WI deer season rules based on hunters' input, secretary says

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By Dave Orrick, St Paul Pioneer Press
11/15/2014 06:54:14 PM CST | Updated: about 14 hours ago

photo of new deer zones: http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_269 ... ed-hunters

What Wisconsin hunters need to know
Wisconsin's 9-day gun deer hunting season begins a half hour before sunrise Nov. 22.

More than 600,000 deer licenses are sold annually in the state -- many to Minnesotans.

The two big headlines are this:

1. A major overhaul of geographic hunting zones and management areas takes effect, and hunters need to know how the changes will affect their bag limits.

2. Back-to-back severe winters have hurt the deer population in the northern portion of the state, leaving much of it "bucks-only" in an attempt to allow the population to rebound, similar to Minnesota's plight.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp recently spoke with me about the upcoming season.

Q. The talk about the changes this year from implementing the Deer Trustee Report. Do I have this right? The entire state is now divided into four zones: Northern Forest, Central Farmland, Central Forest, and Southern Farmland. But that's really like two zones: forest and farm. There used to be about 135 smaller "deer management units," but now there are 76, the state's 72 counties plus four Indian tribal areas.

A. That's right.

Q. That sounds simpler, but it's also a lot of change. Is it more complicated or less?

A. Our goal all along has been to simplify things both for our management and for our hunters.
All of the changes we made are really based on input we received from hunters and forestry managers across the state. These aren't ideas that were hatched in a cubicle in Madison by the department. We've had an unbelievable amount of feedback.
We've got some herd rebuilding to do in the northern forest, so we have bucks-only up there, but we have a lot of deer in the southern farmland, so we have more antlerless tags there.

Q. Right, you can't do a one-size-fits-all for a state as large and diverse as Wisconsin. Is it too simple now?

A. The beauty is that we have actual county management units now, so we're going to have a lot more public opinion from folks who are actually on the ground. There's nothing better than having eyes and ears out there.

Q. Change can lead to confusion. Are you concerned about hunters being confused and running afoul of the law?

A. Everyone in the department is very aware of the changes and the issues that can lead to. Our wardens know the first year will be a learning year, and we expect them to use discretion.

Q. As you foresaw last year at this time, there was no real appetite in the state legislature for a statewide ban on baiting, which was recommended by the trustee report. Baiting is still allowed everywhere except where chronic-wasting disease has been found.

A. We have the same laws as last year. However, there were a couple of areas where CWD positives were found. My suggestion for hunters is to go to our website (dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/deer) to look at the map that shows where baiting is allowed and where it's not.

Q. This will be the last year that in-person carcass registration is required everywhere. You're testing phone and internet registration this year and plan to have the system in place next year. Some businesses that offer registration worry that the tradition of being gathering place for hunters will be lost.

A. People can still do that next year, even when we full go to online registration. Any bar or any gas station can still have that biggest buck contest. Wisconsin was one of the few states where we still hand-counted tags. It cost us well over $100,000 to hand-count those tickets. That's money that can be better spent in other ways to help deer.
Q. The past two winters were rough on the herd up north. Do you worry about hunter expectations?

A. A lot is going to vary, but if they go into the far north and the forested areas, this is no secret but we've got some work to do to rebuild the herd. But deer hunting is much more about the tradition than how many deer you kill. Still, we want people to have realistic expectations.

Q. Are you worried that if hunters have a rough time finding deer in the north that they'll conflate that with changes to the regulations?

A. (Chuckling) Anything we do in wildlife management comes under criticism no matter what changes you make. I've learned that in my three years. But these are ideas from hunters themselves. The major message for hunters out there is you talked and we listened, and I'm really encouraging people to get involved at the county advisory committee level, and to be patient with us as we move through these changes together.

Q. Your boss, Gov. Scott Walker, was just re-elected. Do you expect to stay on?

A. I sure love my job. Of course it would have to go through the formal confirmation process. I'm having the time of my life and I'm ready to keep going.

Q. Will you hunt this year?

A. Absolutely. I'm not sure if it will be public or private. I'll be headed toward Clark County.