Reminder: Spring wild turkey permit application deadline is Friday

The deadline to apply for early season spring wild turkey hunting permits is Friday, Jan. 9, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The spring season, which runs from April 15 to May 28, is divided into eight time periods. Only people age 18 and older who want to hunt during the first three time periods (A-C) need to apply for a spring turkey permit. Permits for the remaining time periods (D-H) can be purchased over-the-counter.

Permits for the last five time periods and youth licenses for any time period are sold over-the-counter starting March 1. Surplus adult licenses from the first three time periods, if available, are sold starting around mid-March.

For more information, see www.mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey.

With a license, teens can hunt toms for entire turkey season

This year for the first time, youth age 17 and younger can hunt the entire Minnesota spring turkey season or until they harvest a turkey and they can choose any location open to turkey hunting, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said.

Youth age 13-17 need to obtain a license for a fee of $5. Youth age 12 and younger need to obtain a free license. License vendors will add a $1 issuing fee.

Spring wild turkey season begins Wednesday, April 16 and runs through Thursday, May 29.

Gone is the need for youth to pick a single time period and risk getting shut out by bad weather or an unexpected conflict with school, work or family obligations.

“Adults should share their passion for hunting and get kids out in the field.” said Mike Kurre, DNR’s mentoring program coordinator. “The season structure for youth and inexpensive license fees provide the opportunity to build the family turkey hunting tradition from the ground up – or the parents down.”

Licenses may be purchased from any DNR license agent, online at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense or by telephone at 888-665-4236. People purchasing via Internet or by telephone should allow seven to 10 days for the turkey license and attached site tag to arrive in the mail. All turkey hunters must have their license and tag in possession when hunting.

A $3.50 convenience fee will be charged for telephone purchases. An additional fee of 3 percent of the transaction amount plus $1.65 for mailing the license will be added to online purchases.

Additional information about the spring turkey hunting season is available on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey.

DNR, NWTF mentored youth turkey applications due Feb. 19

First-time youth turkey hunters ages 12 to 17 have the chance to go afield this spring and learn from an experienced National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) volunteer.

“Youth turkey hunters and their guardians will learn life-long outdoor skills and how to be a responsible hunter,” said Mike Kurre, mentoring program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “The outdoor coaches of the NWTF are helping create the next generation of hunters.”

Applications, maps and general information for the wild turkey hunt are available online at www.mndnr.gov/youthturkey. Application deadline is midnight on Monday, Feb. 19. Participants will be selected through a random lottery.

This is the 11th consecutive year the DNR and the NWTF have cooperated to mentor first-time youth turkey hunters. Nearly 2,000 youth have been introduced to this hunting experience since spring youth turkey hunts began in 2002.

Most hunts will be Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21, which is the first weekend of the regular wild turkey season. Nearly all youth will hunt on private land due to permission of private landowners and the NWTF volunteers who obtained the permission.

To be eligible, a youth hunter must be age 12 to 17 on or before Saturday, April 20; have a valid firearms safety certificate; and be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The program is for first-time turkey hunters only. Any youth who has ever purchased or been selected by lottery for a Minnesota turkey license of any type is not eligible.

Hunters and their mentors will be assigned a NWTF volunteer coach, who must accompany both the youth and parent/guardian throughout the entire hunt.

Participation in the hunts is restricted by the number volunteers and private land available. If anyone is interested in providing quality turkey hunting land for the mentored youth hunts, contact a NWTF chapter online at http://www.nwtf.org/in_your_state/lists.php?STATE=MN

Spring turkey hunting applications accepted through Friday

Hunters older than 17 who want to hunt during the first four seasons of Minnesota’s 2013 spring wild turkey hunt have until Friday, Jan. 11, to apply for a permit, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Youth hunters 17 and younger can purchase a permit for any season over-the-counter.

The hunt will consist of six five-day and two seven-day seasons. All adult resident and nonresident wild turkey hunters interested in hunting during one of the first four seasons must apply online, in-person or by phone. Permits for each of the last four seasons will be sold over-the-counter only and no applications will be taken.

A total of 5,781 permits are available for the spring turkey hunt. Dates for 2013 are:

Season A – Wednesday, April 17, to Sunday, April 21.
Season B – Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26.
Season C – Saturday, April 27, to Wednesday, May 1.
Season D – Thursday, May 2, to Monday, May 6.
Season E – Tuesday, May 7, to Saturday, May 11.
Season F – Sunday, May 12, to Thursday, May 16.
Season G – Friday, May 17, to Thursday, May 23.
Season H – Friday, May 24, to Thursday, May 30.

Permit areas were consolidated from 77 to 12 last year, providing wild turkey hunters more flexibility and opportunity in larger geographic areas.

One slight change alters the boundary between permit areas 501 and 503. Check the map at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey for details.

All hunters must pay a nonrefundable $4 application fee at the time of application. Nonresident hunters may apply online or telephone at 888-665-4236 (MNLICENSE). A nonrefundable $3.50 transaction fee will be charged for online and telephone applications.

Hunters who are not successful in the drawing may purchase surplus turkey permits, which are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, in mid-March. They also may choose to purchase a license over-the-counter for any of the last four time periods.

Hunters who are successful in the drawing for one of the first four hunts and choose not to purchase a tag will lose the current year’s preference point for future drawings but not accumulated preference from past years.

The availability of archery resident and nonresident spring turkey licenses includes the last four seasons. Archery licenses may be purchased for the last four hunts only in any permit area with 50 or more applicants. Licensed archers may hunt each and all of the entire last four time periods.

An application information sheet is available from any DNR license agent and online at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey. Hunt information materials include a map of wild turkey permit areas, permit quotas and season dates.

Information also is available by calling the DNR Information Center at 651-296-6157 or toll-free -888-646-6367.

Elections set for two Minnesota commodity research and promotion councils

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Dairy Research and Promotion Council and the Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council will conduct board elections next month.

Ballots for the Dairy Council will be mailed January 11, 2013 and must be returned with a postmark prior to January 28, 2013. There is one position open in each of the districts listed below. Dairy board members serve a two year term.

Dairy Research and Promotion Council Districts

District 2: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Kanabec, Koochiching, Lake, Mille Lacs, Pine, St. Louis

District 4: Otter Tail (west), Wilkin

District 6: Crow Wing, Morrison

District 8: Includes these Townships in Stearns County: Ashley, Crow Lake, Crow River, Getty, Grove, Lake George, Lake Henry, Melrose, Millwood, North Fork, Oak, Raymond, Spring Hill, Sauk Centre

District 10: Anoka, Benton, Chisago, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Sherburne, Washington

District 12: Meeker, Wright

District 14: Brown, Nicollet, Sibley

District 16: Goodhue County

District 18: Cottonwood, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock

District 20: Dodge, Mower, Olmsted

District 22: Fillmore, Houston

Ballots for the Turkey Council will be mailed January 18, 2013 and must be returned with a postmark prior to February 4, 2013. There is one position open in each of the regions listed below, plus three at large positions are open. Turkey board members serve a three year term.

Turkey Research and Promotion Council Regions

Region 1: Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Carlton, Cass, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Hennepin, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Kanabec, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Nicollet, Norman, Ottertail, Pennington, Pine, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Red Lake, Roseau, St. Louis, Sherburne, Stearns, Stevens, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, Washington, Wilkin, Wright.

Region 2: Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Scott, Sibley, Steele, Swift, Wabasha, Waseca, Watonwan, Winona, Yellow Medicine.

No application necessary for 2012 fall turkey hunt

Starting this year, Minnesota turkey hunters may purchase a license over-the-counter to hunt the fall season wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said.
No lottery application will be necessary. Hunters still must declare a turkey permit area when purchasing a license, and they are restricted to hunting that area.

The application and lottery are being discontinued because the number of fall turkey licenses available has exceeded the number of applicants for the past several years.

"Everyone who entered the lottery received a license," said Steve Merchant, DNR wildlife populations and regulations manager. "Allowing over-the-counter purchase streamlines the process for hunters."

Last year, hunters purchased 5,382 fall turkey permits and registered 953 birds. This year's 30-day season begins Sept. 29 and runs through Oct. 28.

Licenses may be purchased at any time before or during the season at DNR license agents, online at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense or by phone at 888-665-4236.

Complete details of the fall turkey hunt are available online at www.mndnr.gov//hunting/turkey.

(via MN DNR)

DNR, NWTF mentored women's turkey applications due April 2

First-time adult women turkey have the chance to go afield and learn from an experienced National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) volunteer during mentored hunts being offered this spring, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said.

"The adult women turkey hunters will learn life-long outdoor skills and how to be a responsible hunter," said Mike Kurre, mentoring program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). "Thanks to the NWTF, their outdoor coaches will help create the next generation of family oriented hunters."

Women are encouraged to sign up with a friend or adult daughter for an educational adventure in wild turkey hunting. An application and general information for the mid-May wild turkey hunt is available at www.mndnr.gov/discover. The application deadline is midnight on Monday, April 2. Participants will be selected through a random lottery if oversubscribed.

This program is based on the successful mentored youth hunts where, during the last 10 years, more than 1,700 youth have been introduced to this unique, educational hunting experience. With women being one of the fasting growing segments of the hunting society, the need is there, Kurre said.

Most hunts will occur Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, at several locations in Minnesota's turkey range, which generally covers the southern and western half of Minnesota. Hunts include a mandatory turkey clinic leading up to an actual hunt. All participants will hunt on private land, thanks to the generosity of private landowners and the NWTF volunteers who obtained permission.

To be eligible, a female hunter must be 18 on or before Saturday, May 19. All participants must possess a valid firearms safety certificate, purchase an apprentice hunter validation, or be born before Dec. 13, 1979. The program is for first-time turkey hunters only. Participants will be assigned a NWTF volunteer coach, who must accompany them throughout the entire hunt.

Participation in the hunts is only restricted by the number volunteers and private lands that are available. People who have an interest in providing a quality experience in turkey hunting, have hunting land and are members of NWTF, should contact the NWTF at www.nwtf-mn.org for information about participating.

DNR, NWTF mentored youth turkey applications due soon

The application deadline is midnight Monday, Feb. 13 for first-time youth turkey hunters, ages 12 to 17, who are looking to go afield this spring and learn from an experienced National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) volunteer, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Participants will be selected through a random lottery. Applications, maps and general information for the wild turkey hunt are available online at www.mndnr.gov/youthturkey.

This is the 10th consecutive year DNR and NWTF have cooperated to provide opportunities for first-time youth turkey hunters. More than 1,500 youth have been introduced to this unique hunting experience since spring youth turkey hunts began in 2002.

Most hunts will occur April 21-22, which is the first weekend of the regular wild turkey season. Nearly all youth will hunt on private land thanks to the generosity of private landowners and the NWTF volunteers who obtained permission.

To be eligible, a youth hunter must be age 12 to 17 on or before April 21; have a valid firearms safety certificate; and be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The program is for first-time turkey hunters only. Any youth who has ever purchased or been selected by lottery for a Minnesota turkey license of any type is not eligible.

Hunters and their mentors will be assigned a NWTF volunteer coach, who must accompany both the youth and parent or guardian throughout the entire hunt.

Participation in the hunts is only restricted by the number volunteers and private lands that are available. People who have an interest in providing quality turkey hunting land for the mentored youth hunts should contact a NWTF chapter online at www.nwtf-mn.org/Home/ChapterListings.