TJD

Not sure if anyone has noticed, but on the Wisconsin DNR website is the report issued by an independent group to review the SAK method of estimating deer.

When it was released, the DNR spun it that it basically confirmed that the SAK method was effective. In reading thru the conclusions, that is not exactly true. The method is subject to some SERIOUS deficiencies, especially at the local level.

I have a link to the full report on my website, along with some commentary I was asked to write, titled "Can the Wisconsin DNR Accurately Count Deer?".

MarquetteMagnum

Well, I am not a blind person, and I have all my fingers and I can count deer and I can tell you I do not count as many deer as I use to. I am surprised there are any deer left in some of those iradication zones.

TJD

Sort of sums up my feelings. I used to see a whole lot more deer than I do these days. Funny thing: in unit 61 where I hunt crop damage claims are down, and the number of vehicle/deer collisions is about the same as it was 8 years ago. But the DNR insists on having an early antlerless season because we are supposedly "over target".

But as I read the results of the SAK audit, I'm having trouble seeing how the DNR could possibly get that right.

BowHuntingFool

I have seen more deer this past season than the last 2 seasons combined, and I seen A LOT of deer during those 2 seasons as well! Last year I could not get in a tree and see deer after deer after deer!!

TJD

It's great you've been seeing the deer. I've been seeing them too, but its not like it used to be. My point is not that there may not be an issue in some areas, but in our unit (61) the DNR has been notorious for having it wrong for some time.

I'm all for harvesting does...we do quite a bit of that whether there is EAB, t-zone or not. Point is, the DNR trying to force special hunts and regulations down the throats of huntersnot onlydoes not work, it has the opposite effect. Witness the CWD zones, where "eradication" of the deer population...a 90% reduction to be specific...was the DNR's goal. You basically had a year round deer season. Population dropped some, but not enough, at least according to the DNR. They then wanted to have sharpshooters fly over private land at night in helicopters equipped with spotlights so more deer could be taken. How's that for a government agency, established to serve the public, engaging in a spirit of service?? Landowners rightfully objected and the plan was scrapped. Meanwhile, in part due to landowner backlash, the population in parts of the CWD zone actually increased.

Back to the non-CWD areas. The DNR's approach up until now can be summed up like this: "We know better than all of you and therefore we, the all-knowing, are going to tell you how and when you can shoot bucks. Yeah, we know the October antlerless hunts have angered bowhunters forever, but too bad! We're going to do it because we can!"

Hardly a recipie for earning cooperation from hunters.

lungbuster12point06

It's been said before, but they admittedly can't accurately count bear numbers..........do you really think they even have a handle on whitetail numbers.

TJD

Not a chance. Thing is, I would not even have a problem with being off, or even WAY OFF in terms of counting deer. My problem is that they continue to insist they are right, regardless of any information to the contrary. More troubling...regardless of how accurate or inaccurate they are, wouldn't you think they would try to work WITH hunters and landowners rather than shoving unpopular (and ineffective) measures down the throats of landowners and hunters?

Well, maybe that is too much to hope for....