DNR contact to ask about hunting spot

I’ve got a hunting spot I’ve eyed up for a while. I think there’s probably pheasants on it. It is a weird property. Not a WMA, AMA or any other type of MA. It is accessible by easement of township road. I called the wildlife manager last week and never heard back. I also called the assistant manager. MN DNR people can be hit and miss as far as getting one on the phone. The game warden phone number is an office line and they never pick up. Is there an easy way to email them? I’m open to any suggestions. Other states I’ve never had a problem getting a someone on the phone, except MO. IA, SD and ND are really good about it. I would call the DNR general info line, but that person won’t know enough to get me an answer.

Call the county sheriff’s office. They should be able to give you the local CO’s cell phone number. Or maybe answer your question?
Just a thought.

good luck!

DNR is divided by sections. Look for the reports from those sections and they usually have the CO for that districts number listed. I get the reports on my news feed but I dont remember who posts them, maybe Outdoor News?

What type of public land is this? Many types of public land are not open to hunting or are only open to certain type of hunting and only certain parts of the season. Example, I know a scientific natural area (I think that is what it is) that is open for pheasant hunting BUT only after the waterfowl and deer seasons are closed and is closed to any other hunting entire season.

There is also handicap accessible hunting land.

This public land is a slough type area. It has no specific designation or “type”. It is owned by the DNR. If I ever get a hold of someone I’ll let you know what they say.

crawdaddy wrote:

This public land is a slough type area. It has no specific designation or “type”. It is owned by the DNR. If I ever get a hold of someone I’ll let you know what they say.

Call your local sheriff and ask for the local dnrs direct cell. That works in chisago county

Call DNR headquarters and ask for the contact info for the CO in your area.

I assume you checked the DNR recreation compass, that would show if it had a designation and info about the land.

For the CO, did you call this number? They always answer during business hours, and will get you in contact with the local CO or info you need. Usually calling or emailing the area wildlife office main line you can get someone, eventually. Main line, not a direct or extension number. At least in my experience..
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/officerpatrolareas/index.html

Does the easement show up as public property on ONX? Are you unsure if you can access it in a legal public right of way or are you unsure if once on it you are even aloud to hunt it? I had some luck last year calling the county office and talking to the land surveyor on some property that became public, but was not yet showing up on ONX to verify it was legal for me to hunt. I would keep trying the DNR and the game warden sooner or later someone will pick up. Good luck, go ahead and send me the coordinates and I will do some digging for you!

crawdaddy wrote:

This public land is a slough type area. It has no specific designation or “type”. It is owned by the DNR. If I ever get a hold of someone I’ll let you know what they say.

Do you have OnXHunt on your phone? That is usually pretty dang accurate as to whether or not you can hunt it or not. I would take it for 100% but at least a start

dhpricco wrote:

Good luck, go ahead and send me the coordinates and I will do some digging for you!

Next day: Yup, there was a ton pheasants there!

Yeah, I’ve done all my cross-referencing. OnX is a first step, but it is usually the least accurate. MN DNR recreation compass is next. Obviously if it’s on there and there’s info you’re good to go. The most accurate source of property records you go to the county gis maps. I talked to county offices before about land ownership and they say this is the best source of info. I mark waypoints on OnX and use it in the field, but going on that alone for scouting is a big handicap, as it is often more than a year behind when a property sells. A lot of my best public hunting spots right now aren’t On the X, and that’s a good thing for me! This spot has zero designations online anywhere other than it’s owned by the MN DNR. Heck it’s got no physical signs up either, and hasn’t for years! Thanks for the info 10k, I will try your suggestions.

I just got a hold of a guy at the local office. Even he was a little surprised about the spot and has zero idea about it’s allowed uses. But he’s going to call the regional manager and do some digging for me. Fingers crossed!

YOu havent even said what type of “public” land this is that certainly would help. Not that any of us are trying to horn in on your spot, but if you want help you need to provide info. Very vague. Lots of public land isnt open to hunting and some is open SOMETIMES. But they are all designated some type of land whether it be WMA, WPA Tax Forfeit, County Land, etc.

If it isn’t posted as a designated type of land specifically, and you can legally access it, and there are no residences within the restricted distance for gun discharge – I would hunt it.

Timmy wrote:

If it isn’t posted as a designated type of land specifically, and you can legally access it, and there are no residences within the restricted distance for gun discharge – I would hunt it.

Same. And it you weren’t supposed to hunt it you’ll get your answer quick when a CO gets called out, but as long as there weren’t any no trespassing signs and it isnt ag land, your legal until asked to leave.

Is there a way you can highlight the properties that are public on the county GIS website. Honestly I have only ever done this for deer hunting up north, and the only way I found one was because the county guy told me that it had just been sold.

CaptainMusky wrote:

YOu havent even said what type of “public” land this is that certainly would help. Not that any of us are trying to horn in on your spot, but if you want help you need to provide info. Very vague. Lots of public land isnt open to hunting and some is open SOMETIMES. But they are all designated some type of land whether it be WMA, WPA Tax Forfeit, County Land, etc.

Captain, read my second post in this thread, you must have missed it. It is land owned by the MN DNR with no normal designation. NOT wma,ama,park,sna, tax forfeit etc. I have vetted onx,mn dnr recreation compass and county gis. Either way the call is in to DNR brass and we’ll see what they say. I will report back. And as I said earlier the asst. wildlife manager was even thrown for a loop on this question and really had no idea. Zero physical signs on the property of any sort.

Possible that it was a land acquisition that got ‘lost’ or forgotten about and never given a designation.

I agree with others though, if the state owns it I’d hunt it.

crawdaddy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
YOu havent even said what type of “public” land this is that certainly would help. Not that any of us are trying to horn in on your spot, but if you want help you need to provide info. Very vague. Lots of public land isnt open to hunting and some is open SOMETIMES. But they are all designated some type of land whether it be WMA, WPA Tax Forfeit, County Land, etc.

Captain, read my second post in this thread, you must have missed it. It is land owned by the MN DNR with no normal designation. NOT wma,ama,park,sna, tax forfeit etc. I have vetted onx,mn dnr recreation compass and county gis. Either way the call is in to DNR brass and we’ll see what they say. I will report back. And as I said earlier the asst. wildlife manager was even thrown for a loop on this question and really had no idea. Zero physical signs on the property of any sort.

Got it I missed that for sure. Weird however I can’t say I have ever encountered that before. Is there other public land nearby? Is it possible this is a recent acquisition they just haven’t figured out what to do with? No signs identifying it as public I presume?

DNR is often a bit slow to get new public land signed and mapped. The sequence I have seen is

1) land is purchased or received via donation or transfer.

2) eventually – usually within 6 months or so … land is marked with appropriate signs. Probably have to survey the land to make sure signs are placed correctly ?

3) land gets put on DNR compass map. I have seen it take over 2 years on land north of the Twin Cities.

When I have reached out about land I know is DNR owned they tell me if the signs are up it is legal to enter and hunt.

Some DNR land is not open to hunting. Scientific Nature Areas come to mind. Many are not open to hunting or just hunting for a specific species such as deer.

I just looked at the Recreational Compass and I noticed their new big land acquisition is on the map. Purchased, signed, and mapped in under 5 months.

Maybe things have improved !

Crawdaddy. I sent you a PM.

I got ahold of the dnr land dept. manager. Really nice guy, but even he couldn’t answer my question. I found out that AMA’S are managed by the fisheries office and WMA’s by the wildlife office. It makes sense, but I’ve never thought of it before. The spot I was wondering about is dnr owned, run by the fisheries office, he did tell me that much. I almost feel like it’s an AMA they forgot to designate. It’s a property the DNR has had for years so it’s not an issue of of them not getting signage physical or electronic up. I’ll call the fisheries guy soon. In the meantime I might just give it a whirl if I get in the area this season.

I also asked about a property listed as owned by DNR division of lands and minerals. Looks like an acquisition. I asked can I hunt it? He said he thought the wildlife managers didn’t want people hunting until physical signs were up. I was wondering more on the side of will I get a ticket vs. what the wildlife manager wants. I’ll call the manager and see what he says.

What is AMA land? Never heard of it.

Aquatic management area

What county is this. Takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get ahold of the officer in the area.
Like I said call the sheriff and have him forward your info.
The land managers answer can’t be they “REALLY, don’t want people hunting until it’s posted” public land is huntable unless posted otherwise. His answer makes 0 sense.

Shouldn’t public land not posted, be ya know, public? Another great example of Govt efficiency though, I’d like to know how many people you end up talking to in order to get what should be a simple question answered. DNR gonna pass the DMV here soon….

Personally, I would bot get thw DNR involved. If you found a hidden/forgotten gem, alerting them will only result in your “secret” spot getting signage and open classification. You do not really stand to benefit from involving them(big surprise). Hunt it and enjoy it until instructed otherwise.