The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has added deer permit area 184 near Bemidji to the state’s late-season hunt. The decision comes after a deer harvested there tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) during the firearms opening weekend.

The late-season hunt will go from Dec. 16-18. This management hunt is to assess potential disease spread and to lessen the possibility of transmission by reducing the number of deer in a given area.

During this time, the DNR will be flexible with licenses and permits in order to encourage more participation. There will also be no restrictions on the number of deer harvested.

Deer permit area 184 will not have a movement restriction on carcasses, but hunters are encouraged to keep the harvest within the area until carcasses are quartered or the meat is de-boned.

CWD sampling, which is mandatory for this hunt, will take place from Dec. 16-19.

By — Lakeland News