Hunters harvest 55 prairie chickens (2005-01-25)

Hunters harvested 55 birds during this past fall's prairie chicken hunt, the state's second since 1942, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Despite difficult hunting in wet, rainy weather, 73 percent reported flushing five or more prairie chickens during the five-day season and 46 percent of hunters harvested at least one bird in the two-bird limit.

"It's difficult to say why the harvest was lower in 2004. Obviously, weather played a role," said Mike Larson, a DNR wildlife research biologist. "I'm sure the population hasn't changed that much in a year, and I'm glad most hunters were satisfied with the hunt."

During 2003 hunters harvested 123 prairie chickens. Interest in this past fall's hunt was high as 749 applied for 100 permits through a lottery held last August. The hunt, open to Minnesota residents only, is held in seven zones in northwest Minnesota.

Prairie chickens once lived throughout the prairies of western and southern Minnesota, conspicuous on their spring booming grounds and popular with the state's hunters. However, the bird's population plunged because of loss of habitat and the season was closed after 1942. In recent years, Minnesota's prairie chicken population has increased thanks to grassland habitat restoration programs and the Conservation Reserve Program

The hunt, which is held in part to build support for preserving prairie chicken habitat, allows for a total harvest of less than 5 percent of the prairie chicken's breeding population, estimated to be greater than 4,000 birds during the spring.

Applications for the 2005 hunt will be available in June. The application deadline will be July 29 with the prairie chicken hunting season opening Oct. 22.

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