Deer hunting and herd management

Generally, no. The default on all our hunts is standard traditional archery tackle only. The University of Minnesota classifies crossbows in the same 'dangerous weapons' category as firearms, though we have gotten permission to allow them on our lottery hunts following the pre-2023 state laws. Hunts that are on private land are allowed to have stricter policies than public lands, so this policy will likely continue even if the state law change is made permanent (currently set to sunset in June 2025). This means that on Cedar Creek's lottery hunts, we allow folks over 60 or who have documentation of a medical exemption to hunt with crossbows. If you are selected for a lottery hunt and fall into one of these two categories, please reach out to Cedar Creek's associate director to confirm your crossbow eligibility. We do not hold any firearms hunts, and firearms are only allowed on University property under very specific circumstances. 

Yes - in order to be considered for a place in our lottery hunts, we are required by the University have an completed application on file and the application fee paid. We use the information provided in the applications to ensure that all hunters invited to participate meet minimum requirements for licensing, training, and archery experience, whether or not they volunteer. We also use the information provided in the applications to conduct reference and background checks to make sure that those with a history of DNR violations, trespassing, or other relevant issues are not part of our hunts. The mandatory application fee helps cover a portion of the costs to manage and run the lottery and the hunts.

Up to 30% of slots on our lottery hunts are reserved for applicants who volunteer on one or more project in Cedar Creek’s other long-term land management portfolio (work days, BOW/NASP hunt mentorship, etc). When there are more eligible volunteers than assignable slots, a 'mini lottery' will be held of the volunteers with anyone not selected returned to the main application pool for consideration. Volunteers also have priority for slots if hunters selected in the main lottery tag out or are otherwise unable to participate close to the hunt dates.

The online registration portal essentially works by having users create University of Minnesota "guest account". If you are using the system for the first time, you will be prompted to create an account and everything should work smoothly. If it does not, please email [email protected] or call 844-228-0558 for assistance.

If you have applied in the past and are having issues, it's likely because (very annoyingly) your guest account becomes inactive after a year and needs to be re-activated by the U's Tech Support department - not something we at Cedar Creek have the access or training to do. This will likely look like an error that says your password has expired, with a link to reset the password that does not work. If you are a returning user and have issues with your login, please call 612-301-4357. When you call, let the tech support person know you need to reactivate your guest account (you'll need to provide your email address) so that you can log into the Lifelong Learning system for non-credit bearing courses. Accounts can only be reactivated in person or by phone, not by email, so please call them if you have issues!

Due to the challenges of managing paperwork, application information, and the large volume of people applying for the lottery, we ask that you do everything you can to submit your initial application through the online system. If you are selected and have difficulty uploading your waiver or submitting your final hunting fee online, we can strategize about alternatives. However, for the initial application we really do need everything to go through the online system!

Yes! With a few caveats. If you are under 18 at the time of the hunt, you must be accompanied in the field by a qualified adult supervisor. Your adult supervisor must be over 21 and possess a valid license or have completed a MN DNR education/safety course. The adult must remain in very close proximity (<50 feet) of the youth at all times and is not allowed to hunt. Because of this, we encourage you to list someone in the relevant section of the application who is NOT separately applying for the lottery! Youth and their supervisor do not need to apply as a group and are not considered as a group as only the youth will be hunting. The role of the adult supervisor is to provide guidance and support, to serve as a backup in case of a poor shot taken by the youth, and to assist with tracking, processing, etc should a deer be harvested.

We do also host a National Archery in the Schools Program mentored deer hunt in most years. Generally, we partner with a specific school's program and the majority of spots on the mentored hunt are reserved for that school. Depending on capacity, we do occasionally open additional spots for unaffiliated youth. If you would like your school's program to be considered as a partner, or if you are interested in the potential of an individual slot please reach out to Mark Saxhaug ([email protected]) by email.

After success with a 2024 trial, we are continuing an option for groups of 2 or 3 applicants to enter the lottery together and if selected, be placed in a zone together. Each individual must apply separately and pay their own fees, but should list their group members' names in the relevant section of the application. The pair or trio will be entered into the lottery as a single unit for selection purposes. If selected, the group will be assigned together into a zone. Due to the limited number of hunting zones on the property, a maximum of 10 groups will be selected per hunt weekend. After 10 groups have been selected, each applicant will be treated as an individual in the lottery, regardless of whether or not they applied as a group.

The names of group members must match across all applications, and all applications must be completed and submitted by the deadline. Each person can only apply as a member of one group. If an individual's name appears in multiple groups or if expected applications are missing from a group by the deadline, we reserve the right to disband the affected groups and treat the applicants in them as individuals. To avoid this happening please make sure you are part of only one group and that all of your group members have submitted their applications.

We do consider groups when assigning volunteer slots. However, groups are only eligible for the assignable volunteer slots if all group members are eligible volunteers; if not, eligible volunteers will be treated as individuals and the rest of their group will be entered in the main lottery. In other words, having a single eligible volunteer does not make a whole group eligible. 

On the application form, we ask potential participants to indicate if they have a preference for a hunting zone near to the county roads (easier access) or one that is more interior to the reserve (less traffic or disturbance). We do our best to follow what is indicated, but will reach out to you if you were selected and we cannot accommodate your location preference. It is not always possible to meet everyone's hopes - assigning zones, especially with the addition of group applications, is like a giant game of Tetris :)

If you have been selected in the past, we will try our best to assign you to the same zone you were in previously so that you can capitalize on your prior knowledge for stand-setting. If you do NOT want to be in the same zone you were in previously, please respond to your selection email and let us know. 

We are working hard to add volunteer opportunities throughout the year! You can read about current planned events and opportunities at the volunteer page of our website. We do our best to offer a mix of weekday and weekend opportunities.

Please keep in mind that we do not have a staff member whose job is volunteer coordination, and the capacity of our team to plan and supervise volunteer events is limited by their other job responsibilities. The field station is very busy from May through September, so the majority of our volunteer events take place in the spring. We have also found that volunteer attrition (folks signing up for events and then failing to show up for them) is high in the summer when heat, mosquitos, and family responsibilities all seem to peak. We send an email around to all past lottery applicants alerting them to these spring opportunities, and they tend to fill up very quickly! We are working to expand our capacity in this area in a responsible and sustainable manner. While we work on that, please be patient. We are not able to create projects for individual people, work around the scheduling constraints of volunteers, or respond quickly to all the emails we receive about volunteering. We are also limited in the type of projects we can assign volunteers to work on - we need to follow University rules in regards to oversight, liability, ethics, and overlap with paid staff responsibilities (especially those held by union-represented staff). We doing the best we can, and we appreciate your understanding!

The Reserve is quite a large area - nearly 5600 acres - surrounded on all sides by country roads and private property. Our perimeter is 16.5 miles, plus additionally includes 3.5 miles of public roads like Fawn Lake Drive that have Reserve land on both sides. Although we discourage folks from parking along our fenceline except in very specific circumstances, the reality is that we can not forbid it and people do park there. Some vehicles parked on our perimeter belong to researchers accessing their experimental areas - these people should have parking permits displayed on their dash and carry access permits on their person. Vehicles belonging to members of the public will not have permits, and if they are crossing the Reserve fenceline onto University property without written permission they are trespassing and will be escorted off the property (and in some cases referred to law enforcement) if they are caught. We do have recurring issues with trespassers and poachers, although they have decreased substantially in the last few years as legitimate opportunities to be on the property have increased.

With the exception of three designated full-time staff members who are allowed to hunt outside of the BOW, NASP and Lottery hunt weekends, no hunting is permitted outside of the designated hunting opportunities. Specific dates are set aside for scouting and setting stands, and for retrieving stands after the hunts. Hunting access is explicitly restricted to these pre-scheduled, pre-communicated dates. This is a policy change from times in the past when less-restricted hunting has been allowed for volunteers, short-term staff members, University employees, or members of the public.

If you see a vehicle without a permit parked in an unusual place outside of the hunting weekends and are concerned that someone may be trespassing or hunting illegally, you are welcome to call our Buildings and Grounds team at 612-301-2607 so we can investigate.