We are pleased to announce that as of February 20, 2024, House File 3903 and Senate File 3988 have been introduced to the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and policy; and Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committees. These bills mandate a wolf season so long as the Gray Wolf is not listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The bills also aim to establish a Northeast Deer Management Task Force that must include a representative of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. This is a direct result of MDHA’s wolf management advocacy efforts over the years. This does not happen overnight. This happens over decades of fighting for our wild deer herd and for responsible wolf management in a respectful manner. We must be willing to engage in civil conversation on both sides of the aisle if we want to enact meaningful change.

HF3903 has bipartisan support with authors: Reps. Lislegard (DFL), Skraba (R), & Johnson (R). SF3988 is authored by Sen. Hauschild (DFL). This is significant in that bipartisan bills have a much higher likelihood of receiving a hearing and becoming law, especially when the primary authors are from the majority party. We thank these elected officials for taking a stand for our wild deer and for sound wildlife management practices. Please contact your elected officials and express your support for these bills!

Thank you for your support of Minnesota Wildlife and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association.

Sincerely,

Jared J. Mazurek

Executive Director

Join us again this year at the Duluth Sport Show! Our booth will be manned by our staff all weekend, from Thursday to Sunday. Don't miss the chance to purchase a raffle ticket for the Chevy Truck Giveaway and enter into a drawing for a custom MDHA Maluna Cooler. Plus, with every membership purchased at the show, you'll receive gear from Arctic Shield absolutely free. And that's not all - we'll also have a special guest from Adventuress in our booth throughout the weekend. Be sure to stop by and ask for your complimentary copy of the special wolf issue.

Minnesota Official Measurers are excited to announce the recent release of the Third Edition of The BigGame Record of Minnesota. The book contains over 30 years of Minnesota Big Game Records, with over 1800 new entries since the second edition book printing. 

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association is committed to preserving our hunting heritage, promoting habitat education as well as building and protecting habitat to benefit deer and deer hunters in Minnesota. MDHA brings people together who share a common interest in the stewardship of Minnesota’s resources, with opportunities for involvement in local chapters, events, partnerships, and networking. Through these activities we are able to ignite passions, ideas, talents and raise funds to maximize our efforts for habitat conservation. 

Mark your calendars for the MDHA Rum River Chapters Gun Raffle. Open to the public with food & beverages available. 3 Crossbows and 13 Firearms.

In light of the controversy surrounding a recent article published by our partners at Wolf.Report, I feel compelled to clarify a few things. First and foremost, MDHA and Wolf.Report are separate entities. We do not own or manage Wolf.Report. We simply agree with their mission of protecting Minnesota’s wildlife through effective and RESPONSIBLE wolf management. For this reason, we made the decision to sponsor their endeavor.

Today, more information is unfolding regarding whitetails and predators. Yet can predators “alone” impact deer herds to the declining numbers that some hunters are experiencing; and when do management agendas tip the scales in favor of predators….? 

The Minnesota Deer & Turkey Classic held annually at Canterbury Park in Shakopee is a gathering of hunters celebrating the tradition of hunting in Minnesota. The Classic focuses on showcasing the successes in the field by the Minnesota hunter. This is a chance to show fellow hunters your trophy and possibly win some nice prizes and ribbons for the top finishers. This past March we had over 220 antler entries brought in for measuring by the Minnesota Official Measurers; they are volunteers with a passion for scoring these trophies which can be entered into the Minnesota Record book.

The hunting season has come and gone. Maybe it went the way you were hoping, but for many of us, it may have been another hunting season that left us scratching our head wondering why we have to endure another meal of tag soup. If that’s you, you don’t have to let the next hunting season follow the same trend. The change can start this winter! Here are three easy-to-do habitat improvements that can have you punching your tag next fall.

40 Years ago Wildlife Research Center® started out with one simple idea, to make a better deer scent than anything else on the market.  It was a humble beginning and a long road.

Over the years and decades, Wildlife® has continued to relentlessly work at producing new and better Scent and Scent Elimination products and better technologies.

Today, Wildlife Research Center® is still family owned and committed to doing business in better ways.  What we do is our passion.  “We are thankful, and we work hard.”

Biologists and the public have observed deer, moose, elk, and caribou escape into lakes, rivers, and ponds when chased by wolves. Deer did this throughout the year in the Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area (BWWCA). Such escape opportunities for deer, however, were rare in winter when lake and river surfaces were frozen, except for those places where currents kept water from freezing.  

As we delve into the past, present, and future of wolf management in Minnesota, we often come across valuable information that helps address current issues on the subject. Recently, we've noticed a surge of discussions on platforms like Facebook, with individuals debating who is responsible for various aspects of wolf management. However, we believe that the focus should be on taking action, rather than assigning blame.