Bow hunting might be permitted in the Lake Ripley Game Refuge by the start of the next deer hunting season.

LeRoy Dahlke, area wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told the Meeker County Board Tuesday that the state is considering the change.

Dave Gabrielson, a county commissioner who lives in the Lake Ripley area, said there would be strong opposition to the opening from area residents.

“There are a lot of people out there who like to see the deer around,” he said.

Dahlke said a number of informational meetings would be conducted before official action is taken.

Several other agenda items related to the DNR also were covered at the meeting:

* Dahlke reported that a small tract of land partly on the Litchfield Golf Course has been withdrawn from the game refuge.

It involves an area bounded on the west by Lakeview Drive and on the south by Pleasure Drive.

* He also told the commissioners that the DNR would be accepting title from Pheasants Forever for two tracts in the county, one a 121-acre tract in Manannah township and another a 62-acre tract in Danielson Township.

The Manannah acquisition is adjacent to the Manannah Wildlife Management Area while the Danielson property is adjacent to the Rodenwald Wildlife Management Area.

* The County Board approved transferring a wetland area in Greenleaf Township, which had been acquired by the county through tax forfeiture, to the DNR.

By Stan Roeser, contributing writer