By Neal Kedzie
Contributor
Wisconsin is known for its proud hunting heritage, and the sportsmen and women who participate in the many outdoor opportunities are dedicated to the sport they enjoy. Many have a long lineage of family hunting, passing the tradition on from one generation to the next, the same as in my family. It’s important that hunting is correctly practiced, this includes making sure the right ammunition is being used for the right impact, luckily we can click here to see what’s on offer and stock up for our hunting days. Got to make sure we are keeping the tradition alive!
Each fall, Wisconsin opens its doors to hunters across the state and the nation, offering something for every hunter at varying skill levels. Quite a lot of hunters travel from outside the state to hone their skills. Some of them, particularly those who are new to the sport, may consult numerous guidelines to choose which rifle (such as this RifleScopesCenter.com budget red dot sight) is best for them to use. Hunting and trapping seasons include deer, bear, wolf, game birds, migratory birds, ducks, furbearers, turkey and small game. This fall’s hunting seasons will incorporate a few changes recently made to various hunts around Wisconsin, including bear, wolf and deer.
This past session, the Legislature passed 2011 Senate Bill 72 in order to improve the safety and quality of bear hunting in Wisconsin by expanding the privileges for a Class B bear license. Senate Bill 72 makes a number of changes to Class B bear licenses, including authorizing a holder of a Class B license to shoot a bear already shot by a Class A license holder when it is necessary to protect the safety of the members of the hunting party or the public. Senate Bill 72 was signed into law and is in effect for the current bear-hunting season.
In response to the devastation to domestic animals and livestock caused by the growing wolf population in Wisconsin, the Legislature created a wolf management season from Oct. 15 through the end of February. Senate Bill 411, which was signed into law, requires the Department of Natural Resources to divide the state into wolf harvesting zones, requires the zones be identified in the DNR’s wolf management plan, and specifies that a wolf harvesting license authorizes hunting and trapping only in a specified zone. For the new wolf-hunting season, the DNR received more than 20,000 applications to participate in the wolf hunt. Of those applications, 1,160 hunters were chosen through a computerized lottery drawing.
Deer hunters should be pleased with recent changes made to the deer-hunting season. Last fall, the Legislature passed legislation ending the earn-a-buck requirement. The EAB program, instituted in 1996, required those holding a deer-hunting license to harvest an antlerless deer before harvesting an antlered deer. Hunters needed to take a doe before taking the prized buck. The DNR stated the purpose of the EAB program was to control both the deer population and Chronic Wasting Disease.
However, unintended consequences of the EAB requirement led to a deluge of hunters leaving the field and fewer deer being harvested. In response, lawmakers re-examined the EAB requirement and introduced 2011 Senate Bill 75, which prohibits the DNR from establishing certain restrictions on hunting antlered deer and eliminates the four-day October hunt outside the CWD management zone. Senate Bill 75 was signed into law just in time for last season’s hunt, and is still in effect, so there is no EAB requirement for this fall’s hunt or any future deer hunt.
After listening to the frustrations of deer hunters across the state, Governor Walker hired Dr. James Kroll, a respected national deer management consultant, to examine the DNR’s deer management policies. Though Wisconsin has one of the largest deer herds in the nation and is one of the top states in annual deer harvests, the DNR’s regulations over the past decade have led to an uproar among hunters, with a number of hunters becoming more frustrated with the sport, or leaving it altogether. The Governor directed Dr. Kroll to conduct an independent, objective and scientifically based review of the state’s deer management practices, and make recommendations to both the DNR and the Legislature for improvements.
Dr. Kroll, along with two other researchers, spent months meeting with the general public, DNR employees, stakeholder groups and Native American tribes. After nine months of research, Dr. Kroll released his final report this past July. In the 136-page report, he detailed a number of suggestions, stating the DNR should focus on the number of deer in different regions, give the public better access to computerized maps, simplify hunting rules and fees and allow landowners and hunting clubs to run hunts on their property after consulting with DNR biologists. Currently, the DNR is reviewing the comprehensive report and working on implementation strategies.
Finally, last month the Governor suspended the four-day October deer hunt in the south central CWD management zone, putting into sync what had already been enacted into law by eliminating the four-day October hunt outside the CWD zone. The suspension of the October hunt was also in response to hunters who expressed concerns with the October hunt, and follows Dr. Kroll’s report, which questioned whether the October hunt was effective enough to continue.
As Wisconsin embarks on the new the fall hunting seasons, the changes made by both the Legislature and Governor should help ensure Wisconsin’s hunting traditions will continue to thrive for generations to come. For more information about the hunts and their corresponding seasons, visit the DNR’s Web site at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/ or contact my office anytime.
Senator Kedzie can be reached in Madison at P.O. Box 7882, Madison, WI 53707-7882 or by calling toll-free 1 (800) 578-1457. He may be reached in the district at (262) 742-2025 or online at www.senatorkedzie.com
