The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Monday that it is adding five counties to its deer feeding and attractant ban, a move officials say is intended to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among the state’s white-tailed deer population.
Becker, Clearwater, Grant, McLeod and Meeker counties join the existing ban area, bringing the statewide total to 37 counties. The expansion follows detections of CWD in wild deer in new parts of the state last year.
“Where people place food or attractants out for deer, higher numbers of deer tend to congregate in one place,” said Paul Burr, acting big game program leader for the DNR. “The feeding and attractant ban is one tool to reduce the unnatural congregating of deer and lower the risk of CWD spread.”
The DNR said it applies the ban selectively, targeting areas where it will provide the greatest benefit to deer health rather than imposing it statewide.
With the new additions, the ban now covers Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Carver, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Grant, Hennepin, Houston, Hubbard, Itasca, Le Sueur, McLeod, Meeker, Mower, Norman, Olmsted, Polk, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Steele, Traverse, Wabasha, Washington, Wilkin, Winona and Wright counties. A map of the affected areas is available on the Minnesota DNR’s website.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological illness that affects deer, elk and moose. It spreads more easily when animals gather in close, repeated contact, which wildlife officials say feeding piles and mineral licks tend to encourage.
The DNR said it discourages feeding deer even outside the banned counties. Officials are instead urging landowners to focus on improving habitat, which they say provides more sustainable, long-term food sources and shelter for deer and other wildlife. More information on habitat improvement is available through the DNR’s private land program.
