Female Hunters Increase in Minnesota as Overall Numbers Drop

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the number of female hunters is on the rise despite an overall decrease in hunting interest.

That nearly 70,000 of Minnesota's 550,000 hunters are women, compared to 55,000 female hunters in 2010.

Linda Bylander runs the department's Becoming An Outdoors Woman program. The program is one of the department's training and research efforts that aim to
increase women's interest in hunting.

Bylander says women are becoming more interested in using wild game as part of the local food movement. She says women are also having an easier time getting into hunting as more hunting gear and clothing is being designed for them.

The department says the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area has seen the
greatest decrease in overall hunter participation.