DNR warns deer hunters of flooded forest roads

On the eve of the deer hunting opener, Minnesota officials are warning people that some ATV trails and forest roads are closed or impassable from recent heavy rains. “Heads up hunters! Much of northern Minnesota has received more than three inches of rain in the last week, leaving roads and trails soggy, muddy, and potentially hazardous,” the Department of Natural Resources advised in a social media post late Friday morning. The post highlighted conditions in two state forests in far northern Minnesota: Bear Island State Forest near Ely and Tower, and Pine Island State Forest, which stretches from near the Canadian border with Koochiching and Lake of the Woods counties to Beltrami County east of Red Lake. Many hunters make use of forest roads, logging roads or ATV trails to reach hunting grounds. The use of the roads allows hunters to disperse, venturing deeper into forests and farther from other hunters. Advertisement Often, groups of hunters hunt the same patch of public land year after year. Across the state, ATV trails are wet but generally open, according to a DNR online listing of road and trail conditions . The agency urged hunters to check the list before heading out. More than 400,000 deer hunters are expected to take to the woods and fields across the state this weekend for the regular firearms season, which begins a half-hour before sunrise. Deer hunting is allowed on the bulk of government-owned land in northern Minnesota, including state and national forests and some state parks. Non-hunters are urged to wear bright colors, such as blaze orange, if venturing out. Inexpensive orange vests or hats can be found at sporting goods stores and rural gas stations.