Minnesota Deer Opener: More Deer But Mandatory CWD Testing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Minnesota has more deer on the landscape this fall, and that's expected to mean more success for hunters when the state's firearms deer season opens Saturday, Nov. 4.

Three consecutive mild winters and three years of tight harvest regulations combined to help Minnesota's deer population rebound. Department of Natural Resources wildlife chief Paul Telander is predicting that hunters will take around 200,000 deer this season, well above last year's total.

But the isolated reappearance of chronic wasting disease has led the DNR the to impose mandatory testing in some areas of north-central, central and southern Minnesota for the opening weekend to determine if the illness remains a threat to the state's deer herd.

Grand Rapids is hosting the annual Minnesota Governor's Deer Hunting Opener for the second time.