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ORIGINAL: xlang74x

Iagree, there is no possible way to completely stop CWD. Its just sad/disgusting to see all the headless deer laying in fifty gallon drums waiting to be disposed of at the registration station. Seems like killing to me, not hunting. What a waste.

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ORIGINAL: Handles

I'd be all for a doe only rifle season for a year. I thought they should have done that 20 years ago.

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There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that hunters and others who consume venison containing the proteins that cause the deadly brain ailment chronic wasting disease will get the disease, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department scientists.
Wyoming officials said the risk of death to humans who eat such meat appear nonexistent.
"Nobody has ever died from CWD and people have been eating (deer meat that could contain prions) for 25 years," said Terry Kreeger, Supervisor of the Game and Fish Department's Veterinary Research Services.

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scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggest that certain soil types serve as natural prion repositories in the wild. As animals regularly consume soil to meet their
mineral needs, it's possible that prion-laden soil particles contribute to the
transmission of prion disease such as CWD among animals.
"Prions most likely enter soil via excretion or from the carcasses of infected
animals,"
"We also wanted to determine how difficult it is to remove prions from clay,"
says senior author Joel Pedersen, a UW-Madison assistant professor of soil
science. "It turned out to be extremely difficult."
In fact, prions could be released from clay only when the scientists boiled the
clay-bound proteins in a detergent solution.

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Also regarding Chronic Wasting Disease, I was quite shocked to learn that the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in 1988 inoculated live animals with CWD. One type of animal that was inoculated was mule deer. And I find it more than a little suspicious that a mule deer, shot by a hunter in the Mt. Horeb area during that time, was immediately confiscated by the Department of Natural Resources. Why were the Department and the University not forthcoming with this bit of information? Could these mule deer, infected with CWD by the University be the source of the disease in our native whitetail population? I requested the Committee to inquire with the University as to the nature of the CWD experiments and what happened to all of the animals infected.

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30 years of testing to see if they could infect other animals with CWD has resulted in NO test animals getting the disease other than other deer. I would rather eat raw venison off of an infected deer, than handle a rabid Bat. Why not put a big circle on the freakin map and kill all of the bats?? Probably becuase the govener is not getting a kick back from auto insureance companies to reduce the number of Bat / car accidents. Yes freinds... Rabie's is far more dangerous than CWD, and nobody is doing anything to stop it.

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Simply put, with the size of the infected area and the factors involved, deer eradication is unrealistic as a means to control the disease.

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There has been research done that shows the disease can be obtained from the environment

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the highest we have seen is 10-12% of the adult population infected.

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I assume the two guys who almost shot me in the last two years probably took a hunter safety coarse. I had one guy draw a bow on me in pitch black darkness as I was heading out of the marsh after tracking a friends wounded deer. I heard the arrow slide back and quickly lit the guy up with my flash light, he was at full draw. He started screaming at me, something about how I am going to get myself shot by walking around at night without a flashlight... Yep, the DNR is right, this guy should have a rifle in his hands and several tags to shoot any deer... After all, he had a hunters Safety coarse right? How about the time I walked out of the marsh and had a bowhunter at full draw aiming at the trail waiting for me to walk out? He just let down his draw and staired at me... Both guys I just walked away, it aint worth it to argue with idiots. Would you take your kid out in the cattail marsh where there are guys jump shooting deer but can't see through the cattails at whats beyond? It is the DNR's responsability to keep hunting safe! I agree, that individules should be held responsible for not following every safety rule. But allowing people to shoot at any deer they see, and encouraging it, is going to cause people to get shot. It could be your son or my kid that gets it. Opening rifles in these same areas is insane. They closed rifles becuase it was too dangerous, now that we can shoot any thing we see it suddenly becomes safe????

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The QDMA acknowledges that total herd eradication may appear to be the most effective method to contain and control CWD.
At this time, however, the QDMA considers total herd eradication impossible under most circumstances, unacceptable to many segments of society, and impractical as a long-term CWD management strategy.

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. . This episode shows that a scientific bureau, confronted with a question of wildlife eradication, may prefer to lose the wildlife than to lose time in scientific research for alternatives. In one sense this is water over the dam, but in another it carries a lesson for the future. At best, the scientific base in this case was sketchy, and no imagination had been used in searching for less destructive alternatives."
"It is time for us to learn caution and restraint in our power to eradicate wild things." --Aldo Leopold, December 5th, 1944

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The DNR’s rush to kill 100% of the deer population in a 361 square mile area in Southwestern Wisconsin
- as soon as possible - is meeting strong resistance from many hunters and landowners. As outlined here,
CAIDS-Wisconsin and these two groups support a more reasoned, balanced approach to successfully
addressing and containing Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin.
Hunter-sportsmen oppose the kill because it is neither for food nor sport. Ninety-eight percent (98%) of
the deer to be killed and incinerated or dumped in the landfill will be healthy animals. The traditions that
mark the sport of deer hunting are being cast aside. What the DNR has proposed is an all-out “War” against the deer, not a sporting deer hunt.
Area landowners opposed granting the DNR the power to abuse private property rights and view the
plan as a threat to the right to live safely and securely in their communities. Conducting a war-like assault
to search and kill all deer will produce “collateral damage” and materially upset the ecological balance of
the area. The DNR rush to judgement – without adequate research, testing and preparation – simply
adds further insecurity and anxiety that accidents and harm are a certainty.

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“My strong opinion is that CWD and other diseases never will be eradicated from wild deer herds. They just become a factor to consider in management.”
Professor James C. Kroll, Founder & Director, Institute for White-tailed Deer Managament & Research

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The agency's lead scientist on CWD and an early proponent of culling, Mike Miller, said data collected over the years don't show that thinning herds has had any significant effect on the rate of the disease in the wild.

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CWD has never taken down vast numbers of deer as once feared. In fact, in the most infected pockets of the state, the rate of disease among deer is about 10 percent, not much different than it's been for several years.

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One prominent critic of the culling approach has been retired University of Colorado biology professor Charles Southwick, who has argued that culling might actually exacerbate the spread of CWD.
That's based on his view that clearing deer out of a "hot spot" just opens the door for more deer to come in and contract the disease from the environment, where research suggests the agents behind the disease can subsist in soil and feces.
In addition, Southwick has argued, it might be that most deer and elk have a natural resistance to CWD. By killing off mostly healthy populations, the division might be reducing the creatures that have that resistance, under his view.

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ORIGINAL: xlang74x

bloodbro,

Where did you get the informationregarding the mule deer as stated byGarey Bies?? If this is true it would sure make a great news story for some hungry reporter and hopefully open up some eyes as to how the dnr is handling things.

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ORIGINAL: xlang74x

bloodbro,

Where did you get the informationregarding the mule deer as stated byGarey Bies?? If this is true it would sure make a great news story for some hungry reporter and hopefully open up some eyes as to how the dnr is handling things.

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About the Secretary of Natural Resources
Gov. Jim Doyle appointed Madison attorney and outdoor enthusiast P. Scott Hassett as DNR secretary in January 2003.
P. Scott Hassett
P. Scott Hassett, Secretary Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Scott Hassett came to the DNR from a 22-year career practicing law in the private sector, primarily working on employment, criminal and environmental litigation cases.

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Within 90 days, I will announce a system whereby any citizen can contact my office to complain about a DNR employee’s behavior or attitude. Before the announcement, I will communicate clearly and firmly to employees about the business-like behavior that will be the norm. This new norm will help define the culture. There will be negative consequences for employees who don’t get it; there will benefits for employees who exemplify the new culture.

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My employees will be accountable, but I have to say that I will also call out those who tell the unsubstantiated stories about the bad DNR. If I'm to hold my staff to a higher standard others need to know that I am no longer listening to the anecdotal stories without asking the tough questions. If you're making it up I'm going to find out.

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To make it happen, DNR employees will walk in someone else’s shoes. If there are workers that fear for their jobs, their families and their future, DNR workers must feel that fear.

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As you know, I’m an outsider in DNR. I did not come up through the ranks. I have a fresh pair of eyes. I try to ask probing questions and listen carefully. That comes from my training as a journalist and attorney. I also am a results-oriented person, and I have a mandate from the Governor to lead change in the DNR.

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I have heard again and again that DNR is insulated from the world that others live in. As a result, I have heard that our personal contacts appear heartless and our decisions disconnected from real needs. That perception must change. If the perception is true, the reality must change as well.

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Like any organization, we have to work to maintain good relations with the public, even when we're tired, frustrated or overworked. A few uncooperative staff or isolated sour incidents can kidnap our reputation. We are under a microscope. We need to help each other.

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Smith ouster is called ‘political’
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 4:44 PM EST
By Dean Bortz Editor
Madison — Several Wisconsin conservation veterans believe DNR leadership abilities took a step backward last month when DNR Deputy Secretary Bill Smith was removed as the agency’s second in command.
He is going to be replaced by the current DNR executive assistant Mary Schlaefer. She will be replaced by Randy Romanski, who is Gov. Jim Doyle’s deputy chief of staff and former executive assistant at the Department of Transportation.
Several conservation leaders did not want to be identified, but agreed that Smith’s experience and knowledge on resource issues and management will be sorely missed. They called Smith’s removal a bad move.
Former DNR secretary and current Wisconsin Wildlife Federation executive director George Meyer didn’t hide his displeasure with the decision.
“Not only is his loss of great concern, but now we have the three top people in the agency and the great majority of division administrators with four or less years of experience in the agency,” Meyer said. “While they are all fine people, this is a great loss to conservation in Wisconsin and illustrates in spades why we need to return to an agency managed by a designee of the Natural Resources Board and true professional natural resource management in this state.”
Retired Natural Resources Board member Herb Behnke, of Shawano, said DNR Secretary Scott Hassett and Doyle made a mistake in removing Smith.
“There’s no one there now who has any experience in resource management. People like Bill Smith, who have been in the field and know what’s going on, should rise to the top and be the decision makers, but that’s not happening now,” Behnke said.
“We’re not in good shape at all now, as far as resource management goes,” he said. “Bill understood the workings of the DNR, he earned the right to be there. He did a good job there in the last four years, managing the day-to-day operations of the DNR.
“Mary is a fine person, I know her. She’s a great lawyer, but she does not have any resource management background at all, Behnke said.
Lee Kernen, of Montello, is the DNR’s former fisheries chief and now a columnist for Wisconsin Outdoor News. Kernen worked with Smith when Smith was the Northwest Region director.
“Bill is a great guy and a good guy to work for. He’s the person who held the DNR together until Scott Hassett got his feet on the ground,” Kernen said.
One of the conservation leaders who wished to remain unnamed said Smith’s departure is a “huge loss.”
“It is obviously a political move. These people have no resource background - it was good to know that the second in command (Smith) had a good resource background,” one source said.
Another source added: “We have to be concerned about this. The question is, is DNR going to be a resource agency led by professional resource people? Their decisions affect everything we do, and some of these issues are incredibly complex. Who is going to be making those decisions? They may do a good job but, but should we not have some institutional history at the top?”
Behnke said Smith’s removal now brings Wisconsin conservation efforts full circle in the past 80 years.
“Eighty years ago, Aldo Leopold, Bill Aberg, and Haskell Noyes got the Legislature to separate politics from conservation decisions, but now we’re back to where politicians are making the decisions instead of career employees, and that’s not a good situation,” he said.
Doyle announced the changes in a press release late on Friday, Dec. 29, just before the long New Year’s weekend. Meyer pointed out that those types of news releases often are used by politicians who know their decisions are going to be unpopular with the public. In today’s electronic news world, that Friday announcement is long forgotten by Tuesday morning, and news outlets go on to newer, fresher stories.
“Ever wonder why these decisions are revealed the Friday before a holiday?” Meyer asked.
The news release points out that Romanski grew up fishing on the Wisconsin River, but critics of the move wonder how that translates into Romanski being able to make major natural resources management decisions.
Romanski has a master’s degree in public policy and administration from UW-Madison and worked as chief of staff for Sen. Alice Clausing. From June of 2005 through December he served as Doyle’s deputy chief of staff.
Schlaefer has no background in natural resources, but she knew Doyle when she worked in the attorney general’s office.
Smith’s future role within the DNR was not announced, but he will turn 57 this fall, making him eligible to retire from the agency.
Hassett did not return an e-mail from Wisconsin Outdoor News before press time for this issue.
“This is a real true loss to the agency and to sportsmen and women. This lack of experience at the top (of the DNR) is a true conservation travesty,” Meyer said.

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I am very pleased and excited about the partnership that has been forged with Whitetails Unlimited to bring the reward program into reality this fall. The $400 reward for each positive deer removed during the hunting season recognizes the importance of cooperation between landowners and hunters by giving $200 to the hunter and $200 to landowner on whose land the positive deer was shot.

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