Title
ORDINANCE AMENDING DULUTH CITY CODE SECTION 6-77 REGARDING HUNTING DEER BY BOW AND ARROW.
Body
The city of Duluth does ordain:
Section 1. That Duluth City Code Section 6-77 be amended as follows.
Sec. 6-77. Hunting deer by bow and arrow.
(a) Findings and policy. The city council finds that the peace and safety of the community, and the health of the forest, are threatened by the overabundance of wild deer within the city. Therefore, the population of wild deer must be regulated and managed. The method for the regulation shall be an annual harvesting of wild deer by use of bow and arrow;
(b) State laws. The conduct of any authorized deer hunting within the city must be in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations of the state of Minnesota. This Section is supplemental to the laws of Minnesota, as they may be amended or changed from time to time;
(c) Enforcement officers. The conduct of any authorized deer hunting within the city shall be regulated by the chief administrative officer or his or her designee or his or her agents, and any state or federal agents with jurisdiction. The council has authority to, by contract approved by resolution, designate the chief administrative officer or his or her designee’s agent for the purpose of managing the hunt;
(d) Allowed hunting areas. Deer harvesting will be prohibited in all areas of the city except the following:
(1) Any area designated by the council, by resolution, as a designated hunting area (DHA) or an area determined by the hunt agent to be in special need of deer removal (hot spot) and approved by the chief administrative officer or his or her designee or council approved contract; . Hot spot areas shall be inspected by a hunt agent officer or its designee, who after deeming the hotspot safely huntable, shall notify both the city’s deer hunt manager and law enforcement agency’s liaison officer of the new area to be hunted;
(2) Any privately-owned property within a DHA that is not owned by the hunter, but that is owned or controlled by a party from whom the hunter has obtained written permission, dated and signed within 12 months of the time of the hunting, to hunt deer on the property;
(A) In a duly designated hunting area, hunting will not be allowed:
1. Within 250 400 feet of any occupied dwelling or active commercial structure, or structure accessory thereto, or within 200 feet of said buildings with written permission of the landowner to hunt as close as 200 feet from such a building. without the landowners permission. Hunters may hunt closer than 250 feet from an occupied dwelling or active commercial structure with a landowner permission (LOP) form signed by the landowner whose name appears on the title;
2. Any place posted “no hunting” in compliance with the laws of Minnesota;
(e) Authorized hunters. Any person hunting deer by bow and arrow within the city must meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Be qualified to hunt deer by bow and arrow under all the laws and regulations of the state of Minnesota and be licensed to do so by the state;
(2) Be certified to be qualified to harvest deer within the city by the chief administrative officer or his or her designee or the designated agent approved by council resolution. The council has authority to, by contract approved by resolution, designate the chief administrative officer or his or her designee’s agent for the purpose of managing the hunt, regulating the hunters, and collecting fees due to the city and giving such fees to the city. Application for a deer hunting qualification certificate shall be made to the chief administrative officer or his or her designee. The agent designated by the council may act for the chief administrative officer or his or her designee to collect the fee. The fee shall be set in accordance with Section 31-6(a) of this Code. The standards and requirements of the program shall be set by resolution of the council. The program shall include each hunter’s agreement to behavior and ethical standards, proficiency standards, and a waiver of rights for any liability of the city, its contract agent or landowners;
(f) Conduct of the hunt.
(1) Harvesting of deer shall only be done in compliance with this ordinance, state law, any resolution passed by the council setting standards for conduct of the hunt or contracting for the services of the city’s agent for that purpose, the city’s hunt agent’s rulebook for hunters, and any deer management plan for Duluth adopted by the city council;
(2) Carcasses and entrails must be removed from the site of the kill immediately and completely;
(3) Only hunting by bow and arrow is allowed, except for hunting by the disabled with crossbow, as permitted with archery hunting as it is allowed under Minnesota statutes section 97B.035 - Restrictions on Archery Equipment rules of the department of natural resources, provided that written proof of disability is provided to the city's hunt agent before hunting;
(4) No permanent stand is allowed on public property;
(5) No hunter may harvest more than one antlered deer. Party hunting, as defined by state law, is limited to antlerless deer only;
(6) No hunter may attempt to shoot or harvest a deer that is beyond the effective range of the hunter;
(7) Each hunter must repair or pay for any damage to the property of another that arises out of the hunting activities;
(g) Violations. A violation of this Section is punishable as set out in Section 1-7, as it may be amended or changed from time to time. In addition, any person convicted of or administratively found to have violated this Section, or any other law, or the rules of the hunt set by the council or the hunt agent’s rulebook, as a result of actions related to deer harvesting authorized by this Section, shall be disqualified, for a period determined to be appropriate by the hunt agent, but not greater than 40 years from the date of conviction, or violation, whichever is later, from being certified as qualified to harvest deer within the city. The city or the city’s hunt agent may, by due process, determine the commission of a violation and impose an appropriate period of disqualification, which decision can, within 15 days, be appealed, by written notice, to the city’s chief administrative officer;
(h) Each year, the chief administrative officer or his or her designee shall report to the city council about the conduct of the previous year’s harvest, including the number of participants, the number of deer taken, any problems encountered and any recommendations.
Section 2. That this ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its passage and publication.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: Duluth City Code Section 6-77 (Hunting of Deer by Bow and Arrow) sets the legal parameters for the special deer hunt that has been conducted within the City of Duluth in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources since 2005.
As permitted by Section 6-77, the City contracts with the Arrowhead Bowhunters Alliance to manage the hunt. The hunt is overseen by the Property, Parks, and Libraries Director, the Natural Resource Coordinator, and the Duluth Police Department,
This ordinance amends Section 6-77 with three specific changes:
1. Reduction of the minimum hunting spot setback from dwellings from 400 feet to 250 feet. No other Minnesota cities with urban bow hunts have setbacks greater than 300 feet. Most urban hunts in Minnesota have setbacks of 100-to-150 feet or none at all. There is no setback restriction for bow hunting in state law. The 250-foot setback will enable better control of concentrated deer populations without sacrifice to public safety.
2. Replacement of a Duluth-specific accommodation permitting hunters with disabilities to use a crossbow with a State of Minnesota accommodation to the same effect.
3. A change in procedure for creation of new “hot spots” from approval by the City of Duluth Chief Administrative Officer to notification of the Natural Resource Coordinator and the Duluth Police Department bow hunt enforcement officer. Hotspots are small temporary hunting areas located outside of regular Duluth hunting areas where landowners provide permission to hunt, typically in response to localized concentrations of deer. Hunting in hot spots is subject to more restrictive regulations than those that apply in regular Duluth hunting areas.