11/5/2009 7:45:02 AM

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By John Weiss

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

Weather could again play a big part in success for firearms deer hunters going out for the opener Saturday.

	Rule change The rules for firearms hunters in zones 341 and 342 in Goodhue and Wabasha counties won't have the confusion of last year. In 2008, 3A was a lottery zone but 3B was managed, so hunters had easier times getting permits to hunt antlerless deer in the second season. That confused hunters, especially bow hunters who weren't sure how many deer they could take, one or two. This year, both seasons will be managed with a two-deer limit.

Last year, the high struggled to hit freezing. This year, it could reach 60.

The rules for firearms hunters in zones 341 and 342 in Goodhue and Wabasha counties won't have the confusion of last year. In 2008, 3A was a lottery zone but 3B was managed, so hunters had easier times getting permits to hunt antlerless deer in the second season. That confused hunters, especially bow hunters who weren't sure how many deer they could take, one or two. This year, both seasons will be managed with a two-deer limit. Last year, the high struggled to hit freezing. This year, it could reach 60.

That's good and bad, said Don Nelson, regional Department of Natural Resources wildlife supervisor.

It's good because it will be more comfortable for hunters to stay out on their stands longer. Last year, it was tough to fight the cold.

But it's bad because when it's warm, deer tend to bed down and not move as much, he said. Also, with the full moon earlier this week, deer will tend to feed more at night.

Another unknown is how many hunters will switch from the 3B season to 3A because of the addition of two more days to the first season.

Last year, 3A was seven days, with the Department of Natural Resources hoping that more hunters would opt for 3B and shoot more does to control the growing herd. But the Minnesota Legislature added two more days to 3A, with some special restrictions on the final two days.

As on Monday, 8,841 3A licenses had been sold, compared with only 3,011 for 3B. Last year, the DNR sold 21,492 3A licenses and 18,907 3B licenses.

Hunters still have plenty of time to purchase licenses for either season, but the extra two days "takes away the advantage of going to the B season," Nelson said. And the number of days hunters are in the field is a big factor in overall kill.

Another factor is access. If more landowners decide to go with 3A after hunting 3B in past years, that would mean hunters who had access in 3A might be out of luck this year. That could force more hunters onto public land, which is more limited here than up north, and they might take fewer deer.

Lack of land access is a huge problem in the southeast, Nelson said. Anecdotally, he's hearing "there's more leasing going on and people are losing farms they previously hunted," he said. Landowners are keeping the land, and the big bucks on it, for themselves or to lease out. "It's not good news, because it takes away our ability to manage the deer herd," Nelson said.

No matter how many permits they issue or how many deer hunters are allowed to shoot, they can't do anything without access to land. And if those who want only big bucks choose to ignore the need to harvest more does, numbers could continue to rise.

Parts of Winona and Houston counties have 30 to 40 deer per square mile, which is higher than the DNR wants, he said.

Because of the good mix of hardwoods and cropland, deer have plenty to eat, he said. And because this region is in the southern part of the state, winters are relatively mild so few deer are lost to the cold. The region could have two to three times more deer before they begin to overeat their habitat, he said.

However, the "social carrying capacity" is much less, because landowners and others don't want to see so many deer.

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