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4 Attachment 2. Ramsey County Parks and Recreation Department 2015 Special Archery Deer Hunt Summary Ramsey County Parks and Recreation Department’s 16th annual special permit archery hunt, in conjunction with St. Paul, Maplewood, Little Canada, Vadnais Heights, Shoreview, and White Bear Township, was a safe and successful season. There were multiple 3 day hunts in October and November, within 10 Ramsey County sites. Ramsey County assisted with the hunt coordination on non-Ramsey County sites, including the Priory Neighborhood Preserve in Maplewood, Crosby Farms Regional Park and Highland Park in St. Paul, a portion of White Bear Townships Benson Airport property and land north of Little Pig’s Eye Lake owned by the MN DNR and City of St. Paul. A total of 96 deer were harvested (an increase of 8 deer harvested in 2014) and included: 43 adult doe, 10 fawn doe, 29 adult bucks, and 14 fawn bucks (see attached table). The anterless harvest rate was 69% in 2015, which is a 2% increase from 2014. The overall success rate for the special archery hunts was 57% in Ramsey County; state average for archery is 25%. The weather this year was variable and impacted the hunt season. The initial hunts were mild and then the weather turned extremely cold for the latter seasons. Overall, hunters had good weather during most hunt periods. Minnesota Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB) provided 166 archers, including hunt coordinators, at each site for the 2015 season on Ramsey County sites. No safety problems were reported during any of the hunts. Some park users continued to use the park trails during the hunts, even with “park closed” signage. This is an annual occurrence and archers have adapted to the potential of having park patrons in the hunt areas.