GRAND RAPIDS — An emergency deer-feeding project this year cost about $200,000 to buy and distribute more than 500 tons of deer food, according to a deer hunters’ group.

The project was funded by a program that imposes a 50-cent surcharge per deer-hunting license. Officials initially expected to spend about $170,000.

There was extra urgency this year because of last year’s harsh conditions, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association said. The winter was so severe that it threatened the survival of many deer in northeastern Minnesota, said Mark Johnson, the group’s executive director.

The association lobbied for intervention, and the state Department of Natural Resources approved the expenditure, even though the agency has opposed deer feeding in the past.

The deer hunters’ group bought 1 million pounds of feed, which volunteers distributed to about 1,100 sites across 13 DNR-approved deer-permit areas.