Posted on 06/29/2009 4:54:00 PM PDT by SJackson
Depending on where in Wisconsin someone plans to hunt deer later this year, the season structure could be the exactly the same or quite different.
Gone - except in the chronic wasting disease management zone - is the earn-a-buck season, which was first applied in 1996. To many hunters, particularly archers, that's a big change.
Within the CWD zone, however, it will be business as usual, including a gun season holiday hunt from Dec. 24 through Jan. 3. The special season first appeared last winter. Whether landowners can return to hunt during a special three-month season after the holiday hunt is yet to be decided.
The CWD zone and the herd-control units will have a four-day antlerless season Oct. 15-18. There also will be a statewide antlerless season Dec. 10-13.
Earn-a-buck requirements will apply during the archery and gun seasons in the CWD zone. Hunters are already qualified if they registered an antlerless deer last year and still have a buck sticker.
"We have the capability to pre-qualify hunters, should EAB return in the future to other parts of the state," said Keith Warnke, Department of Natural Resources deer ecologist. "Just the normal process of registering a deer will provide the information that the department needs to issue buck stickers for killing a doe."
Within the CWD management zone, hunters will continue to receive a buck sticker when they register an antlerless deer.
CWD testing will continue this fall on a reduced scale.
"We're looking at testing about 9,000 deer, mostly from the core CWD area," said Don Bates, CWD coordinator in Dodgeville. "There is some indication that we should be concerned about CWD moving more to the north and west, so we'll try to get about 4,000 samples from those areas and a few other spots, but this will be far fewer samples than the 27,000 we've taken during some past years."
The possibility of an extended hunting season for landowners in the CWD zone will be discussed when the CWD Management Plan is considered in August at the Natural Resources Board meeting in Hayward.
"Most of the CWD units are still 60 to 80 percent over goal," Bates said. "Some units in the (zone) are close to goal, but there are other areas that have 80 to 120 deer per square mile."
In 2008, Wisconsin's 642,419 gun deer hunters killed 352,601 deer, while 259,921 archers registered 99,284 deer.
Warnke said Wisconsin still offers hunters great opportunities.
"Hunters should keep in mind that deer populations are somewhat regional," Warnke said. "In northeastern Wisconsin, populations are somewhat below goal, and we're trying to increase the numbers by limiting the antlerless take. In northwest Wisconsin, numbers are close to goal, while the deer populations in the farmland units are still substantially over goal."
Despite no earn-a-buck rules beyond the CWD zone, Warnke sees several reasons for hunters to look forward to this year's seasons, even the October and December antlerless seasons.
"The incentives to hunt, including the October seasons, are enjoyment, warmer weather, filling a freezer - that's what I'm going to do," he said. "I'm also looking forward to taking my 10-year-old daughter hunting, provided the mentoring bill is passed by that time."
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I don’t understand why they want hunters to start killing does. Just lower the prices and lengthen the hunting season and keep killing off bucks. Make deer season two months long if necessary. Someday the population could drop unexpectedly and the surplus of does will be helpful for recovery.
WI has the big CWD problem due to years of uncontrolled hunting over massive bait piles. The animals would congregate over truckloads of corn, apples and anything else the hunters would supply, in order to guarantee a hefty harvest of venison.
Hundreds of animals would stand and feed and urinate and defecate in the same controlled areas.....spreading all kinds of nasty stuff....
First, baiting is still legal in well over half the state. Probably 3/4 geographically.
Hundreds of deer, over bait piles, you must be kidding. You were probably looking at an agricultural site.
Unine and defication, sounds gross, but the speculation is that it's passed by nose contact, perhaps dripped mucus, but it's only speculation. From imported deer I'll note.
It was a great panic 6 or 7 years ago, which the DNR lightened up on when it saw what it did to license sales. But not that big a deal, and I seriously doubt baiting played any role. Else it wouldn't be legal.
Cause the does make fawns. Want to decrease the population, that’s how you do it. Of course the cold, snowy global warming caused winters the last few years, combined with the endangered wolf population, seem to have done a good job culling the deer population. Still plenty left to bounce off cars.
It is generally held a one-to-one buck/doe ratio makes for the healthiest herd and best balance of overall population.
Practically impossible to produce in unenclosed areas, the next best thing is just to thin the herd by doe cull as often as possible.
In most areas of the country deer herds are huge and growing.
Without some aggressive management those populations can crash more quickly than they grew and nobody will be happy then.
Best regards,
I used to hunt with folks in WI. They would guarantee hunts. They would put up massive ladder/pedastal stands and then begin bringing in truck loads of corn and pile it up a couple of feet high and 50 feet in diameter.....
The deer would congregate on these food piles for weeks before the season began. Hundreds. You can’t mill around in large numbers like that and not have an infected herd.
MN hasn’t allowed that sort of behaviour for many years, and we don’t have that problem.
I’ve seen it in WI. It did happen.
I don’t doubt you, and I don’t remember the regulations when baiting was legal in the southern zones, but my recollection is that it wasn’t much different that what it is today in the north, a few gallons at a site, or mechanical feeders which are banned now. Truckloads of corn, I suspect that was an abberation. Hopefully someone with a better memory will come along, I may have some old regulations saved which I can check tomorrow.
Hang out in Tom’s Bar in Siren and get the feel for how deer hunting is done.....
Never been there, but from your description is done outside the regulations.
My husband and his buddies have enough ammo for years. They also reload, have brass, lead, primers and powder.............lots.
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