Minnesota

Last updated April 2023

General information and contacts

Is a state permit required for banding?

Yes.

Permit application forms

  • Application Form – there is no official permit application form at this time. Applicants should send a letter on institutional letterhead (to the appropriate contact listed here). The letter of request should state exactly what activity is desired (capture/release, mark, sample collection), the methods, the location, the time frame, the species targeted, and the number of each species that will be sampled. There is no application fee.
  • Renewal – as above
  • Salvage – as above. Be sure to state in your letter requesting a permit that you would like to have authority to salvage.
  • Threatened and Endangered Species

State lands

Instructions and application form for research in state parks.

Instructions and application form for research in Scientific and Natural Areas.

Prior notice

Check permit conditions. Even if not expressly required to do so, you should always contact the manager of that particular state land unit or with the owner of private land before your arrival. You want to be aware of the hunting seasons, and, of course want to be sure that your activities will not interfere with the activities of that park, wildlife management area, or other state land unit, and that your activities will not adversely affect public use of the land or with the activities of private landowners.

Policies

6212.1500 SCIENTIFIC, EXHIBITION, PROPAGATION, AND EDUCATIONAL PERMITS.

Permits may be issued for scientific, education, propagation, and exhibition purposes only to individuals or institutions currently conducting programs of research or education in the fields of biology or natural history.

Endangered Species

Minnesota Administrative Code

6212.1800 GENERAL RESTRICTIONS FOR PERMITS TO POSSESS THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES.

List of threatened and endangered species:

Endangered

Baird’s Sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii)
Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii)
Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii)
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus)
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
King Rail (Rallus elegans)

Threatened

Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

Special Concern

Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus)
Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni)
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis)
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)
Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)
Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla)
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
Purple Martin (Progne subis)
Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea)
Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina)
Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) .
Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii)