Bear Permit Area Update Questionnaire 2025
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is seeking public input on proposed updates to several bear permit areas. This input will help the MN DNR gauge the public’s support and identify any improvements to the proposals. The DNR will use the feedback to inform changes to bear permit area boundaries prior to the 2025 bear hunting season, which begins in September.
Minnesota's black bear range has been slowly expanding southward and westward. Proposals 1-3 remove the quota in several areas at the forest-agricultural interface, to the west and south of the primary bear range in the northeastern third of the state. Increased harvest pressure in these areas will better address human-bear conflicts. Proposal 4 makes regulations in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness more consistent.
The proposals were developed by the MN DNR Bear Committee, made up of staff in wildlife population management and research, forest habitat, wildlife damage, and enforcement, as well as tribal government natural resource staff. The MN DNR Bear Committee meets annually to review bear population status and make season recommendations.
Written comments can also be submitted via email to Dan Stark, wolf management specialist, at Dan.Stark@state.mn.us, or in writing to:
Kelly Wilder
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources - FAW
500 Lafayette Road
Saint Paul, MN 55155