Apr. 16—EAST GRAND FORKS — The East Grand Forks City Council agreed at its Tuesday meeting to submit applications to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for two special deer hunts this fall.
The two archery hunts will occur in October and November. The first hunt will be an accessibility hunt geared toward on Oct. 9-11 with a total of four tags available, and the second hunt will be a standard hunt occurring Nov. 15-23 with 12 tags available. The application notifies the DNR that a hunt is occurring so it can get published with the state’s deer hunting materials for the upcoming year.
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The details of the hunt, along with the deer tag lottery, will likely be determined later this year closer to the hunt date. For the accessibility hunt, the city has been working with the Options Resource Center for Independent Living to facilitate the hunt. The organization has hosted various sportsman activities with accessibility issues across northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota, including an accessible deer hunt at the Rydell National Wildlife Refuge east of Crookston.
Last year, hunters in East Grand Forks had a 60% success rate for the hunt. For special hunts, that success rate is closer to 30%,
Parks and Recreation Superintendent Jeremy King told the council in March.
The hunt would occur in the same areas of the Greenway it occurred last year.
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The accessible hunt is currently planned for zones two, three and five, which have easier access.
The application for the hunt is Sept. 15 with a $20 fee for residents and a $75 fee for non-residents. Accessible hunts don’t have fees.
To still be determined are the exact details of how the city eventually gives deer tags. The city has wide discretion on what manner to give out tags for special hunts and has discussed a wide range of options, likely giving East Grand Forks residents priority, especially for buck tags, but also allowing nonresidents the option for buck tags.
Last year 10 hunters participated after being selected through a lottery and then an archery proficiency and safety screening from the East Grand Forks Police Department. This year will have more hunters, but they will still have to go through some form of lottery and safety screening.
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In other news, the council:
* Approved a memorandum of understanding with the seven surrounding townships for the purchasing of future fire engines. The costs will now be split for all engines with the city paying 60% and the townships paying 40%.
Previously, each engine had a different model with one paid for by the city, one by the township, and one by both.
The city and townships have partnered together for fire services since 2009.
* Approved accepting a $10,364 donation from the East Grand Forks Fire Relief Association to allow the Fire Department to purchase a drone. The drone will aid the department in search and rescue efforts and have thermal imaging capabilities to seek hotspots in fires.