Tuesday, November 24, 2009

DNR Recommends 16 Day Gun Deer Hunt

Thoughts?

MADISON - After eleven public hearings across the state and 6,500 written comments, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is recommending expanding the gun deer hunt from nine to sixteen days beginning in 2010.  The hunt would begin the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

The 16-day season is intended to replace the unpopular “earn-a-buck” program.

(4) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1725 hrs
Off-Duty

  1. I see no one else rose to this bait. I haven’t hunted for deer in more than 30 years but I would be willing to when one license lasts 16 days.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 25, 2009 at 0958 hrs


  2. I hope my husband sees this post, Owen. He helped get rid of the “earn-a-buck” program and has a lot of insight into the DNR’s latest proposal.

    He is very worried that the DNR is going to make the deer herd here so scare that no one will never want to hunt here, regardless of how long the season is.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 25, 2009 at 1041 hrs


  3. 16 days of deer camp ? The divorce will reach an all time high.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 25, 2009 at 1045 hrs


  4. This is better than I expected.  The original DNR proposal was to add the extra week on the front end, which would have destroyed the herd by dropping 650,000 guys into the woods during the peak of the rut.  Many does would not have been breed and many who did get breed would have been breed late and dropped their fawns late drastically increasing the starvation rate.  (this is what happened in Michigan when they first added their second week).  So adding a week at the end of season is much better than expected. 

    But the fundamental problem remains.  The DNR’s goal for herd size is so low that hunting in Wisconsin will be lousy for decades if it is not changed.  The goal numbers set by DNR works out to 1 deer for every 40 acres of wooded land.  That is not good for hunters.  We may have killed earn-a-buck (and that is a good thing) but the DNR is committed to decimating the herd so they’ll extend the season, add additional antlerless only hunts.  Their big concern is that they think that our kids won’t hunt and are trying to get ahead of the game.  I can tell you that my son won’t hunt if the herd is decimated.  I have had him with me in the woods for three years and all he has ever seen is the ass-end of one live deer. 

    Hunters need to make this an issue, the numbers don’t lie.  The DNR is not worried about maintaining good hunting despite the fact that we have a constitutional right to hunt in Wisconsin and the fact that the DNR’s own regulations require them to enact policies that are designed to ensure good hunting conditions. 

    So what can we do?  – stop shooting does (regardless of how long the season is) and don’t participate in these antlerless only hunts until the herd recovers.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on November 25, 2009 at 1125 hrs


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