The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has announced the results of their annual small game survey. It shows fewer small game hunters in the fields in 2016 when compared to 2015. While there were fewer hunters, in some cases there was actually more game harvested.

According to a DNR press release, the number of duck hunters in 2016 dropped to 67,301. This resulted in a decrease from 663,811 ducks taken in 2015 to 606,458 in 2016. This however did translate into more ducks per hunter taken.

The number of Canada geese hunters dropped from 45,398 in 2015 to 40,950 in 2016. However the number of geese taken increased slightly to about 204,825.

The number of pheasants taken declined, dropping from 243,176 in 2015 to 196,141 in 2016. The number of pheasants taken in 2016 were similar to levels reported in 2011. The number of pheasant hunters dropped slightly to 59,965.

One increase in hunters was in grouse hunters with 82,348 taking to the field, representing an increase of 4 percent from 2015.

The full report can be found on the Minnesota DNR website.

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