters harvested 186,000 deer. A similar harvest is expected this year.

McInenly said deer permit management designations that limit hunters to one, two or five deer largely are the same as last year. The limits reflect the department’s interest in rebuilding or maintaining the deer herd in certain portions of the state by managing the harvest.

Based on 2013 population estimates, almost 80 percent of permit areas are at population goal.

Firearms season ends Sunday, Nov. 17, in Series 200 permit areas, where Austin lies, but dates different in other permit areas. For complete hunting season dates and regulations, go to www.dnr.state.mn.us and download the hunting a trapping regulations handbook.

Harvested deer can be donated for distribution to food shelves

Deer donated to food shelves can be processed at no cost to hunters thanks to a program coordinated by the Minnesota departments of natural resources and agriculture. Prior to 2007, hunters could donate deer to food shelves but had to pay processing costs.

More details on the venison donation program, as well as a list of participating meat processors, are available online at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/deer/donation. Processors who accept deer are paid $70 to process each animal for food shelf distribution.

Funding for the program comes from surcharges placed on antlerless permits and non-resident hunting licenses.