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| 11/20/2009 8:16:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Hunters to hit the Northwoods for deer gun season
Limited doe tags won’t stop timeless tradition
Wisconsin's regular deer gun season opens tomorrow and hunters of the north are prepared for another season spun from more than 75 years of tradition in the state.
While the Department of Natural Resources hasn't minced words about the availability of deer in the Northwoods in 2009 - wildlife biologists anticipate that even the statewide deer harvest will be lower than last year - it won't stop most hunters from making the annual pilgrimage to the almighty deer camp.
Christy Justice, co-owner of Kurt's Island Sports Shop, said each year the shop registers about 1,000 deer. Last year, she said, around 700 deer were registered.
"With the limited number of antlerless tags being issued up north, we aren't going to see a harvest like we are used to," Justice said.
She anticipates registering 300-500 deer this year.
She said it doesn't mean hunters are necessarily pessimistic about the season.
"There's still that camaraderie. Deer camp is still fun," Justice said.
Weather forecast
Weather conditions for the opener are forecasted to be mild, with high temperatures in the low 50s Saturday and Sunday and cloudy skies.
"The woods will not be terribly wet," Rhineland DNR wildlife biologist Ron Eckstein said Monday. "If we get a break without high winds, that's good. It makes for a good opener. If we have calmer weather, dry woods and no rain, hunters can get around, drive where they need to and walk to their stands."
Hunters may be hoping for snow to allow for better deer tracking, but may not see it until later in the week. There is a 40 percent to 60 percent chance of rain Monday and Tuesday, possibly turning to snow by Wednesday.
Eckstein said that though snow is desirable for hunters, history shows that we've only had snow for about half of the years that deer hunting has been sanctioned in Wisconsin - even this far north.
Changed your mind? Hunt anyway
Anyone wanting to hunt after the season opens but who hasn't already purchased a license will be pleased with a new 2009 rule.
A change in the law allows hunters to purchase a license after the season has opened. In prior years, those planning to hunt the nine-day gun hunt were required to buy a license before the season opened.
Harvest prediction,
license sales slightly down
License sales for the deer gun season are down 6 percent from this time last year. While most sales are made for deer gun during this final week before the opener, sales to date still reflect a decrease in more than 26,000 licenses as of press time Wednesday.
The DNR issued a press release in early November about the harvest prediction. In it, DNR big game ecologist Keith Warnke said "There are fewer herd control units and no earn-a-buck requirement except in the chronic wasting disease management zone, below average fawn production in the past two years, a reduced number of antlerless permits in northern Wisconsin due to lower deer populations in that region and a delayed corn harvest. All these will contribute to a lower antlerless deer harvest and a lower total harvest."
The prediction should come as no surprise. After the 2008 harvest was much lower than the DNR had anticipated, there was something of an outcry from hunters.
"Hunters let us know in no uncertain terms that the deer herd needed to be rebuilt," Eckstein said. "We listened, and this year, in order to rebuild the herd, particularly in the Lakeland area, we needed to limit the antlerless harvest. In many northern DMUs there are not a lot of opportunities to harvest antlerless deer during the gun hunt season."
He said this should allow more does and fawns to survive the winter, which in turn will increase population.
Doe tag availability scarce
Because of efforts to increase the deer herd population in much of northern Wisconsin, limitations have been set on harvesting antlerless deer this gun hunt.
Hunters should already be aware that many northern deer management units are buck-only and a limited number of antlerless tags are available in other northern DMUs. In several DMUs, those antlerless tags are sold out.
Antlerless tags offered in northern DMUs are unit-specific and must be purchased separately. Hunters should carefully check the status of the area where they hunt because in most cases in northern Wisconsin, they will not be able to use the free herd control antlerless permits they receive with their license, as they have in recent years.
In 13 DMUs statewide, there were no antlerless permits issued. All 13 are in the northern region of Wisconsin. No antlerless deer can be taken from any of those units and bonus tags do not apply in them.
"Anyone tagging an antlerless deer in the 13 regular DMUs without antlerless tags available using a bonus or herd control unit tag will be in violation of the law and could be fined and have the deer and their equipment confiscated," DNR Northern Region law enforcement supervisor Dave Zebro said in a press release.
Bonus tags can be used in some DMUs across the state, however. Many western and eastern counties still have herd control units, the southern counties have CWD units and a few units are non-quota, so it is important for hunters to check the unit in which they plan to hunt and purchase the proper license and tags accordingly.
Hunting antlerless in the north
There are only six DMU's located within an approximate 60-mile radius of Lakeland area that still have doe tags available. They are 14, 20, 25, 28, 29A and 30.
Other nearby units that offered antlerless tags, but are already sold out are 34, 37, 45 and 52.
And nearby DMUs where no antlerless permits are available at all are 29B, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44.
See the related chart and map with this story for more detailed numbers on remaining antlerless tags.
The future of the herd
Eckstein said two things will happen before the DNR decides on the number of antlerless tags that will be issued for the 2010 season.
The first is, at its December meeting the Natural Resources Board will decide what the season framework changes will be, if any.
Earlier this year, a special committee appointed by the NRB was charged with developing a recommendation for the 2010-11 seasons that would manage the herd yet please hunters at the same time. Its proposal of a 16-day deer gun hunt opening an entire week earlier (two Saturdays before Thanksgiving) than the traditional opener, was overwhelmingly opposed by those participating in 11 public hearings statewide and by those who submitted online comments on the DNR website. Online comments were accepted through Nov. 3.
Eckstein said the DNR is still working on the recommendation that will be submitted at the December NRB meeting, but said he doesn't know what the NRB will ultimately decide though he did say, "In light of a 16-day season being uniformly rejected by hunters, it's hard to imagine the NRB will go in the opposite direction (of pubic opinion)."
Whatever the season framework is will help the DNR in part to decide how many antlerless tags to issue and where next year.
The second part of deciding on antlerless tags for next year depends on how the 2009 season harvest numbers tally. The DNR will make recommendations in April to the NRB on 2010 antlerless permits using those numbers.
Mentored hunting
Warnke told The Lakeland Times Monday, "This week in Wisconsin is a week of renewing old friendships and making new ones. The hunting tradition is one of our strongest focal points in the outdoor year and the focus should be on family, friends and safety every year."
A new mentor youth hunting law was passed in September allowing 10- and 11-year-olds (or older individuals with no hunting experience) to hunt under safety-specific guidelines. The DNR encourages experienced mentors to take a youth hunting to promote the sport.
Since the law passed, more than 10,000 mentor licenses have been sold and the DNR claims Wisconsin's mentored hunting law has been "identified as the safest set of controlled conditions for youth hunting in the nation."
Here are some of the rules of the mentor hunt:
• Mentors may only accompany one mentored hunter at a time and must be within arm's reach of the mentored hunter at all times.
• The pair may carry only one firearm or bow between them.
• All other hunting and trapping rules apply with regard to season dates, season rules, bag limits, clothing requirements and harvest registration.
• Mentored hunters of any age do not need to complete a hunter safety education course prior to hunting under these controlled conditions, and if age 10 or 11, can purchase a reduced fee hunting license.
Venison pantry
In this, the 10th anniversary of the venison pantry program, hunters again have the opportunity to donate venison that benefits families in need.
To view a list of participating meat processors in your area, go to the DNR website http://dnr.wi.us.
A DNR press release said that in the past 10 years, thousands of families have received relief through the program.
Safety first
DNR hunter education administrator Tim Lawhern said that because of the steady decline over the past 20 years in hunter accidents and fatalities, there may not only be a fatality-free season, but an injury-free season forthcoming.
"I know that within the next five years, we will have a gun deer season with no fatalities. We will, if people follow the four rules of safety. The trend shows there will be less than 10 incidents with perhaps no fatalities," Lawhern told The Lakeland Times Nov. 6. He said statistically "we are slated to have the safest season we've ever had this year."
The four rules of firearm safety Lawhern mentioned are easily remembered using the TAB-K formula:
• T - Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
• A - Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.
• B - Be certain of your target and what's beyond it.
• K - Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.
Because of the training and hunter safety outreach programs statewide for more than 20 years, the number of deer hunting incidents has already decreased to fewer than 10 during the regular gun season.
Bag (or don't bag) that buck
Hunters intent on harvesting a deer this year will need to do some research, if they haven't already done so.
"Hunters will need to do their homework and scouting and find areas deer are using," said Warnke.
He said hunters who spend time getting prepared are most likely to be in the ranks of successful hunters. Annually, fewer than 40 percent of hunters bag a deer.
"But deer hunting is a whole lot more than just killing a deer," Warnke said. "For most deer hunters, it's about spending time with family and friends getting outside in the autumn air, observing wildlife and enjoying the various traditions associated with the deer season. Some hunters will bag a deer and some won't. It's always been that way."
DNR toll free
Hunters with questions about the gun deer season can call the DNR's call center at (888) WDNRINFo seven days a week. Toll free number hours, even through the hunting season, are 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
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