RE: Animals in Wisconsin....
How was your mast year? In parts of northern Virginia they had a zero acorn drop this year, picture that, absolutely no acorns. States experiencing drought late in the Summer very often have so little mast or even ag crops that game animals starve en masse. Habitat loss is a real game slayer, species such as grouse and quail are severely afected by it. Has the habitat where you hunt changed? It doesn't take much to change the local game population. Overhunting the previous season can dramatically affect not only the target species but several others as well. Take out enough does and you'll have way fewer deer the next year, add some coyotes and the rabbits and ground nesting birds suffer. There is no one single factor.