1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to game and fish; providing for a quality 
  1.3             deer management pilot zone in Kittson, Lake of the 
  1.4             Woods, Marshall, Pennington, and Roseau Counties; 
  1.5             requiring a report; imposing a penalty. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [QUALITY DEER MANAGEMENT PILOT ZONE.] 
  1.8      (a) The commissioner of natural resources shall establish a 
  1.9   quality deer management pilot zone, under Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.10  section 97B.311, beginning with the 2004 firearms deer season 
  1.11  consisting of Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, 
  1.12  and Roseau Counties.  A person may not take an antlered deer by 
  1.13  firearms in the quality deer management pilot zone with antlers 
  1.14  that: 
  1.15     (1) are less than the width of the ears when the ears are 
  1.16  fully extended; and 
  1.17     (2) have fewer than four points on one side. 
  1.18     (b) The commissioner shall establish an early season 
  1.19  two-day, special firearms deer season, under Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.20  section 97B.112, for youth residents to take an antlerless deer 
  1.21  in the quality deer management pilot zone.  The two-day special 
  1.22  season shall be established on the third weekend in October. 
  1.23     (c) Before January 1, 2005, a violation related to antler 
  1.24  size in the quality deer management zone is not a crime and 
  1.25  shall not result in a penalty, but is punishable only by a 
  2.1   warning.  Beginning January 1, 2005, and thereafter, a violation 
  2.2   related to antler size in the quality deer management pilot zone 
  2.3   is not a crime but is subject to a petty misdemeanor penalty and 
  2.4   a fine of up to $50. 
  2.5      (d) The commissioner shall annually report to the senate 
  2.6   and house of representatives committees with jurisdiction over 
  2.7   natural resource policy on the quality deer management pilot 
  2.8   zone.  The report must include information on the number of 
  2.9   antlered deer taken in the quality deer management pilot zone 
  2.10  and estimates of the antlered deer population in the zone, 
  2.11  including the quality of the population. 
  2.12     (e) This section expires on December 31, 2008.