Wisconsin Whitetail News

New firearm rules take effect on opening day of gun deer hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:11:51 PST

MADISON -- New legislation signed Friday by Gov. Scott Walker modifies state law concerning the manner in which long-barreled firearms, bows and crossbows can be transported in motor vehicles or placed in or on stationary vehicles.

The new law will be published in time to take effect Nov. 19, opening day of the traditional, nine-day, 2011 gun deer season.

In its essence, the new law can be boiled down to a single statement, said Tim Lawhern, DNR division of enforcement and science administrator.

“Unless otherwise prohibited, you can carry a long gun, uncased and unloaded, in or on a motor vehicle in Wisconsin at any time,” Lawhern said. The DNR has prepared a frequently asked questions on Wis. Act 51 page that available on the law enforcement pages of the DNR website.

While the law has changed, Lawhern said, there will still be many people who will continue to use a carrying case to transport unloaded firearms in motor vehicles, as hunters have been and will continue to be advised in hunter education courses.

“It’s a great way to protect your investment in your firearms,” Lawhern said.

As is always the case with a new law, Lawhern said, the first year is an educational opportunity.

DNR chief warden Randy Stark has already provided the state’s warden force with detailed instructions on the new law and its enforcement. Wardens will use a mix of enforcement, communication and education to help hunters understand and comply with the new law, Lawhern said.

“We are always ready to help people in the field, to answer their questions and to provide advice,” Lawhern said.

Here are a few things hunters might need to know about the new law:

A caveat to the uncased long gun rule – the new legislation does not change Wisconsin law regulating the practice of shining (illuminating) wild animals at night with artificial light. It will still be illegal to possess a firearm of any kind, loaded or unloaded, while shining wild animals.
The new law allows individuals to hunt from a stationary non-motorized vehicle, such as a hay wagon, so long as it is not attached to a motor vehicle. Previously, hunting from any vehicle was prohibited, without the distinction of whether the vehicle was motorized or stationary. This change previously had been sought by warden administrators. “People used to have to take one or more wheels off the hay wagon to comply with the letter of the law,” Lawhern said.
It will be legal to possess and transport uncased bows and crossbows in a vehicle. However, bows may not have an arrow nocked. A crossbow may not be cocked unless it is unloaded (meaning the bolt or arrow is removed) and cased.
When in or on a vehicle which is stationary, long guns can be both uncased and loaded. A stationary vehicle can have the motor running. “Stationary” means not moving, regardless of whether the motor is running. This allows a hunter, at a stationary vehicle, to place a loaded gun on a clean, dry surface.

Wisconsin hunters, as a group, are among the best trained and safest hunters in the world, said Lawhern. This is thanks in large part to the legions of volunteer hunter safety instructors who donate their time each year to educate new hunters.

“Our hunters have established an enviable safety record,” Lawhern said. “We fully expect the vast majority of hunters in Wisconsin will continue to use common sense and safe practices when handling firearms. For most of us, these practices have become second nature.”

Here are the four basic rules of gun safety, as taught in hunter education:

Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.
Be certain of your target and what’s beyond.
Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Lawhern, DNR enforcement and science division administrator, (608) 264-6133

Source: Wisconsin DNR(http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=300#art2)

Video from Wisconsin Whitetail Follower

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:34:33 PDT

Keep the early season videos coming guys and gals. Bowhunting season starts tomorrow morning. Good luck to everyone! Send us your stories.

2011 Wisconsin Whitetail Deer Hunting Season Dates

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:51:33 PDT

2011 Seasons
Bow	September 17 - November 17, 2011
Bow	November 28 - January 8, 2012
Gun	November 19 - November 27, 2011
Muzzleloader	November 28 - December 7, 2011
Youth Deer Hunt	October 8 - October 9, 2011
Statewide Antlerless Hunt	December 8 - December 11, 2011
October Antlerless Hunt (CWD Units)	October 13 - October 16, 2011
Landowner Hunt (CWD Units)	January 9 - March 31, 2012
Holiday Hunt (CWD Units)	December 24 - January 8, 2012

2011 Fall hunting forecast available

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:48:23 PDT

MADISON -– The 2011 Fall Hunting and Trapping Forecast (PDF, 6.5 MB, 48 pages) is now available. Hunters, trappers and wildlife enthusiasts will find information on upcoming season structures, deer research and wildlife populations, district hunting outlooks and much more.

Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone hunters will find the latest information on CWD management and seasons and a new website www.knowcwd.com (exit DNR). The website has been created to keep hunters and landowners up to date with the latest information available on CWD science, management and impacts. The new website includes a message on CWD from racecar driver and deer hunter, Matt Kenseth.

Hunters will also be seeing a new fall seasons theme in 2011 on television, billboards, in hunting publications and on the knowcwd.com website, called “Hunt. Harvest. Help.”

There is also a good luck message to hunters and trappers from DNR Executive Assistant, Scott Gunderson, known to many simply as “Gundy.”
“As we enter this special time of year, I want to wish everyone who enjoys Wisconsin’s great natural resources, including our wildlife, the best of seasons, the best of luck and a reminder to be safe in all that you do.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Manwell - (608) 264-9248
Source: Wisconsin DNR http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=290#art3

2011 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Season Nearing

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 06:29:17 PDT

When the calender strikes August and weather hints with 50 - 60 degree nights, hunters in Wisconsin begin to get that feeling that hunting is right around the corner. While many hunters in Wisconsin spend the summer scouting and mapping deer patterns, getting to this point in the year only creates that greater sense of excitement.

So what do hunters do from now until September 17th, 2011 when bow hunting season in Wisconsin officially opens. Here's a handy list of items to prepare as the next month will fly by.

1. Scout - If you have been doing so all summer, now's the time to set up cameras, watch fields, and get important information on getting to number two on this list.

2. Set up stands - If you properly scouted and have a good sense of where deer will be moving early season, its time to get into the woods and get those deer hunting stands set up. Getting out early and getting the stands up well before season starts will help get deer used to a foreign object that may be in their path.

3. Get out the camo - I have heart horror stories of hunters getting their camo out the day before, hanging it outside and hunting opening morning. They never seem to understand why they never see deer. Get out your camo, wash it with scent free detergent and grab some foliage in the woods and bag it up for a day or two. The smell of leaves, dirt and grass will penetrate the fibers in the clothing giving your camo a fresh start to the season. Do this two or three times before season and your camo will not only blend in, it will blend with the smells as well. You may want to put your camo on as well....who hasn't gained a few pounds and out-sized a few pieces of clothing before.

4. SHOOT YOUR BOW! - This seems to be an all or nothing for hunters. Many hunters shoot all Winter, Spring and Summer while many dont shoot at all until their sitting in their stand opening morning. Shoot your bow! Make sure your release is tuned and get that bow into mid season shape. Missing early season monster bucks is often due to missed shots or a bow that hasn't been tuned.

5. Pack your bag - Pack your hunting bag and make sure that any items you may have consumed the previous season are replenished and make sure calls, scents and accessories are accounted for. This gives you time to shop around for all the new gadgets and hunting supplies that are created year after year with the best hunting technology.

6. Get your license - Getting your license early gives our DNR the money and statistics they need to help fund projects like the CWD project, herd control(I know) and many other projects that we need our DNR to help manage so that we can continue this great tradition.

7. Bring your kids - If you have young children, don't be afraid to let them tag along. Teaching the fundamentals without the pressures of in-season hunting allows you to be relaxed and gives you more time to teach and pass on this great tradition.

Good luck this season and stay tuned to Wisconsin Whitetail News for more information and tips as the greatest season on earth is getting closer to opening day!

Disabled deer hunt sign up open through Sept. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:59:42 PDT

MADISON – Hunters with disabilities can sign up for the 2011 disabled gun deer hunt by contacting sponsoring landowners directly to make arrangements. Hunters are encouraged to contact sponsors as soon as possible so sponsors can meet the Sept. 1 deadline to submit a list of participating hunters to DNR.
The list of sponsoring landowners for the 2011 hunt (pdf) is available on the Department of Natural Resources website.

The disabled gun deer hunt for hunters began in 1990 to give opportunities to hunt deer when temperatures are milder and mobility is less of a problem. The hunts are sponsored by private individuals or organizations and almost entirely take place on privately owned lands.

Hunters must possess a valid Class A Permit, a Class B Permit for People with Disabilities issued for more than one year and that authorizes shooting from a vehicle, or a Class C Disabled Hunting Permit to be eligible to participate in the Disabled Deer Hunt.

The annual disabled deer hunt will take place from Oct. 1-9 this year. More information is available on the Disable Deer Hunting page of the DNR website.
Source: Wisconsin DNR (http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1839)

Sponsor sign-up period open for Disabled Deer Hunts

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:23:00 PDT

MADISON – Landowners interested in sponsoring a deer hunt for disabled hunters are reminded of the June 1 deadline for applications. In 2011, the disabled hunt will take place October 1-9.

Sponsor applications are available on Disabled Deer Hunting page of the Department of Natural Resources website and must be submitted to your local wildlife manager by June 1. A list of approved sponsors will be posted on the DNR website by July 1. Disabled hunters interested in participating in one of these hunts should contact sponsors directly to make arrangements. Sponsors are required to submit a list of participating hunters to DNR by September 1.

Hunters must possess a valid Class A Permit, a Class B Permit for People with Disabilities issued for more than one year and that authorizes shooting from a vehicle, or a Class C Disabled Hunting Permit to be eligible to participate in the Disabled Deer Hunt.

The DNR’s gun deer hunt for hunters with disabilities was started in 1990 to give disabled hunters an opportunity to hunt deer at a time of year when temperatures are generally milder and mobility is less of a problem. The hunts are sponsored by private individuals or organizations and almost entirely take place on privately owned lands.

Interest in the program continues to grow. In 2010, there were over 100 participating sponsors enrolled and over 62,000 acres available for the hunt.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Olver - (608) 261-7588
Source: Wisconsin DNR (http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1791)

DNR rejects claim it is opposed to “Deer Regulation Bill”

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:24:55 PDT

MADISON – Earlier today a press release was issued by a state conservation organization, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, stating that the Department of Natural Resources joined numerous other state conservation organizations in opposing Senate Bill 99 and Assembly Bill 75, commonly referred to as the “deer regulation bills.” In fact, that is not the case.

The Senate committee asked DNR to testify for information only,” said DNR Deputy Secretary, Matt Moroney. “The department does not take positions either for or against bills working their way through the legislative process.”

In testimony given on May 5 to the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Committee, DNR Division of Lands Administrator, Kurt Thiede, said that the department has suspended use of earn-a-buck and October antlerless hunts outside of chronic wasting disease management areas for 2011. He noted, however, that the time may come when the department would like to have those options available again.

“We understand that laws could be written to bring these options back if they are absolutely needed,” said Thiede. “After all, that is how earn-a-buck came to be. However, a key to managing wildlife populations is the ability to assess current needs, make recommendations, and quickly have them in place through action of the Natural Resources Board and the legislative review process. We are concerned that if these herd control strategies are taken away and we need them back we will have to wait for a bill and we don’t foresee this being a popular bill to sponsor or pass in the future.”

“We respect the fact that the Wildlife Federation speaks for numerous conservation organizations, but the DNR is not among them,” said Moroney. “It is a mischaracterization to say we have joined these groups in opposing SB75 and AB 99. DNR’s role is to implement measures the legislature passes.”

News Release Published: May 10, 2011 by the Central Office
Contact(s): Kurt Thiede (608) 266-5833
Source: Wisconsin DNR (http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=2090)

Locating new fawns is next step in deer research project; volunteers needed

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:28:09 PDT

MADISON – Dozens of volunteers assisted state wildlife researchers in capturing and placing radio-collars on 204 deer in February and March. Now the call is going out again for volunteers to help locate fawns born to does that were fitted with implant radio transmitters designed to signal when fawns have been born in late May and early June.

“With the whitetail birthing season coming up fast, volunteers are again needed to sweep the woods looking for the newborns,” said Chris Jacques, Department of Natural Resources research scientist. “When located, fawns will be fitted with expandable radio collars so we can follow them through their first year of life to determine causes of death whether it be due to nutrition, environment, vehicle, hunters or predators. This is real hands-on field research.”

Some hunters have questioned assumptions about fawn recruitment used by wildlife biologists for estimating deer populations. Recruitment is the net addition of new individuals (fawns) to a population each year and is an important input in estimating deer population numbers. At the end of this three-year effort to monitor fawns, researchers hope to fine tune their inputs based on real-world data collected in this research effort.

Volunteers will be assigned to search teams working in the vicinity of Shiocton in Shawano County and Winter in Sawyer County. When transmitters have been expelled (presumably when a fawn has been born), a search team will form a line and comb the woods, somewhat similar to a deer drive, in search of bedded fawns. Newborns will be quickly fitted with a radio collar of their own and left for the doe to raise normally.
If the fawn dies, the collar will emit a unique signal that researchers will again use to locate the animal to determine cause of death. The collars are designed to expand as the deer grows and eventually drop off as the animal approaches its first birthday.

“Determining causes of death in fawns is vital to the accuracy of our deer population estimates,” said Jacques. “Of special interest is the impact of predators on fawn deaths. We have a suite of predators in Wisconsin that we suspect impact yearly fawn production, including black bear, bobcat, coyote and gray wolves. What we are less certain of are the relative roles that each of those predators plays on fawn recruitment over the course of an entire year.”

He stresses this work is possible only with the assistance of dozens of volunteers representing hunting groups such as the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Safari Club International and Whitetails Unlimited, the University of Wisconsin- Madison and UW-Stevens Point, the AFL-CIO Union Sportsmans Alliance, and hundreds of Wisconsin citizens.

“Anyone who has looked for newborn fawns or been startled to discover a fawn lying motionless in the forest or field next to them knows what a challenge it is to find them,” says Jacques. “They have excellent natural camouflage and instinct to remain absolutely still when approached. The transmitters will give us a better idea of where they are but it will still take time on the ground to locate them.”

For more information and to sign up as a volunteer go to the Deer Research page of the DNR website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Jacques – (608) 221-6358 or Bob Manwell - (608) 264-9248
Source: Wisconsin DNR (http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1771)

DNR announces proposed 2011 deer hunting season structure

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:52:49 PDT

MADISON – Department of Natural Resources wildlife management officials will propose a 2011 deer season structure that promises a return to a more traditional hunting framework by eliminating the October antlerless hunt outside of the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management zone and allowing the first deer to be either sex in the CWD management zone.

“We hope hunters will see we’ve been listening to their concerns and that we are taking steps toward the kind of deer season they want to see in Wisconsin,” said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp.

“We need the cooperation of our partners, the landowners and the hunters to help manage this deer herd. That is why we’ve decided to implement herd control tools more acceptable to hunters in 2011,” she said.

Specific 2011 deer season framework recommendations that will be presented to the state Natural Resources Board for review on April 26-27 include:

In Deer Management Units where deer populations are below goals, limiting or eliminating antlerless harvest.
In 95 units outside the CWD zone where deer populations are substantially above goals, unlimited $2 antlerless tags but no October firearm season.
In the CWD disease management zone, hunters’ first deer can be either sex, with earn-a-buck requirements kicking in after that. CWD management zone buck stickers earned in 2010 will be honored in 2011 and hunters can obtain up to four free CWD antlerless tags per day. These tags can only be used in the CWD zone. There will be October and Holiday hunts in the CWD zone.

Last year, 18 below-population-goal deer management units in northern Wisconsin were designated as “zero quota” units meaning that neither gun deer hunters nor archery deer hunters could shoot an antlerless deer. The herd has rebounded in a number of these units, but in eight where the population continues below goal (Units 3, 7, 29B, 34, 35, 39, 44, and 45), DNR will recommend continued “zero antlerless quotas.”
Over the past year in response to hunter reports of seeing fewer deer on the landscape, DNR has held meetings with hunters and solicited deer sighting feedback through its website and other means.
“National experts say we have one of the best population estimate systems in the nation – but no system is perfect. We are taking efforts to make our population estimates better and to figure out how the uneven distribution of deer on public versus private land is impacting those numbers.

“We want to work with hunters. We want to come to agreement on numbers and goals and harvest antlerless deer where needed. Accordingly, we’ve initiated deer research in northwest and east-central Wisconsin to answer hunter questions about predators and buck harvest rates to further improve our system,” said Stepp.
Deer hunting is a strong tradition in the state and an important economic driver. Deer hunting in Wisconsin creates more than $1 billion of economic activity annually, and supports 16,000 jobs. Wisconsin has one of the top three deer harvests per square mile of any state in the country, one of the highest buck harvests per square mile, and the highest number of trophy bucks registered with Boone and Crockett (gun) and Pope and Young (archery).

Each year, wildlife managers use data from the past years’ hunt – from hunter deer registration stubs, fawn production observations, winter stress reports and more to estimate the size of the deer herd by management unit. The number of deer by unit is compared to deer population goals, and a season structure aimed at keeping deer in line with goals and habitat carrying capacity is recommended to the state Natural Resources Board.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The full proposal to the Natural Resources Board will be available on DNR website later today or tomorrow. Refer to the Natural Resources Board agenda for April and click on the deer season framework item.]

News Release Published: April 14, 2011 by the Central Office
Contact(s): Land Administrator Kurt Thiede, (608)266-5833
Source: Wisconsin DNR, http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=2054

Volunteer instructors, hunters’ dedication behind fatality-free gun-deer season

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:16:00 PST

Remember to sign up for your hunter safety class

MADISON – Hunting history repeated itself in Wisconsin 2010 – and the head of the state’s hunter education program is looking for a repeat performance in 2011.

“Wisconsin ended its 2010 gun-deer season free of hunter fatalities,” Department of Natural Resources conservation warden and longtime hunter education program leader Tim Lawhern said. “This is a feat first -- and last -- seen in 1974.

Lawhern says the 2010 hunting success story has a lot to do with the effectiveness of the state’s volunteer instructors of hunter safety education programs and hunters themselves for their dedication to safety.
“This also is a good reminder for hunters to sign up for their required hunter safety classes – now, “ Lawhern said. “Classes fill very fast and very few are offered between October and December. That’s when our volunteer instructors are hunting, too.”

Overall, there were 12 hunting incidents during the nine-day gun season. For the families of the injured hunters, Lawhern says 2010 didn’t feel like a success. “Any shooting incident is one too many,” Lawhern said. “And we wish them all speedy recoveries.”

The agency only tracks firearm-related incidents and does not keep track of deaths or injuries due to heart attacks, tree stand falls or other causes.

Lawhern, who also serves as the president of the International Hunter Education Association, says several factors were behind the successful 2010 hunt.

Classroom and technology big in the woods

High on Lawhern’s list as big factors behind the second-only fatal-free season in Wisconsin’s history of the gun-deer hunt is the participation in the DNR Hunter Education Program – which began as hunter safety classes in 1967.

“The year before hunter education began in Wisconsin, the incident rate was 44 injuries for every 100,000 hunters,” Lawhern said, adding the 1967 course was six hours long and covered firearm safety only.
Things have changed since 1967.

“Since that time, we have seen things like the creation of opening and closing hours for hunting, mandatory blaze orange for hunters, full safety harnesses, firearm restrictions, global positioning satellite devices, cell phones and more,” he said. “All of these have contributed to the increased safety for hunters.”

Wisconsin’s hunter education certification program became mandatory for all hunters born or after Jan. 1, 1973 in 1985. That meant any hunter 12, the youngest legal hunter, beginning in 1985 had to complete the hunter education program.

“We have certified almost one million graduates. Our program has led the way both nationally – and internationally – with improved delivery, curriculum and outreach regarding safe and responsible hunting,” Lawhern said of the program taught by volunteer instructors statewide. Wisconsin’s hunter education program has had many firsts, including the nation’s first online course, instructor academy and a junior instructor program.

“The hunter education program also has evolved into more topics including knowledge, responsibility and ethics,” he said.

While the fatal-free season is a victory for safety, Lawhern says it wasn’t a complete surprise.

Predicting the fatal-free season, and the four rules of firearm safety

Lawhern says considering all the progress made in hunting, along with looking at the records behind every shooting incident of past seasons, made it easy to predict the fatal-free season was coming.
“We know a tremendous amount about hunting incidents. We can predict who is going to be shot. We can predict how many, where and what they are going to be doing at that moment,” Lawhern said. “We just don’t have the names and addresses.”

Lawhern’s analysis shows about one-third to one-half of all injuries is related to deer drives. The self-inflicted injuries will be one-third to one half of all the total of the gun-deer season.

“We also know the shooters younger than 18 will make up about 20 to 30 percent of the shooting injuries, though this past season it was less than that. The vast majority will occur on private land and half will happen on opening weekend,” he said. “Ultimately, nearly all are linked to a violation of one or more of the four basic rules of firearm safety – treat every firearm as if it is loaded, always point the muzzle in a safe direction, be certain of your target and what's beyond, and keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.”

And, Lawhern says, the most significant contributors to hunting incidents are those 35 and older – the hunters not covered by the mandatory hunter education course rule. “All hunters should consider taking the hunter education certification course – no matter the age.”

Safety doesn’t take breaks

“Our hunter education program is revered as one of, if not the best in the country,” Lawhern said, adding most of the volunteer instructors have never experienced a gun-deer season free of fatalities. “Those instructors, along with other factors, are major contributors to the success and safety of hunting.”
The course helps all hunters to make safety a habit.

“Safety does not take a vacation. Either you are safe all the time, every time, or you are not. You are only as safe as your next hunt,” he said.

Lawhern says he hopes those who haven’t completed the hunter education certification course will make it a priority in 2011 to make the next gun-deer season the third fatal-free in the state’s history.

“Let’s not wait until 36 years. Let’s repeat this safety success story in 2011,” Lawhern said. “A good start on that goal is to make sure you have completed your hunter safety course now so you can enjoy the fall deer season.”

More information about hunter safety education is available on the DNR website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Lawhern – (608) 264-6133
Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=265#art3

Deer Management Unit information forums to be held around state

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:23:21 PST

MADISON – A series of deer management public information forums are scheduled across the state in March. These forums are for anyone interested in deer and the most up to date deer management unit information.

Topics will include 2010 harvest summaries and recommendations for 2011 season frameworks, increasing hunter survey participation and new deer research progress. Local wildlife biologists will be on hand at each meeting to provide information on local deer management units and answer questions.

The meetings are intended to share information with the public about Wisconsin deer management and how it is applied in the local areas where they live, hunt or farm.

The local wildlife biologist will provide a brief presentation followed by a question and answer period. Some meetings may also have an open house format, allowing attendees to stop in anytime during the scheduled time.

People are encouraged to attend the meetings that cover the deer management units they are interested in (see the list of deer management unit meetings in the DNR Hearing and Meeting Calendar), but are welcome to attend any of the meetings. People who are unable to attend any of the forums also have an opportunity to discuss the units with DNR wildlife staff at the Wisconsin Sport Show in Eau Claire, the Deer and Turkey Expo in Madison, the Wisconsin Deer Classic and Hunting Expo in Green Bay, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show in West Allis.

Additional information about is available on the DNR website. Weekly News Article Published: March 1, 2011 by the Central Office

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Hirchert, Madison (608) 264-6023, Bob Manwell (608) 264-9248 or area wildlife biologists listed for the meeting locations in the meeting calendar.

Wisconsin DNR, http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1684

Hunting and fishing licenses go on sale Today

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:14:50 PST

MADISON – 2011-12 Wisconsin hunting, fishing, trapping and other licenses for fish and wildlife activities in Wisconsin go on sale Wednesday, March 9. Annual licenses are valid from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012. Hunting and fishing licenses for the 2010-11 license year expire on March 31, 2011.

Hunting and fishing licenses can be purchased over the Internet through the Online Licensing Center on the DNR website, at all authorized license agents, at DNR Service Centers (Hours for service centers vary; check the DNR website for service center days and hours of operation; DNR Service Centers are not open on Saturdays), or by calling toll-free 1-877-LICENSE (1-877-945-4236).

Department of Natural Resources customer service staff is available to assist the public by phone and online from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Spanish and Hmong bilingual customer service representatives are also available. Customers may reach Customer Service at 1-888-WDNR INFo (1-888-936-7463) or by e-mail at csweb@wisconsin.gov. An online chat link is also available on the DNR website.

Information on renewing a Conservation Patrons License, which offers many different privileges, including licenses, stamps, applications, park admission and more, was included in the February issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, along with a bonus pamphlet showing how fish and wildlife license and permit fees are spent to bolster outdoor recreation.

New one-day fishing license offered

New this year, people can purchase a one-day fishing license. The one-day license is $8 for residents and$10 for non-residents. The one-day license purchaser can select any date they choose, and their license is good until midnight of the day they select.

Customers who purchase the one day license are eligible to purchase a reduced rate annual fishing license ($12.75 for a resident and $40.75 for a nonresident) during the same license year.

“People can buy a one-day license and then -- if they decide they want to fish some more -- trade up to the annual license,” says Diane Brookbank, director of DNR licensing and customer service,

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bureau of Customer Service and Licensing, (608) 266-2621
Source: Wisconsin DNR ( http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=265#art3)

Sandhill “learn to deer hunt” applications available

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:13:35 PST

BABCOCK, Wis. – Youth and beginning hunters who want to learn the basics of deer hunting in Wisconsin can sign up for learn to hunt workshops at the Sandhill Wildlife Area near Babcock,

The one-day workshops include information on deer biology and management, scouting, firearm safety, hunt rules and regulations, and hunter ethics. Those who complete the workshops return to Sandhill for a special hunt on Nov. 5-6.

A youth workshop is offered to young hunters, 12 to 15 years old. Each child must be accompanied by an adult, 21 years or older, who acts as chaperon and teacher. One-day youth workshops will be held on August 4, 6 and 8.

A one-day beginner adult workshop is offered to people 16 or older who have never hunted deer with a gun before. Beginner adults must also be accompanied by an adult chaperone. The Beginner Adult workshop will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24.

To qualify for the program, all participants must either be enrolled in a Hunter Safety course or must possess a valid Hunter Safety Certificate. Students will be required to have a license by the time of the hunt. Previous participants are ineligible.

Chaperones should have some deer hunting experience and are expected to attend the workshop as well as the hunt with the student. Their primary role is to assist the beginner in developing the skills necessary to become a responsible hunter and outdoors person. The chaperone will not be allowed to carry a firearm during the hunt.

Applications for the Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center’s learn to hunt deer workshops and hunt for youth and beginner adults are available on the DNR website and at DNR Service Centers. Applications must be postmarked on or before May 31, 2011. Enrollment is limited to a total of 100 students. Applicants will be randomly selected and successful applicants will be notified by June 22. A fee of $40 will be charged to enter program. Fee waivers are available for those unable to afford the fee.

Visit the Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center page of the DNR website for information on other activities.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Britt Searles - 715-884-6335
Source: Wisconsin DNR (http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=265#art3)

Deer captures to continue through March

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:21:43 PST

MADISON – Wisconsin deer researchers have succeeded in capturing a total of 187 deer in two study areas as part of a multi-year effort designed to answer concerns hunters have voiced over population estimates that in part determine deer hunting season structure. Capture efforts are expected to continue through March 2011.

Spread across two study areas, one centered around Sawyer County representing a northern forest habitat, and one centered in Shawano County representing a farmland-forest habitat, the studies will take the closest look yet at the actual percentage of deer dying at the hands of hunters compared to all other causes of death from vehicle collisions to disease, to weather and importantly, to predators. Reproductive rates and causes of death in fawns are also being explored.

“The outpouring of offers to help and assist with providing access to land and deer trapping activities from hunters, landowners and conservation groups has been phenomenal,” said DNR research scientist, Chris Jacques. “Without their help it would be very difficult to pull this off and with that help, we can make this a better study that will accomplish more in answering their questions and addressing their concerns”
Captured deer have been fitted with radio collars and ear tags so that researchers can follow them to determine cause of death. New born fawns will also be located and collared for the same purpose. One important question hunters and researchers are trying to learn more about is the percentage of deer, both adult and fawns that are lost to predators such as black bear, bobcat, coyote and wolf.

Two primary methods have been used to date for capturing deer. Ground traps, which are either wooden boxes or netted frames, both with trap doors, and recent efforts to capture deer using nets shot from a low flying helicopter.

Like any statistical survey, as the size of the sample increases (the number of deer captured in this example) the more confident researchers can be that what they observe in the sample accurately represents the population as a whole.

“Capturing as many deer as possible at the start of this project is important,” said Jacques, and helicopters have proven to be the most efficient way to capture large numbers of deer in a short amount of time.”
Due to on-going mechanical problems, the company contracted for the helicopter work has suspended operations for the remainder of this capture season and returned to their base in Utah. The contractor did not have a replacement helicopter available to pick up the work.

Capturing wildlife by helicopter is a proven wildlife management technique used by biologists around the world. This is the first time is has been used in Wisconsin and it turns out, Wisconsin’s varied landscape adds some difficulty to the process.

Capturing wild deer can result in unintended mortality. Every animal captured represents an investment in the project in time, effort and expense so researchers take every possible precaution to keep mortality as low as possible. In the case of helicopter capture, keeping pursuit times and transport distances short and limiting handling time from the moment the net drops till the animal is released are important to survival.

Usually, less than 5 percent of captured animals die. Death can be due to physical injury such as broken bones or to capture myopathy, a disease resulting from capture-related stress. Mortality rates currently are running at 7.3 percent (9 mortalities in 123 captures) at the Shawano County study site and 4.5 percent (8 mortalities in 179 captures) at the Sawyer County site.

Eight of the 17 mortalities to date have been related to helicopter capture. Necropsies will be performed on the eight to determine cause of death.

“We try very hard to handle deer carefully to minimize stress, but there is really no other way to answer the questions hunters are asking about our population estimating process that doesn’t involve capturing and marking these deer and then following them to determine how they die,” said Jacques. “Our research partners the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Whitetails Unlimited, Safari Club International, UW-Madison, UW-Stevens Point are aware of this and we are all working to keep research losses as low as possible.
“We will continue ground trapping efforts through the end of March and at that time we’ll review all our notes and data related to both ground and helicopter trapping efforts to increase our deer trapping efficiency and reduce mortalities in future years,” said Jacques.

More inforamation on deer research studies is available on the DNR website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Jacques (608) 575-3874
Source: Wisconsin DNR, Weekly News Article Published: March 1, 2011 by the Central Office
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1681

Inner city kids get archery, hunting thanks to warden

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:16:33 PST

APPLETON, Wis. – The thrills of archery, scouting pheasants and simple fun outdoors have reached hundreds of inner city Milwaukee students thanks to the dedication and efforts of an honored state conservation warden.

The Wisconsin Bowhunters Association on March 5 named Gervis Myles as their Warden of the Year for 2011 during a ceremony at the group’s weekend conference in Appleton.

“Gervis’ service to the Milwaukee residents of all ages, but especially to the youth, has been outstanding,” DNR Chief Warden Randy Stark said of Myles. “For his12 years as a conservation warden, Gervis has worked hard to get the entire community interested and involved in natural resources issues – and that includes enjoying outdoor recreation.”

Myles became a warden in 1998 and has served his career to date in Milwaukee County.
“Gervis went to work immediately addressing concerns about the illegal taking of big bucks in Milwaukee-area parks,” Stark said. “He spent hours answering complaints from concerned citizens about baiting, illegal stands and the illegal harvest.”

Myles added to his warden portfolio by earning his certification in the National Archery in the Schools Program in 2006. Equipped with his instructor credentials, Myles worked with the Milwaukee-areas schools to introduce the sport to more than 700 students. When 60 middle school students wanted to give archery a try but didn’t have an adequate space, Myles converted the DNR headquarters main conference room in Milwaukee into an archery range for an afternoon.

Myles also was key in helping 32 individuals earn their archery instructor credentials in recent years to get even more children exposed to the sport.

This past year, Myles also organized a “Learn to Hunt Pheasant” outing for several Milwaukee inner city children at the DNR’s McKenzie Center in Poynette.

And, with an eye on the future, Myles also has spent time talking about natural resources careers with Milwaukee youth.

“We thank the Wisconsin Bowhunters for recognizing Gervis for his years of outstanding service to the community and the resources,” Stark said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Reed, Conservation Warden Supervisor, Waukesha – 262-574-2160 or Joanne Haas, Bureau of Law Enforcement, Madison - 608-267-0798

Source: Wisconsin DNR(http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=265#art3)

Winter Severity Index monitors health of northern deer herd

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:25:23 PST

SPOONER Wis. – State wildlife staff are again monitoring the effects of winter on the state’s northern deer herd using as system known as the Winter Severity Index – and so far things look pretty good. The index uses a combination and accumulation of cold temperatures and deep snows that historically have proven to affect the health and population of deer.

Biologists and other department staff add the number of days with daily low temperatures below zero degrees Fahrenheit (F) and the number of days with 18 inches or more of snow on the ground. Up to 50 combined points at the end of the winter is considered mild, from 51 to 80 is considered moderate, 81 and over is considered severe, and any totals over 100 points are considered very severe.

To date, most of northern Wisconsin has snow depths that allow good deer movement, according to Mike Zeckmeister, Department of Natural Resources northern region wildlife biologist.

“About half of our stations are reporting winter points over 20, the other half are 20 or less,” Zeckmeister said. “What stands out this winter is that it started early. We have had below average low temperatures, and snow depths have just hovered below the 18-inch reporting level at many stations up to the end of January.”
Zeckmeister said that with a little more snow, most stations will be adding snow days to their reporting. “Depending on what happens for the rest of the winter, we could go either way. We will factor all of this in, including the final Winter Severity, when we set deer quotas later this spring,” he said.

The north’s 2010 deer population was in good shape and hunters helped reduce deer numbers going into the winter, and this will help them survive. Last year's winter was considered mild, the biologist said, "and we saw a very early spring green-up that provided sustenance for pregnant does, insuring a healthy fawn crop."
Zeckmeister said that last summer’s ample rainfall provided good growth of summer vegetation that helped deer build up fat reserves for this winter.

“Our November deer harvest trimmed the herd in most areas and that means fewer deer having to compete for winter forage,” he said. Too many deer going into a winter can seriously degrade winter browse and cover that can take years to recover and hinder overwinter survival of deer.

Listed below are indexes (combined below zero temperatures and 18 or more inches of snow) and snow depths as reported by department staff:

Station	WSI	Snow Depth
Alvin	18	16
Antigo	18	14
Barnes	32	16
Barron	31	16
Brule	28	19
Crandon	18	13
Eagle River	16	16
Florence	14	12
Grantsburg	27	16
Hayward	22	15
Ladysmith	33	18
Langlade	21	16
Mercer	38	22
Merrill	19	17
Minong	31	18
Park Falls	22	16
Prentice	19	14
Saxon	19	18
Rhinelander	18	15
Spooner	25	16
Tomahawk	20	16
Summit Lake	20	17
Webster	33	16
Winter	19	13
Woodruff	17	16

Wildlife managers are currently studying deer populations and planning for the 2011 deer season. Public meetings will be held in March with citizens to discuss the condition of the deer herd and prospects for next fall’s season. Zeckmeister said that people interested in deer and proposals for next fall’s deer seasons should watch for announcements of these local meetings.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Zeckmeister (715) 635-4090

Weekly News Article Published: February 8, 2011 by the Central Office
Source: Wisconsin DNR, http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1661

DNR deer research effort to begin in Shawano and Rusk county areas

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:37:15 PST

MADISON – Citizens within roughly 30 miles of Clintonville in Shawano, Waupaca and Outagamie counties and parts of Menominee County and in the area of Park Falls, Exeland and Winter in Price, Rusk and Sawyer counties soon may witness something never seen before in Wisconsin; a low-flying helicopter ranging through the skies with a live deer slung underneath. The event is the first stage of a multi-year effort by wildlife researchers to follow and document the causes of death in bucks, does and fawns due to predators, hunters, vehicles and natural events.

Flights are expected to take place beginning Jan. 21 in the Shawano County area and Jan 28 in the Rusk County area. Operations in each area are expected to last 4 to 5 days and will take place on public and privately owned lands in cooperation with landowners who are assisting the researchers.

Researchers will capture 60–90 adult deer each in the Shawano and Rusk County areas with nets from a helicopter, transport each deer to a processing area where scientists, biologists and volunteers will weigh, sex, age, take blood samples, install radio transmitters and ear tags, assess body condition and perform ultrasounds, and release the deer. Radio transmitters will allow deer to be monitored until the deer dies. Bucks will be monitored mainly for cause of death. Does will be monitored for cause of death and whether or not they deliver fawns.

Flights will take place during late January/early February in 2011 through 2014. Deer will also be captured with box traps and netted cage traps set out on cooperating landowner properties and monitored by field staff and volunteers.

During mid-May through mid-June of 2011 and 2012, scientists, biologists and volunteers will capture and put radio collars on 40 fawns each in the Shawano and Rusk County areas and subsequently monitor each fawn for cause of death during their first year until the radio collar falls off as it is designed to do as the animal approaches its first birthday.

“Critical to the success of this effort are landowners in the study areas willing to allow us to capture deer on their properties and volunteers to help us process deer and monitor them through the seasons,” said Chris Jacques, DNR research scientist and lead researcher for this project.
Volunteers can sign up on a DNR website.

“This is a multi year effort and we will need volunteers throughout the project,” adds Jacques. “This is an opportunity to literally do hands-on research with deer. It’s a real boots on the ground effort. Volunteers are needed to accompany biologists and assist in processing captured deer and in monitoring survival and movements of marked deer. We’re telling folks that we’d like at least a full day of their time each time they participate on deer capture events. You’ll probably come home cold, tired and dirty but you’ll be making a real contribution to our knowledge of white-tails in Wisconsin and helping to support science-based wildlife management.”

Research partners include the Department of Natural Resources, UW-Madison-Department of Forestry and Wildlife Ecology, UW’s Applied Population Laboratory, UW-Stevens Point, Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Whitetails Unlimited, AFL-CIO, Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, Safari Club International, Menn Law Firm, Ltd., and numerous Wisconsin citizens.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Manwell (608) 264-9248
View all articles in this issue or check our previous Weekly News Issues.
Site Source: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1646

Links for 2011-01-06 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:00:00 PST

Statement of DNR Secretary Matt Frank on federal step in wolf delisting

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:13:13 PST

MADISON –DNR Secretary Matt Frank made the following statement on the announcement by the Department of the Interior - US Fish and Wildlife Service that the service is moving ahead with efforts to remove the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list in the Great Lakes states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

“We are pleased the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is moving forward to delist the grey wolf. Scientific evidence supports delisting. Transferring management of the wolf to Wisconsin is timely and will lead to improved management through effective action on problem wolves. We have worked closely with the Department of the Interior on wolf delisting over the past two years and applaud Interior’s proposed action to delist the gray wolf.

“The DNR has a federally approved wolf management plan ready to be implemented when delisting occurs. With the growth of the wolf population in Wisconsin, problems with wolves killing valuable livestock and hunting dogs have grown to intolerable levels, Frank said.

“We are ready to carry out our federally approved state wolf management plan to both protect the long-term viability of the wolf and provide relief for farmers and pet owners,” said Frank.

In April, Wisconsin filed a petition with Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar seeking delisting of the wolf in Wisconsin so the state could take over management of this large predator.

The wolf was considered extirpated from Wisconsin by 1960 due to bounties that lasted until 1957.

Wisconsin’s current wolf population descends from Minnesota as wolves, seeking new territories, moved into unoccupied habitat in Wisconsin. The wolf population recovered on its own due to protection, habitat management and education. As a result of the federal endangered status, the current population estimate of wolves in Wisconsin is nearly twice the level prescribed by the Wisconsin Wolf Management Plan.

News Release Published: December 13, 2010 by the Central Office
Contact(s): Adrian Wydeven (715) 762-1363; Robert Manwell (608) 264-9248
DATE: December 13, 2010 CONTACT: Adrian Wydeven (715) 762-1363; Robert Manwell (608) 264-9248

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1944

Links for 2010-12-13 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:00:00 PST

Hunting Equipment and Hunting Supplies - Trophy Whitetail ...
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Statewide antlerless deer hunt to be held Dec. 9-12

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:46:06 PST

Statewide antlerless deer hunt to be held Dec. 9-12

MADISON – Hunters heading out to participate in the December 9-12 statewide antlerless deer hunt need to check deer tagging rules carefully for the unit in which they intend to hunt. The best source of information is the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations booklet available in hard copy at license vendors or online.
Depending on the type of deer management unit in which a hunter is hunting the following tagging rules apply:

Regular units

Requires a unit-specific antlerless tag in these units. Tags, if available, are $12 each for residents and $20 for nonresidents from all license sales agents.
“Buck Only” Regular Units: ONLY the following hunters can harvest and tag an antlerless deer in these 18 deer management units.
- First-time Wisconsin hunter safety education graduates with an unfilled free special antlerless deer carcass tag issued upon completion of safety courses or available at DNR Service Centers (hunter must present their hunter education certificate) or by calling 1-888-936-7463. Group hunting is not allowed to fill this tag.
- Qualified Armed Forces members (see page 11 of the 2010 hunting regulations for qualifications and tagging requirements).
- Class A and C Disabled permit holders with an unfilled gun buck deer carcass tag which they may use to shoot a deer of either sex killed with a firearm during the Dec 9-12 hunt.
- Landowners on properties with agricultural damage permits may issue antlerless permits to hunters who wish to hunt on these properties.

Herd control units

Requires a herd control antlerless deer carcass tag in these deer management units. Additional tags are available for $2 each from all license sales agents.

Chronic wasting disease management units

Hunters may use any unfilled 2010 deer carcass tag in these 22 deer management units.

A “Frequently Asked Questions fact sheet on the 2010 Deer Hunt Season Structure and Tagging" (pdf) is available on the DNR website.

Other things to keep in mind

Hunters should also be mindful that a lot of people are out enjoying Wisconsin’s outdoors including cross country skiers and snowmobilers who may not be aware of on-going hunting seasons and not wearing blaze orange.

“Always be sure of your target and what is beyond,” says Chief Conservation Warden Randy Stark,
All gun deer, archery and small game hunters, except waterfowl hunters, are required to wear blaze orange during this 4-day antlerless deer hunt and follow all safety guidelines. Non-hunters should consider wearing bright or blaze orange clothing to increase their visibility while recreating in areas being hunted.

“Hunting is a safe today as it’s ever been and getting safer” Stark said. “The recently completed nine-day gun deer hunt was firearm fatality free for just the second time in our records and with everyone’s help and attention to firearm safety, we can keep it that way.”

Hunters with additional questions about the season structure or tagging requirements can contact the toll-free DNR information line at 1-888-WDNRINFo (1-888-936-7463).
News Release Published: December 3, 2010 by the Central Office
Contact(s): Keith Warnke – (608) 264-6023 or Jason Fleener – (608) 261-7589
Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1935

Hunters register a preliminary tally of 218,144 deer over nine-day season

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:08:13 PST

Late seasons now open

“There are still days to hunt in 2010,” said Warnke. “The muzzleloader hunt is already underway for hunters holding unused gun buck and antlerless deer tags and there’s the statewide antlerless deer hunt Dec. 9-12.”
Hunters are reminded that the antlerless deer hunt Dec. 9-12 is open only to hunters with a valid antlerless deer tag for the unit in which they are hunting. That means that in many units in northeast Wisconsin, there will be little or no hunting during that four-day season.

There is the Holiday hunt in CWD zones in south central Wisconsin that starts Dec. 24 and lasts until Jan. 9, 2011.

In February, DNR biologists will use unit-level harvest numbers to develop overwinter population estimates and will propose season structures for 2011 in March. The Natural Resources Board will approve season structures at their April meeting.

Hunters asked to participate in online Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey

The Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey is still active until the end of all deer seasons and wildlife managers are asking hunters to keep sending in reports or to send in a report of what they saw during the just completed 9-day gun hunt.

“The observations of over 600,000 hunters spread out all across Wisconsin are invaluable to biologists watching for trends in wildlife populations,” said Brian Dhuey, DNR research scientist who compiles most of Wisconsin’s wildlife harvest and survey statistics. “The more observations the better in terms of tracking trends in species abundance and distribution.”

Hunter volunteers being recruited for deer research starting this winter

Following the close of the 2010-11 deer hunting seasons, DNR and UW researchers will shift into high gear with several multi-year deer research efforts.

Volunteers are needed to accompany and assist researchers in obtaining permission to access private property, live-capturing deer, fitting them with radio transmitters and then observing the marked deer for causes of death, fawn production and fawn survival. This research effort is intended to answer hunter questions regarding the role of predators on deer populations, factors affecting fawn recruitment and hunter harvest rate of bucks. Interested volunteers can find out more information and sign up on the White-tailed Deer Research Projects page of the DNR website.

Young hunters prove themselves safe and responsible

“What is really exciting, is the 11,331 mentored gun deer hunting licenses purchased by 10- and 11-year olds,” said Diane Brookbank, chief of DNR’s licensing and customer service unit, “an increase of more than 1,400 licenses over 2009. These are the future hunters who will step into the woods in place of the hunting ‘retirees’ as our population ages.”

Wardens reported no firearm incidents among these young hunters.

More than 621,000 gun deer licenses sold

DNR’s automated License Issuance System, known as ALIS, peaked at 330 transactions per minute at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday before gun season. The 621,094 gun licenses sold through the end of the season on Nov 28 was a 3 percent drop from 2009 gun deer sales.

Archery license sales stayed with recent trends and increased by 510 licenses compared to the same period in 2009.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Warnke – (608) 264-6023, Jason Fleener - (608) 261-7589 or Bob Manwell – (608) 264-9248

Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=252#art1

2010 gun deer season free of firearm fatalities for second time in state’s history

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:31:46 PST

Volunteer hunter education instructors big factor in safety’s home run

MADISON – Wisconsin ended its 2010 gun-deer season free of hunter fatalities, a feat first and last seen in 1974.

“No one was shot and killed while deer hunting this year in Wisconsin,” said Tim Lawhern, Department of Natural Resources hunter education administrator and conservation warden. “This has happened once before in the state’s history of gun-deer seasons. And that was 36 years ago.”

Overall, there were 12 hunting incidents during the nine-day deer gun season. Lawhern said that for the families of those injured hunters, 2010 didn't feel like a success. The agency only tracks firearm-related incidents and does not keep track of deaths or injuries due to heart attacks, tree stand falls or other causes.

“Any shooting incident is one too many,” Lawhern said. “We wish them all speedy recoveries.”

Lawhern, who also serves as the president of the International Hunter Education Association, says several factors are behind the successful hunt.

Education, guidelines and technology
High on Lawhern’s list as a key factor behind the second-only fatal-free season in Wisconsin’s history of the gun-deer hunt is the participation in the DNR Hunter Education Program – which began as hunter safety classes in 1967.

“The year before hunter education began in Wisconsin, the incident rate was 44 injuries for every 100,000 hunters,” Lawhern said, adding the 1967 course was six hours long and covered firearm safety only.

Things have changed since 1967.

“Since that time, we have seen things like the creation of opening and closing hours for hunting, mandatory blaze orange for hunters, full safety harnesses, firearm restrictions, global positioning satellite devices, cell phones and more,” he said. “All of these have contributed to the increased safety for hunters.”

Wisconsin’s hunter education certification program became mandatory for all hunters born or after Jan. 1, 1973 in 1985. That meant any hunter 12, the youngest legal hunter, beginning in 1985 had to complete the hunter education program.

“We have certified almost one million graduates. Our program has led the way both nationally – and internationally – with improved delivery, curriculum and outreach regarding safe and responsible hunting,” Lawhern said of the program taught by volunteer instructors statewide. Wisconsin’s hunter education program has had many firsts, including the nation’s first online course, instructor academy and a junior instructor program.

“The hunter education program also has evolved into more topics including knowledge, responsibility and ethics,” he said.

While the fatal-free season is a victory for safety, Lawhern says it wasn’t a complete surprise.

Predicting the fatal-free season, and the four rules of firearm safety
Lawhern says considering all the progress made in hunting, along with looking at the records behind every shooting incident of past seasons, made it easy to predict the fatal-free season was coming.

“We know a tremendous amount about hunting incidents. We can predict who is going to be shot. We can predict how many, where and what they are going to be doing at that moment,” Lawhern said. “We just don’t have the names and addresses.”

Lawhern’s analysis shows about one-third to one-half of all injuries is related to deer drives. The self-inflicted injuries will be one-third to one half of all the total of the gun-deer season.

“We also know the shooters younger than 18 will make up about 20 to 30 percent of the shooting injuries. The vast majority will occur on private land and half will happen on opening weekend,” he said. “Ultimately, nearly all are linked to a violation of one or more of the four basic rules of firearm safety – treat every firearm as if it is loaded, never point your firearm at a person, never put your finger in the trigger until you are ready to shoot and know what is behind your target.”

And, Lawhern says, the most significant contributors to hunting incidents are those 35 and older – the hunters not covered by the mandatory hunter education course rule. “All hunters should take the hunter education certification course – no matter the age.”

Safety doesn’t take breaks
“Our hunter education program is revered as one of, if not the best in the country,” Lawhern said, adding most of the volunteer instructors have never experienced a gun-deer season free of fatalities. “Those instructors, along with other factors, are major contributors to the success and safety of hunting.”

The course helps all hunters to make safety a habit.

“Safety does not take a vacation. Either you are safe all the time, every time, or you are not. You are only as safe as the next hunt,” he said.

Lawhern says he hopes those who haven’t completed the hunter education certification course will make it a priority in 2011 to make the next gun-deer season the third fatal-free in the state’s history. More information about hunter safety education is available on the DNR website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Lawhern – (608) 266-1317

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=252#art2

Hunters register a preliminary tally of 218,144 deer over nine-day season

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:27:01 PST

MADISON – A survey of Wisconsin deer registration stations conducted by the state Department of Natural Resources has yielded a preliminary tally of 218,144 for the just-ended, nine-day November gun deer hunt, an 11 percent increase over the 2009 nine-day season. The opener was highlighted by good hunting conditions on opening day and no firearm-related fatalities for only the second time on record (see related news release).

Statewide, hunters registered 102,006 bucks (a 17 percent increase over 2009) and 116,138 antlerless deer (a nearly 7 percent increase over 2009). Gun deer license sales totaled 621,094 at the close of the hunt.

The nine-day harvest numbers are preliminary and are expected to change before a final report is published in late winter. It does not include harvest information from the archery, October antlerless gun deer hunt, muzzleloader, December antlerless deer gun hunt or late archery seasons. The preliminary nine-day gun harvest count in 2009 was 196,688.

A table of county by county (pdf; 39kb) harvest broken down by DNR region, with a comparison to the 2009 preliminary harvest is available on the DNR Web site.

“This season included more regular units with a substantial number of buck only units as many units in the northern and central forest regions are close to population goals or are below goals,” said Keith Warnke. “Wildlife management and especially deer management is a process of continual adjustment. This season’s structure was influenced by deer hunters, population goal changes, last year’s deer harvest, and the resulting estimated local deer populations.”

Late seasons now open
“There are still days to hunt in 2010,” said Warnke. “The muzzleloader hunt is already underway for hunters holding unused gun buck and antlerless deer tags and there’s the statewide antlerless deer hunt Dec. 9-12.”

Hunters are reminded that the antlerless deer hunt Dec. 9-12 is open only to hunters with a valid antlerless deer tag for the unit in which they are hunting. That means that in many units in northeast Wisconsin, there will be little or no hunting during that four-day season.

There is the Holiday hunt in CWD zones in south central Wisconsin that starts Dec. 24 and lasts until Jan. 9, 2011.

In February, DNR biologists will use unit-level harvest numbers to develop overwinter population estimates and will propose season structures for 2011 in March. The Natural Resources Board will approve season structures at their April meeting.

Hunters asked to participate in online Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey

The Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey is still active until the end of all deer seasons and wildlife managers are asking hunters to keep sending in reports or to send in a report of what they saw during the just completed 9-day gun hunt.

“The observations of over 600,000 hunters spread out all across Wisconsin are invaluable to biologists watching for trends in wildlife populations,” said Brian Dhuey, DNR research scientist who compiles most of Wisconsin’s wildlife harvest and survey statistics. “The more observations the better in terms of tracking trends in species abundance and distribution.”

Hunter volunteers being recruited for deer research starting this winter

Following the close of the 2010-11 deer hunting seasons, DNR and UW researchers will shift into high gear with several multi-year deer research efforts.

Volunteers are needed to accompany and assist researchers in obtaining permission to access private property, live-capturing deer, fitting them with radio transmitters and then observing the marked deer for causes of death, fawn production and fawn survival. This research effort is intended to answer hunter questions regarding the role of predators on deer populations, factors affecting fawn recruitment and hunter harvest rate of bucks. Interested volunteers can find out more information and sign up on the White-tailed Deer Research Projects page of the DNR website.

Young hunters prove themselves safe and responsible

“What is really exciting, is the 11,331 mentored gun deer hunting licenses purchased by 10- and 11-year olds,” said Diane Brookbank, chief of DNR’s licensing and customer service unit, “an increase of more than 1,400 licenses over 2009. These are the future hunters who will step into the woods in place of the hunting ‘retirees’ as our population ages.”

Wardens reported no firearm incidents among these young hunters.

More than 621,000 gun deer licenses sold

DNR’s automated License Issuance System, known as ALIS, peaked at 330 transactions per minute at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday before gun season. The 621,094 gun licenses sold through the end of the season on Nov 28 was a 3 percent drop from 2009 gun deer sales.

Archery license sales stayed with recent trends and increased by 510 licenses compared to the same period in 2009.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Warnke – (608) 264-6023, Jason Fleener - (608) 261-7589 or Bob Manwell – (608) 264-9248

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site:http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=252#art1

2010 Wisconsin Opening Day Gun Deer Season Report

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:25:34 PST

MADISON – Nearly ideal hunting conditions across the state contributed to an active opening morning of the 2010 Wisconsin nine-day regular gun deer season, according to anecdotal reports from registration stations across the state.

Good weather, with no rain and cool, but not cold temperatures, along with corn mostly harvested, leaves off the trees and even a few areas with tracking snow, all contributed to good hunting conditions.

Wildlife managers and conservation wardens reported hearing fewer shots but more single shots rather than repeated shots, indicating that visual conditions were excellent and many hunters were probably taking a deer with a single shot. This contrasts with the 2009 season, when dense fog covered much of the state opening morning, and there was still a lot of corn left in fields to be harvest.

A small amount of snow still covered the ground in far northwestern and north central Wisconsin, which further improved hunting and tracking conditions in that area.

There were many reports of young hunters participating in the mentored hunting program. Dave Matheys, Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist at Viroqua, was working a registration station in Gays Mills and reported on one young 10-year-old hunter who was being mentored by his mother. The young hunter had a doe run out in front of him and had a clear shot at 10 yards and dropped the doe. Then just seconds later, a buck came out in pursuit of the doe. With one deer on the ground, they let the buck take off.

“His mother said the young hunter was ‘just shaking like a leaf” after the episode,” Matheys said. The mother, father and son were headed back out to the woods to see if they could now fill a buck tag.

There were numerous reports across the state of bucks still pursuing does, indicating the rut, or white-tailed deer mating season, was also still in progress. Many of the bucks being registered had swollen necks, another indication that the rut was still taking place.

With fewer antlerless permits available in about half of the state, and no antlerless permits available at all in areas of northeastern Wisconsin, many registration stations were reporting many bucks being brought in.

Michelle Carlisle DNR wildlife biologist at Balsam Lake just east of the Minnesota/Wisconsin line near St. Croix where there was still cover of 2 to 4 inches of crust snow left over from last week’s storm, said traffic has been steady all morning at the registration station. One truck came in with eight deer and another with six!

“One young man brought in a gorgeous buck and I asked him if this was his first one,” Carlisle said. “He said, ‘no,’ this was his third deer in as many years and the other two were equally nice.

State conservation wardens were investigating four non-fatal shooting incidents by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Two incidents involved deer drives, one in Marathon County and one in Door County. The Door County victim was shot through the thigh. A shooting incident in Wood County reportedly involved a hunter not knowing what was behind his target, one of the cardinal rules of hunting. While one in Marquette County, described as a graze, involved well spaced hunters – 400 yards apart.

Regional DNR Reports

DNR Northern Region

Burnett County - Duke Welter of Eau Claire, a member of the Natural Resources Board, was hunting in this morning when he shot an 8-point buck. Then came the work, which warmed him up nicely. “It was a long drag,” he said. “It was a real nice hunt. I heard a lot of shooting early. We have 4 inches of snow on the ground and I think people can see the deer really well. It’s a beautiful day in the woods.”

Florence County - Jeremy Holtz, the wildlife biologist stationed in Florence, reported from the registration station at the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center. Hunting conditions were tolerable with temperatures about 20, no snow accumulating on the ground but a few flakes were flying overnight. Between 11 a.m. and about 1 p.m. the station had registered 30 deer. Hunters reported that antler development seems a bit better this year. Holtz had seen some six-pointers, some eight-pointers and even a few 10-pointers, “Which is unusual up here,” he said. “We don’t normally see 10-pointers. “The hunters we are seeing coming in this early in the day told us they pretty much shot the first buck they saw. We haven’t seen young hunters coming in just yet, but a few adult hunters reported that they were registering their first bucks. The hunters seemed relaxed, more polite and satisfied compared to how they had been feeling the last few years. They realize that we are trying to rebuild the herd and they seem satisfied with the conditions this year.” One group of hunters reported seeing a few wolves.

Iron County - Bruce Bacon, wildlife biologist reporting from Hurley said hunters are finding ideal conditions and are staying in the woods. “I heard more shooting this year than last. The bucks are definitely still in the rut up here with swollen necks, even the young forked bucks,” Bacon said. Registrations had been pretty slow at the Hurley station by mid afternoon because so many hunters were still in the woods enjoying a fine day.

Sawyer County - Ken Jonas, the area wildlife supervisor at Hayward, said the hunting conditions were excellent with at least 3 inches of snow everywhere in the area and crusty cover that made it easy to hear deer coming. It was still pretty cold right around freezing by mid-afternoon. “People are staying out and it is a great time to be in the woods. Given the cooler temperatures the hunters don’t feel any pressure to get in and quickly register their deer, so they can spend more time outdoors,” Jonas said. Earlier this week people scouting had reported seeing bear tracks, but not today.

St. Croix County - Michelle Carlisle DNR wildlife biologist at Balsam Lake just east of the Minnesota/Wisconsin line near St. Croix said it’s cool but people are upbeat. The weather conditions are cold, about14 with a stiff wind that gets you when sitting in your stand. There is still cover of 2-4 inches of crust snow left over from last week’s storm. Traffic has been steady all morning at the registration station. One truck came in with eight deer and another with six! “One young man brought in a gorgeous buck and I asked him if this was his first one. He said, no, this was his third deer in as many years and the other two were equally nice. Some people are seeing more deer, some fewer, but they seem pretty happy to be outside with good hunting conditions.”

Washburn County- Mike Zeckmeister, the regional wildlife manager from Spooner reported from the registration station at the Spooner Holiday Gas Station at the south end of town. Hunting conditions in area are excellent with two to four inches of crunchy snow cover from Duluth south to Turtle Lake. “The snow is crusty as it got cold last night and it is crunchy so hunters can hear the deer coming,” Zeckmeister said. “Of course, with 100 percent snow cover, they can see them quite well too. This morning from my tree stand near the Washburn-Burnett County line southwest of Spooner I heard 210 shots in one hour.” The day started about 12 degrees, so it was a bit chilly, but if you have a few hand warmers and dress appropriately it is just fine, Zeckmeister said/ By 2 p.m. he had already aged about 100 deer almost evenly split between bucks and does, which is about normal. You might expect to see more antlerless deer coming in from this herd control area, but that hadn’t been the case thus far. Some nice bucks were being registered. One hunter said he was especially grateful for the opportunity since last year he was serving in Iraq during the deer season. Another gentleman who is 75-and-a-half years old just registered a two-and-a-half year old buck, so he was quite pleased. Another gentleman came in with his granddaughter who had taken a nice buck fawn, and she was quite happy too. “The afternoon is warming up slightly, but with a few hand warmers, we’re still getting our work done,” Zeckmeister said.

DNR Northeastern Region

Door County - James Harbaugh, DNR wildlife technician working registration in Sturgeon Bay, reports a remarkable number of deer coming into his station from Potawatomi State Park. Deer hunting was only recently authorized in the park in efforts to trim down a herd that had grown too large and was having significant impact on forest growth and was spilling over onto the Cherryland Airport raising safety concerns. Harbaugh said he had one Honda CRV pull in stuffed with five deer. Another vehicle arrived with seven and many were showing up with four to five. It was a mix of antlered and antlerless. Hunters in general appeared to be having a good time including an 84-year-old hunter who bagged a 12-pointer, the “largest deer of his life” he said. Another 58-year–old male hunter bagged his first deer ever.

Manitowoc County - Jeff Pritzl DNR Northeast Region wildlife supervisor working registrations in Manitowoc reported comfortable conditions with a light but steady breeze at the opening of shooting hours. Pritzl said that if the breeze were to lighten a bit conditions would be about perfect. By early afternoon he’d registered a number of nice bucks with a fairly high number of 3.5-year-olds that looked healthy and robust. The first deer he saw today was taken close to home. As he was leaving his house to head for his registration station the neighbor woman was in the yard and signaled him to come over. She had woken early, looked out the window to see two deer behind her house. She went back to the bedroom, woke her husband and told him get his pants on and grab his gun. He apparently followed orders and bagged a nice deer. Some out of state hunters will leave Wisconsin with a good impression of hunting here added Pritzl. A truck pulled up with four Coast Guardsmen and three deer. They were stationed at the Two Rivers Coast Guard base and were from Texas, Nevada and Massachusetts and had the three deer before 8a.m.

Marinette County - John Huff, DNR wildlife biologist working registrations in Crivitz reported temperatures in the 20s, no snow and a light breeze at opening. He was registering deer mostly from DMUs 49B and 51A which are regular and herd control respectively. He was aging a fair number of 1.5 and 2.5 year olds which Huff noted is “a pretty normal age distribution” for the November hunt. Hunters he’d talked to said they were seeing deer. In the morning he registered an antlerless deer each for a brother and sister, both hunting as first-time hunter’s education graduates. They’d shot the deer within minutes of each other. The boy shot first and then while they were admiring his deer, a second appeared and the girl shot hers. Huff says they were both pretty excited and were heading back out to look for bucks.

Oconto County - Opening day was a crisp and cold one in northeast Wisconsin with starting temperatures in the low 20s, sky slightly overcast with high clouds, and very little wind. Pickup trucks were pulling into the registration station in Oconto Falls almost as soon as the season opened said dnr wildlife manager James Robaidek. By 10:30 deer were being registered one after another as the trucks pulled in. Most of the deer being registered at that time were bucks with an occasional large doe. One of those bucks claimed most of the hunters attention. It was a 12-pointer shot by Mary Zuehlke from Lomira. It was very special to her and to her hunting party since it was Mary’s first deer and also her first hunt. One dad and his son came in to register dad’s deer. The young “mentored hunter” and his dad planned to return to the woods again in the afternoon in hopes of the boy bagging one of his own. Two hunters said they weren’t seeing deer like they used to, but they’d both gotten theirs and were registering them

Outagamie County – DNR wildlife biologist Dick Nikolai in Shiocton has been aging deer for many years and was hunched over the bed of a trailer answering and demonstrating how deer were aged. When he’d completed his demonstration, he asked the hunter to tell him how old another deer was…and the hunter and his son agreed on an age and Nikolai told them they were right. One cold and tired hunter registering in Shiocton was cold and tired. He saw five deer in an hour, and shot one in a swamp. He dragged the deer out of the swamp and claims to have pulled that deer through water that was 4 feet deep. He was heading home to rest and said he hoped his wife didn’t have chores for him when he got home. Nikolai said bucks and does were running about 50-50. By noon he had registered 70 deer, plus given two interviews. One to Green Bay’s Channel 26 and the other to the Appleton Post-Crescent. One hunter said that he’d seen “plenty” of deer and had to restrain himself.

Shawano County - DNR wildlife manager Bryan Woodbury worked the Shawano registration station. Woodbury said before noon he had registered 32 deer and that 23 of them were bucks. He said that the deer coming in were all good size and looked healthy and well fed. One hunter had gotten his deer and when asked about what he saw in the woods reported that two does followed his buck and that after his shot he saw lots of deer running on the same trail below his tree stand.

DNR Southeast Region

Fond du Lac County - Dale Katsma, DNR area wildlife supervisor, was at the Dins registration station in Dundee, in the middle of the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit. "Boy, it's busy," he said at 1:15 p.m. "They keep piling in. It's clear and cold here and a good day for hunting. We've registered about 62 deer already. The vast majority of them are bucks. It's a regular unit here, in the middle of the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit. Forty-two of them were bucks and 20 were does and fawns. There were quite a few older bucks. A few nice ones came in. We saw a couple of young people, mentored hunters, with their first deer. We were here last year too and it seems like it's busier this year. But there have been a lot more bucks. We won't know till the end of the day. We're a regular unit this year and we were last year too. We're seeing a trend that we've been seeing in recent years. More older bucks, not as many yearlings, but 2.5, 3.5 year olds, one 4.5 year-old bucks. It says we're not harvesting deer at as high a rate as we did years ago. I think the opportunities are out there for hunters. It varies around the state. Last year, northeastern Wisconsin numbers were down. Other parts the numbers are pretty good. We did a car count and the hunter numbers are down by 20-25 percent in terms of vehicles.”

Walworth County - Staff was busy tagging deer and sampling for CWD at Bob Black Meat Processing: Delavan shortly before noon. Approximately 20 deer had been registered. Thirteen-year-old Zakary Hudson shot a yearling in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest near Lagrange. “It’s the first one I hit. But not the first one I’ve ever shot at.” Christine Siewert has travelled to Wisconsin from Lebanon, Pennsylvania for the past five years. She “missed a nice 8-eight-pointer.” But was happy she was able to bag a doe.

Waukesha County - Tim Lizotte, area wildlife supervisor in southeastern Wisconsin, broke away from taking CWD samples to report that the registration station was not overrun at the time, but as for the day, "It's going awesome. We have been steady and we're seeing happy hunters. We haven't had any grumpy people yet. They report seeing lots of deer and everyone is saying the hunting conditions are good. And the Badgers are winning (against Michigan's football team.) So right now, everything is going in the favorable directions. We haven't really had anything out of the ordinary or anything like that. We had one trophy buck, several nice bucks, definitely more does…the standard mix. We had one 6 to 8 year old does, definitely on the older side. We're in Earn A Buck so there is more incentive here for harvesting does. The deer have been looking really good. Very healthy, lots of fat. At least in this part of the state, the hunting conditions probably couldn’t have been better, unless there was some snow on the ground. Not excessively windy. Cold but not terribly cold, and really good visibility. It was a really nice morning." Marcus Smith, DNR Southeast Region public affairs manager reported sunshine and temperature in the 30s were conditions facing hunters in the Southeast Region on opening day. When he arrived at the Mukwonago Village Mini-Mart at 11 a.m., eight does and four bucks had been registered. The first deer came in shortly after 6 a.m. The majority of hunters were not happy with the results. “They only deer they saw were the ones they shot,” according to a Mini-Mart employee.

DNR South Central Region

Dane, Sauk, Richland, Grant and Iowa counties - Regional DNR public affairs manager Greg Matthews was collecting lymph nodes and heads from registration stations and transporting them to Black Earth where they will be prepared for CWD testing. He notes that the weather was sunny, with only a few hazy clouds in the sky and temperatures in the mid-30s. Great weather to be out in wood and field. He reports that a huge buck, weighing 210 pounds, was registered at Plain. Hunters were staying afield, despite the Badger game, to take advantage of the great weather.

Dodge County - Chris Cole, wildlife technician working at the Holiday Food and Sport in Waupun, reported registering a little more than 100 deer by 2:30 p.m. with the count tipped slightly in favor of bucks over antlerless deer. He felt that deer were coming in a little quicker than last year and was expecting the usual rush as hunting hours closed down. Hunters were reporting good conditions and were seeing deer with some saying there was still some rutting activity going on with bucks following does.

Jefferson County - Eric Lobner, South Central Region wildlife supervisor, who was aging deer at River’s Edge Farm Market in Jefferson, Jefferson County, said he was seeing a mixture of deer ages among early registrations, including a 3-year-old 11-point buck and some older does, 4- and 5-years old. “They all are good size and have a lot of fat – good antler development with long tines…buck necks are swollen, so they are still in the rut. And that’s what hunters are saying they are seeing. They’re are using scents and it’s helping them their success.” Lobner drove through nearly Jefferson Wildlife Area before setting up his station, and said he counted 26 vehicles. The weather was good, and hunters were out. People he had talked to seemed happy, “But then everyone is happy at a registration station. One guy brought in four deer – two were going to a food pantry.”

Richland County – Tom Hauge, director of DNR wildlife management reported clear visibility greeted deer hunters this morning near Ithaca, a welcome change from 2009 when fog obscured vision until late morning. Cool temps and brisk wind from the east made everyone feel like the extra clothing was worth it. Steady shooting in the area seemed to indicate the 2010 season was off to a good start. Young Eddie Schott (Prairie du Sac) was hunting with father Tim as a mentored hunter. Eddie had taken an antlerless deer in the early antlerless season so he already had the first-deer experience; now he wanted to find a buck. He didn't have to wait long. About 7:15 a.m. they saw a doe burst from the opposite hillside and beginning crossing the field near their blind. Right on her heels was nice nine-point buck and he was totally focused on the doe. Father Tim managed to get the buck to stop on his third try and Eddie was ready go and true on his aim. Tim could not have been prouder. Eddie's first buck is now also the camp's biggest deer so far and a strong contender for the opening weekend big buck contest.

DNR West Central Region
Adams County - Jon Robaidek, wildlife biologist out of Adams, said deer had been constantly rolling in since about 10:30 in the morning. “It’s been a even mix of antlered and antlerless deer,” Robaidek said. “In terms of what a lot of hunters are saying, they are not hearing a lot of shots, but they are hearing more single shots and not hearing a lot of repeated shots, so they think hunters are getting their deer on the first shot.” Robaidek said it seemed like hunting pressure was down just a little in the area, but that the public hunting ground he had gone by earlier in the day was full. Robaidek had hunted in an open grassland area before going to work registering deer, and said he was able to observe a mentored hunting situation. “A father and his son were sitting together for about an hour, and the youth was just looking through the gun, and the father was pointing out things and explaining what they were seeing. After about an hour the young hunter got cold, and the father took him back to the car and then and went out to do his own hunting. It was really good to see the hunt is working out as it was intended.” Robaidek said some hunters were seeing some deer that were still in rut, with bucks pursuing does, but others said they felt the rut was over. Deer management units in the Adams area had been in herd control for the past couple of years, and this year it was a regular unit. He noted that most hunters were aware of the changes and were properly using tags.

Buffalo County - DNR wildlife technician Gary Wolf, registering deer at Mondovi, said he had seen about 20 impressive bucks by the end of the lunch hour. “They are larger than average this year, I would say. I think the hunters are pretty content. They are seeing deer and hunting in nice weather.”

Buffalo County - Kris Johansen, wildlife biologist in Alma reported activity at his registration station was steady. The area is know for big bucks and Johansen said that was all they were seeing in early registrations. “We’re seeing some really exceptional antler growth even on 2-and-a-half and 3-and-a-half year olds.” Hunting pressure was about average, and Johansen was expecting to see a lot of nice bucks come in later in the day. Hunting conditions were good, if not a bit too good. “It’s not quite cool enough to get people out of their stands and moving around. The only thing that would have made it really better is if there was snow on the ground.” Johansen said the hunters he was talking to were all in good spirits, “but of course they would be, because they were all bringing in bucks.”

Chippewa County - Rayne Sonnentag of Cadott was hunting with her husband and his brother. She admitted to being really cold. “I had seven hand warmers in my pockets,” she said.

They must have helped because she harvested two deer, a large buck and a doe. Her brother-in-law added a doe to the harvest. “They were very helpful,” she said of the men. “They got the deer in the truck. They (men) do come in handy.”

Crawford County - Dave Matheys, DNR wildlife biologist from Viroqua who was working a registration station in Gays Mills reported there was a marked contrast between this year as far as the attitude of the hunters. “The weather is darn near perfect,” Matheys said. “No fog, thank goodness. Cool, crisp and sunny – a beautiful late fall day.” Matheys said hunters were also happy because they were seeing deer. “They weren’t seen hordes of deer but they were seeing deer, unlike last year when many hunters said they weren’t seeing deer.” Hunters were also reporting they were not seeing as many hunters in the field. At the registration station, which is in a herd control area, they were seeing a lot of bucks being brought in, including some very nice 2.5 years olds but also one four year old 10 to 11 pointer. A young 10-year-old mentored hunter came in with his mother who was the mentor. He had shot a doe at about 10 yards and his mother said her son was already “shaking like a leaf,” when a few seconds later a buck came along that had been following the doe, clearly still in rut. It also came within 10 yards, but with one deer down, they let the buck run off. “The young man was so nice that he contributed the head for CWD testing,” Matheys said. He and his parents were going to head back out to hunt in search of the buck.

Dunn County - Temperatures were hovering in the low 20s this morning in west central Wisconsin. The air was clear and dry. For hunters sheltered from the wind, it was perfect. Others felt the sting. “I was getting cold until I started seeing deer and then I forgot all about it,” reported Russ Trout of New Richmond, who was hunting south of Mondovi. Trout registered a magnificent 13-point buck.

Trempealeau County - In Osseo, Sid Peterson was registering the biggest buck of his hunting career, a large-bodied deer with a massive, thickly beamed, eight-point rack. He was watching three does and knew a buck was behind them by the way they kept looking behind them. “He actually came in after the does. I grunted and he came right in and made a b-line for me.” “He was pumped full of corn when we opened him up,” said Peterson’s hunting partner, Patrick Rungstad, who harvested a doe.

Sourcel: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1920

Hunters register 106,404 deer opening weekend of 2010 season

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin Whitetail News) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:26:12 PST

MADISON – Good to very good hunting conditions on opening day gave way to misty-rainy weather on day two of the 2010 gun deer hunt. Hunters participating in the traditional November nine-day gun deer hunt registered a preliminary tally of 106,404 deer over the first two days of the hunt.

The 2010 preliminary count was up about 6.3 percent from the opening weekend count of 100,330 from 2009. Preliminary buck harvest statewide in 2010 was 54,263 and preliminary antlerless harvest was 52,141.

“We want to remind folks that these preliminary numbers come from a staff call-around to deer registration stations this morning,” said Tom Hauge, director of the DNR wildlife management program. “The final opening weekend tally will likely be somewhat larger, when all the registration stubs are entered into the data base over the next couple of months.”

A breakdown of the harvest by DNR Region and county (pdf;35 kb) is available in portable document format.

“The hunters I talked to opening day were upbeat with most saying they were seeing deer,” said Hauge. “Conditions were especially good in the northwest where they had some snow on the ground improving both tracking and visibility.”

While the opening weekend is the deer hunting event of the year, “there is still a lot of hunting left,” according to Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist.

As of early Monday afternoon, 450 “opening weekend” hunting trip reports had been recorded on the department’s new online reporting database. This is down from 2009 when hunters filed 570 reports. Data from the reports is used to track wildlife population trends and abundance.

“We encourage hunters to continue to file reports,” said Warnke. “The value of this information increases over time and with the number of reports filed each year. We share this information with hunters on our website and it gives hunters an idea of what other hunters are seeing when they are in the woods.
Enthusiasm for hunting remains high

The department’s license sales office reported 607,926 gun deer licenses sold by the start of shooting hours on Nov. 20. This number was down 3 percent from the comparable day in 2009 but in at least one important category, 10 and 11 year old hunters, sales were up 15 percent from 2009.
Deer license and tag sales will continue through the hunting seasons.
The long custom of buying a license on the way to deer camp is also intact. DNR licensing managers reported selling 89,593 licenses on Friday, Nov. 19. At one point in late afternoon Friday, computers showed license sales coming in at a rate of 333 per minute. Hunters purchased 235,547 licenses in the five days preceding the season opener.
Of the hunters hitting the woods on Saturday:
•564,825 were residents and 32,056 were nonresidents;

•More than 86,000 youth hunters under 18 years old participated in this year’s hunt.

•Females represent 8.6 percent of the total hunters, and 20 percent of new 10- and 11-year-old hunters;

•Hunters throughout the U.S. and 22 foreign countries purchased a Wisconsin gun deer license. The highest number of nonresident hunters came from Minnesota (16,017), Illinois (7,968), Michigan (1,012), and Florida (838);

•The greatest number of foreign hunters came from Canada (32), Germany (19) and U.K. (9).

Injury report

There were no fatal shooting incidents recorded during the first two days of the hunt but there were five non-fatal firearms-related incidents, reports DNR Hunter Education Administrator Tim Lawhern.
“We wish a speedy recovery to the victims, but the fact remains that all five could have been prevented if strict firearm safety rules had been observed by the shooters.”

Four incidents occurred on Saturday.

In Wood County, a hunter was struck in the chest by a bullet fired at a running deer from more than 600 yards away.

In Marquette County, a hunter suffered a grazing surface wound to the head as the victim and the shooter both fired at a moving deer.

In Marathon County, a hunter was wounded below the left shoulder. The victim was a stander in a deer drive and the shooter was a member of the drive.

In Door County, a hunter was shot through the right thigh. Both victim and shooter were participating in a deer drive.

On Sunday, a Douglas County hunter was wounded in the high right shoulder. Both the victim and the shooter were participating in a deer drive.

Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern noted that historically about half of Wisconsin’s shooting incidents happen during deer drives, usually because someone wasn’t where they were supposed to be or someone shot at a deer when they did not have a safe backstop or in a direction they should not have been shooting.
“Always be sure of your target and anything behid it, and if you aren’t sure, don’t shoot.” Know where your bullet will impact if you miss.

“It is really important that hunting parties wanting to drive deer have a plan and that they follow that plan to the letter. Knowing where your hunting mates are and where safe shooting lanes are is critical,” he said.
Statistically, about half the hunting incidents happen during opening weekend.

“I am hoping we buck that statistic and can avoid further incidents this year,” Lawhern said. “Compared to the ‘good ole’ days,’ hunting is safe and getting safer. In 1915, of the state’s 155,000 hunters then, 24 were killed and 26 were injured. That meant 1 in about 3,100 hunters could expect to be killed or injured. Today it’s 1 in 100,000 or better. Still any shooting incident is one too many. Hunters need to remember the shooting TAB-K safety rules and be careful with deer drives later this week,” he said.

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1920

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Wisconsin Whitetail News
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