Lenarz said that other than populations in that extreme northeastern corner of the state, which is already a lower density area and a nontraditional part of the deer range, the state's whitetail population is in good shape.

"The harvest we've seen the last few years has brought deer populations down and closer to our population goals," Lenarz explained. "So ultimately we're going to see the (regulations and limits) that we offer being a bit less liberal than in past years." A deer herd that is closer to MDNR targets translates into fewer permit areas where hunters will be allowed to take five deer and more managed areas and lottery hunts. Permit areas that are "managed" in the regulations allow a hunter up to two deer, and those marked "lottery" allow a hunter one buck, unless he or she draws a doe tag.

HEALTH OF THE HERD
Minnesota has experienced an interesting several years of deer management, and some hunters are griping over changes in regulations, permit areas and availability of permits. One of the most common complaints revolves around the number of deer available for hunters, but the MDNR has been aggressively working to reduce the size of the deer herd over the last several years.

The reason for the reduction is for the health and benefit of the forest, as well as the state's deer herd. Another commonly argued point that can be heard at cafés and bars around the state is how to manage bucks.

Some hunters target only bucks with large, mature racks, while others say if it has horns, they should be able to shoot it. Some want to see antler point restrictions, while others want to limit hunters to only harvesting mature bucks. Cornicelli said there are numerous studies ongoing to determine if any of those multi-faceted ideas would be effective. The major sticking point hasn't been the data collected but rather that most Minnesotans don't want to have limitations on the bucks they are eligible to harvest.

The woods, marshes and fields around the Aitkin area are very popular with firearms hunters. Ask hunters where they are going for rifle season, and a whole lot of them will be within 20 miles of Aitkin. "We have a lot of deer around here and a lot of hunters both on public and private land, so there's a lot of orange out there once the firearms and muzzleloader seasons get going," said Dave Kanz, the MDNR's assistant wildlife manager out of Aitkin.

Kanz said the mixture of public and private land in the Aitkin area makes it conducive to plenty of archery hunting possibilities. "There's a lot of public land close to town that hunters might want to try in addition to some larger public areas in the area."

The public land near the city of Aitkin gets a fair amount of firearms hunting, but it might make for some good pre-firearms bowhunting because many deer take advantage of the food sources available in areas with higher human densities. Deer have plenty of food and browse available in the woods and fields, but there is a veritable buffet in a city like Aitkin with all the gardens, shrubs and flowers planted by unsuspecting homeowners.

"We have some good archery hunting in the area, and it's been on the increase around here the last few years, so we're seeing more bow­hunters in the woods," Kanz said, "but I think a lot of them hunt on private land." Public hunting areas are under-utilized by archers and he encouraged bowhunters to consider the Aitkin area this fall.