Yep its bad,some of our foresters want deer down to 8 per sq.mile,(in Northern Wi.) our resident wolf biologist says that if deer get below 10 per sq. mile they might not be able to recover because of the wolves. Any increase in deer will be killed by the wolves and that is without any hunting. Some of our northern units are close to that now. It sure looks like another tough winter with 14" of snow on the ground already and more on the way tonite. In the 2 units I hunt (rifle) in northern Wi. (units 20-25) they had over 14,000 doe tags although not all were sold what the h--- are they thinking? I might not be a biologist but have been hunting up there since "53" and this is bad. No trails except by bait piles on private land. Of course all the antlerless are shot on public land.
Redclub

Again pretty similar stuff here. Many believe our bear bobcat & coyote depredation can and will hold the herd at the lowest levels in the areas around 10 dpsm or less, which according to our game commission is a large area of north central Pa and a couple of others. That area is not rated at a specific deer density but rather was labeled "Less than 10 overwinter dpsm". There has also been talk about the need for some areas to go to FIVE dpsm to "save the forest"!! Those statements have come via Pgc insiders as well as partners of pgc that have guided this program since day one...

The highest estimated average overwinter deer density for a Pa wmu is "less than 25 dpsm", and that in the absolute best area of the state where similar areas elsewhere hold 30-40 plus. The 25 dpsm was an assessment given a few years back and more reduction has reportedly occurred since according to herd density change charts pgc has put together. Currently the "higher" density wmus (which most states would consider less than normal to begin with for their "best" areas) are being targeted for further reduction. They simply wont be happy until the whole state is wiped out like the north already is.

A little humor here......