Section 97A.435 Turkey Licenses; Application and Eligibility
97A.435 TURKEY LICENSES; APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY.
Subdivision 1.Number of licenses to be issued.
The commissioner shall include in a rule setting the dates for a turkey season the number of licenses to be issued.
Subd. 2.Eligibility.
Persons eligible for a turkey license shall be determined by this section and commissioner's rule. A person is eligible for a turkey license only if the person is at least age 16 before the season opens, possesses a firearms safety certificate, or, if under age 12, is accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Subd. 3.Application for license.
An application for a turkey license must be on a form provided by the commissioner and accompanied by a $3 application fee. A person may not make more than one application for each season. If a person makes more than one application the person is ineligible for a license for that season after determination by the commissioner, without a hearing.
Subd. 4.Separate selection of eligible licensees.
(a) The commissioner may conduct a separate selection for up to 20 percent of the turkey licenses to be issued for any area. Only persons who are owners or tenants of and who live on at least 40 acres of land in the area, and their family members, are eligible applicants for turkey licenses for the separate selection. The qualifying land may be noncontiguous. Persons who are unsuccessful in a separate selection must be included in the selection for the remaining licenses. Persons who obtain a license in a separate selection must allow public turkey hunting on their land during that turkey season. A license issued under this subdivision is restricted to the permit area where the qualifying land is located.
(b) The commissioner may by rule establish criteria for determining eligible family members under this subdivision.
Subd. 5.Spring season.
(a) A person who has not applied for a turkey license through the lottery or applied for a license and was unsuccessful in the lottery, may purchase a turkey hunting license to hunt by archery for the spring turkey season during a combined seventh and eighth time period. A turkey hunting license under this subdivision is separate from the normal lottery process and is effective for hunting only in a wild turkey permit area in the state where 50 or more licenses are issued during an established time period.
(b) Turkey lottery preference points shall not be reduced for a person purchasing a license under this subdivision.
(c) A person may take only one bearded turkey in a spring turkey season regardless of whether the hunter purchased a license through the lottery system or as provided in this subdivision.
History:
1986 c 386 art 1 s 60; 1988 c 588 s 4; 1991 c 254 art 2 s 29; 1991 c 259 s 23; 1993 c 231 s 24; 2000 c 473 s 2; 2000 c 495 s 33; 2004 c 215 s 10,11; 2005 c 146 s 12,13