Fewer Whitetails

Many Minnesota hunters may be able to sleep undisturbed in their deer stand this season. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the overall population of whitetail deer has declined. Winter kill eliminated about 20 percent of their numbers in parts of northeastern Minnesota.

The populations is even lower in the southwest, where only young hunters can apply for an anterless permit.

In many areas of the state (including the Brainerd Lakes Area) the DNR had been working to lower the population to a more manageable level. However, that is not the case in the Twin Cities area where the herd remains a problem.