Vol. I  ·  No. 58
Monday, November 9, 2026  · 
274 stories in the archive

Front page › Back issues › Saturday, November 7, 2026

Saturday, November 7, 2026

3 stories in this edition

open Minnesota firearms deer seasonMinnesotaNov 7–29; mandatory CWD testing in the southwest on opening weekendchecked Nov 8

Hunting

Minnesota's Deer Opener Brings Mandatory CWD Testing in the Southwest

The firearms season opened Saturday and runs through November 29, with licenses and harvest registration now in a new electronic system.

Painted illustration of two hunters in blaze orange talking with a wildlife worker in blue gloves at a sampling table with test tubes and a clipboard, with deer in a frosty meadow behind them
An illustration of CWD sampling at a deer check station. Not a photo of an actual station. Illustration

Minnesota's firearms deer season opened Saturday, November 7, and runs through November 29, Northern News Now reports. The Department of Natural Resources has started a four-year rotation for chronic wasting disease surveillance that splits the state into quadrants; this year, testing is mandatory in southwestern Minnesota for deer age 1 or older taken on opening weekend, and voluntary elsewhere. Northeastern Minnesota is not scheduled for mandatory testing until 2028.

Licenses can be bought and harvests registered online, through a mobile app or in person under the state's new electronic license system, and license sales are up this year. Deer numbers are rebounding in the northeast, especially around Duluth and parts of Itasca County, after mild winters. Wear blaze orange or blaze pink, check stands before climbing and tell someone where you are hunting. Michigan's firearms season opens November 15 and Wisconsin's November 21.

Sources

closed Primitive area, Davis Mountains State ParkJeff Davis County, TexasClosed Nov 7–10 for public hunts; reopens Nov 11checked Nov 8

Public land

Davis Mountains State Park Closes Its Primitive Area for Public Hunts

Painted illustration of a chained metal gate across a dirt trail in high desert grassland, with warning tape on a post and rugged mountains beyond
An illustration of a closed trail gate in the Davis Mountains. Not a photo of the park. Illustration

The primitive area of Davis Mountains State Park in West Texas, across the highway from the park's main developed area, is closed November 7 through 10 for Texas Parks and Wildlife public hunts for aoudad, javelina and feral hogs, and reopens November 11, the Big Bend Times reports. The rest of the park is not affected. The primitive area closes again February 20 to 23 for another hunt.

Sources

closed Wild River State Park (entire park)Chisago County, MinnesotaClosed Nov 7–9 for a special hunt; reopens Nov 10checked Nov 8

Public land

Minnesota's Wild River State Park Closes for a Special Hunt Through Monday

Painted illustration of a padlocked striped gate across a park road beside a misty river lined with autumn trees, with an empty picnic table and campsite beyond
An illustration of a park closed for a special hunt. Not a photo of Wild River State Park. Illustration

Wild River State Park in Chisago County, Minnesota, is closed to the public November 7 through 9 for a special hunt, open only to hunters drawn for permits, the Chisago County Press reports; camping and day use resume Tuesday, November 10. The park is unrelated to the Wild River Fire in New Hampshire.

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