DNR outlines CWD sampling requirements in northwest Minnesota
Nov. 3—Deer hunters in several Deer Permit Areas (DPAs) of northwest Minnesota will face new mandatory testing requirements for chronic wasting disease during the opening weekend of this year's "Firearms A" deer season Saturday, Nov. 4, and Sunday, Nov. 5, the Department of Natural Resources said.
Specifically, hunters in Deer Permit Areas 101, 201, 260, 263 and 268 of northwest Minnesota, which covers the range of the state's elk herds, will be required to submit samples of deer they shoot for testing. According to the DNR, the sampling in elk range is part of an effort to ensure confidence in the disease-free status of the state's elk and deer populations. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has proposed relocating elk from northwest Minnesota to an area in and around the Fond du Lac reservation.
Other areas in northwest and north-central Minnesota where CWD sampling is mandatory during the opening weekend of the firearms A season are as follows:
* DPA 684 (formerly DPA 184). A new CWD management zone was added near Bemidji in response to two positive deer detected during fall 2022. Management zones, which are places where deer have tested positive, are the most restrictive designation.
* DPA 661 (formerly DPA 261). A CWD management zone implemented in 2022 after a single deer shot southwest of Climax, Minnesota, tested positive for CWD in November 2021.
* DPAs 256, 257, 262 and 265 in the Climax Surveillance Zone along the Red River. A surveillance zone, while less restrictive than a management zone, applies to DPAs where CWD has not been found in wild deer but where deer are considered at risk for disease transmission due to detection of CWD in farmed deer, an adjacent DPA or state or where surveillance is occurring for other purposes.
* DPAs 259 and 287 (Itasca State Park) in north central Minnesota.
Hunters in all CWD zones must submit samples from deer they shoot during the opening weekend. Hunters must provide a sample from deer 1 year or older within 24 hours of harvest. Sampling stations, either staffed or self-service, will be available. The DNR offers an
interactive map with information on the location of sampling sites — dnr.state.mn.us/cwd/index.html — and whether they are staffed or self-serve.
Hunters who shoot a trophy buck they want to mount can extract the lymph node samples themselves and submit the samples at a self-service sampling station, get the buck sampled at a partner taxidermist, make an appointment with the DNR in their CWD sampling area to bring in deer to have the samples taken, or if they ordered a kit, take the lymph nodes out themselves and send in the samples.
Deer hunters outside of CWD areas can submit samples from deer they shoot anywhere in the state via the following methods:
* Partner-sampling program: The DNR has partnered with taxidermists and others to collect samples from deer that are dropped off by hunters. These partners will remove the samples and submit them to the DNR. Test results will be posted on the DNR website. A list of partners can be found online.
* Mail-in sampling kit program: The DNR will provide 10,000 free mail-in kits this year to hunters that include instructions, all necessary forms and plastic bags to submit a sample by mail.
For more information on CWD sampling, carcass movement restrictions and other requirements, check out the DNR website at
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