Public meetings begin Jan. 31 in Thief River Falls

Department of Natural Resources will host the Minnesota’s first-ever deer management plan in a series of 12 public engagement meetings. This will take place throughout the state between Tuesday, Jan. 31, and Thursday, March 2.

These meetings are taking place to help garner feedback on the goals, including and identifying any goals that were missed when the stakeholders met this summer and fall. The committee members are helping the DNR to develop a deer management plan for our state.

Unlike typical input meetings, considerable time will be devoted to small group brainstorming and discussions to get in-depth discussions and feedback. The format will help ensure we capture everyone’s ideas in more detail and depth.

Meetings will be from 6:30-9 p.m. and are scheduled in:

• Thief River Falls on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at Ralph Engelstad Arena, 525 Brooks Ave.
• Alexandria on Thursday, Feb. 2, at Broadway Ballroom, 115 30th Ave. E
• Andover on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Bunker Hills Activities Center, 550 Bunker Lake Boulevard NW
• Bemidji on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Hampton Inn, 1019 Paul Bunyan Drive SE
• Brainerd on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Central Lakes College cafeteria, 501 W. College Drive
• Cambridge on Thursday, Feb. 16, at Cambridge High School, 430 8th Ave NW
• Duluth on Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Room W2630 at Lake Superior College, 2101 Trinity Road
• Mankato on Thursday, March 2, at County Inn & Suites, 1900 Premier Drive
• Montevideo on Monday, Feb. 27, T.A.C.C. Minnesota Army National Guard, 711 S. 17th St
• Mountain Iron on Thursday, Feb. 23, in the Iroquois Room at Mountain Iron Community Center, 8586 Enterprise Drive S
• Rochester on Monday, Feb. 6, at Century High School, 2525 Viola Road NE
• Windom on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Windom Community Center, 1750 Cottonwood Lake Drive

Over the next year, committee members will review the information collected via these meetings. They will then make recommendations to the DNR for the deer plan, which is expected to be finished by the spring of 2018.

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