Deer Permit Area 209, Minnesota
Unit info
- Game species
- White-tailed Deer, Pheasant
- Group
- Zone 200 — Central Minnesota
- Area
- 641 mi²
- Public land
- N/A
White-tailed Deer — season & harvest
- Reported harvest
- 1,485
Draw odds for White-tailed Deeraren't on file for this unit yet. Check your state wildlife agency website for current draw statistics.
Season & harvest data is published for White-tailed Deer so far. Pheasant also occur here — that data can be added as the community contributes.
About this unit
Sign in to contributeDPA 209 covers eastern Pennington, Red Lake, and Polk counties and central Clearwater County in northwestern Minnesota — a heavily agricultural permit area dominated by row crops, grasslands, and wetlands with only about 2% public land. It carries a three-deer limit designation with over-the-counter antlerless opportunity, a 47% firearm hunter success rate, and a 2024 total harvest of 1,380 deer. Public access is extremely limited at 13 square miles (5 sq mi WMA, 3 sq mi misc. state land, 5 sq mi county-managed), making landowner permission essential for most hunting.
Flat to gently rolling northwestern Minnesota agricultural landscape; 55% annual row crops, 25% grassland and wetlands, 16% woody cover (scattered woodlots and shelterbelts), 4% developed. Total area 640 sq mi. Classic Red River Valley transition zone — large open fields broken by wetland sloughs and brushy draws.
Extremely limited public access — only 13 sq mi (2%) is open to public hunting: 5 sq mi State WMA, 3 sq mi misc. state land, 5 sq mi county-managed land. No state forest, no USFWS lands, no national forest. The vast majority of the unit is private agricultural land; landowner permission is required for most hunting.
moderate
Primarily a deer unit. Pheasant hunting likely in the grassland/wetland and row-crop matrix characteristic of NW Minnesota. Ruffed grouse and turkey habitat is minimal given limited forest cover. Bear range does not extend this far northwest.
Three-deer limit (3D) designation with over-the-counter antlerless access — one of Minnesota's more generous deer limits. Strong 47% firearm hunter success rate. 2024 total harvest of 1,380 deer (firearms 1,163, archery 127, muzzleloader 90). Hunter density of 4 per sq mi. Population is managed above goal; mild recent winters have kept numbers high. CWD awareness zone — optional testing available. Feedban in effect for Polk County.
Questions, tips & discussion
Ask anything about Deer Permit Area 209— or drop a tip or trick: access points, where game holds, glassing spots, conditions, crowding, gear that worked. This is where the unit's species-specific intel gets built, hunter by hunter.
Nothing posted yet about Deer Permit Area 209.
Be the first — ask a question (“Best public access on the north end?”) or share a tip (“Glass the burn scars off the main ridge at first light”).
Boundaries: MN DNR official Deer Permit Areas. Community info last updated 114d ago.