ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Wildlife managers are predicting good luck for hunters when Minnesota's firearms deer season opens Nov. 3.
Lou Cornicelli (kor-nih-SEL'-lee), wildlife research manager for the Department of Natural Resources, says Minnesota's deer population is up from last year thanks to the mild winter. He says mild winters mean more adults survive so more fawns are born. He estimates the deer population at about 1 million.
Last year, Minnesota's nearly 500,000 deer hunters harvested 192,300 deer.
The DNR will continue checking whether deer in part of northwestern Minnesota might carry bovine tuberculosis. The disease last turned up in a wild deer in that area in 2009. The DNR is also continuing mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease in part of southeastern Minnesota, and it's encouraging voluntary testing in parts of east-central Minnesota.
