Deer harvest improves slightly; wolf ire remains

The local firearm deer season has come and gone with an increased harvest, but a still downbeat mood.

Statewide, hunters shot 152,430 deer — up from 126,531 in 2023.

In Carlton County, zones 156 and 183 also saw improved numbers. Zone 156 on the western half of the county saw 1,540 deer taken, including 1,292 adult males, or bucks. That was improved from 1,299 overall and 1,066 bucks in 2023.

In zone 183, on the eastern side of the county, surrounding Wrenshall, there were 1,264 deer taken, including 1,076 adult males. Comparatively, totals were 1,174 overall and 999 bucks in 2023.

Hunters seemed to report more of the same when it came to the density of the herd.

“There isn’t many deer, I don’t think,” said Carlton County commissioner Gary Peterson, an avid hunter who had only one fleeting glimpse of a buck. He didn’t have a chance to fire a shot, he said.

The 2023 deer harvest figures prompted hunters to revolt against wolves last winter. Hunters For Hunters sprouted in response to what they claimed was overpredation by wolves and state mismanagement of deer.

In a social media video this week, Hunters For Hunters president Dillan Porter said the group is prepared to sue the state of Minnesota for the right to manage wolves. The group expects, under Republican rule of the presidency, House and Senate, that the federal government will delist the gray wolf from the endangered species list. At that point, the group plans to sue the state to implement a wolf season.

“We manage the prey, we should manage the predator as well,” Porter said.

He explained in the video that the group’s aim is to preserve the traditions of hunting.

“It’s not so everybody shoots the biggest bucks,” he said. “We want the herd to be healthy and better than it’s ever been.”