CWD Experts Tell Wisconsin DNR to Kill More Deer
 

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/loc...cc4c002e0.html

A panal of experts assigned to review Wisconsin DNR's CWD management plan advises the DNR to get more aggresive in slowing the spread of CWD.

Dale Garner, chief of wildlife for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and chairman of the panal said, "In our eyes, it was more of just a monitoring plan, the state needs to pull out all the stops." Hunting alone won't take care of the problem.

The CWD infection rate in the core area is increasing and spreading. Once established, eliminating CWD is not possible at this time. The only realistic plan is to slow the spread by controling deer populations.

Call in the Air National Guard and bomb the area, but then there will still be a problem as to getting the spores from the soil. You will Never get rid of CWD.

So the "CWD infection rate" is "increasing"? Funny how the data from the area really doesn't seem to appear to back that up.

But hey, like a current politician once put it "you can't let a good crisis go to waste". Pardon my suspicion, but ...what a convenient excuse to keep the harvest requirements higher right after a season that has seen the lowest harvest since the Reagan Administration.

Yep, that should really make all the hunters who aren't seeing deer really happy. And then when the number of hunters in the field drops by...oh...30% or 50%, then what will the DNR do without it's "primary herd management tool"?

Yeah thats the same s*** Illinois is saying...now we have no more deer.

Well from talking to a lot of the locals, the DNR is going to loose a lot of their herd management tools next season in Northern Wisconsin. Most of the people I talked to agree that we need to let the herd rest. And they are talking not only not buying licenses, but locking down their land to everyone.

I really do not think they will ever get rid of CWD. They might slow the spread, but I personally believe that disease is here to stay. But lets slaughter the herd anyway... that is their solution. Still I am no expert. I'd been warning anyone that would listen for the last five years to stop shooting the doe or the herd would suffer, but what do I know...

Funny how the data does back that up.

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/cjd-article/rate-of-cwd-infection-increases-in-core-area-wisconsin/761674

Wyomings worst CWD area has a 43% infection rate ... Colorado's worst CWD area has a 41% infection rate for bucks, and 20% for does.

http://host.madison.com/sports/recre...cc4c002e0.html

Wisconsin's worst CWD sq. mile section is at 13% ... How high would you like it to go?

I believe that Colorado and Wyoming went down this road. The fact is that without destroying the deer population and allowing the spores in the soil to die off this will not go away.

My question is, at what cost do we attack this issue?

Uh...no, it doesn't. All that article from this past August shows is a one year spike in incidence...that does not indicate a trend. The 2009 data is not yet in. In fact, below is a graph showing the infection rates for male deer for each year since 2002. One year does not make a trend and could indicate nothing more than a difference in sampling.

And here are the DNR's own words on the subject:

So no...funny how the data DOES NOT back up the need to "eradicate" the deer in the CWD zone, or increase harvest goals. And given how the 2009 harvest is the lowest in 27 years, despite preseason predictions to the contrary , I'll ask you...how low would you like the harvest to go?! How many hunters do you want to disillusion and encourage to stay home?!

No one is trying to eradicate deer. The chart above clearly shows an average upward trend for CWD in Wisconsin for the last 7 years.

Wyoming and Colorado already have areas with 40+% infection rates, Wisconsin has areas with 13% and increasing. The higher the deer population, the faster CWD increases and spreads. Why anyone would want CWD to increase and spreads faster in Wisconsin is beyond comprehension. Wisconsin will eventually get up there, the only question is how fast.

I would not say that the trend is up, because when we take things like this into consideration I think that is within reason to remove or discount outliers or years that there is a spike as it is not effective in calculating data.

And are we saying that 13% of the deer tested are positive? Where is that. I did not think that even around Mt. Horeb or down by Lake Geneva are there that many positive deer. Is this an estimate? or were that many actual positive tests taken?


yr.....analyzed....positive......%.......Deer Harvested
01......1091...........3......... .27 %........444,384
02.......40123.......205....... .51 %........338,763
03......14940........117....... .78 %........483,951
04......19150........145....... .76 %........517,169
05......24821........181....... .73 %........465,760
06......30264........205....... .68 %........506,947
07......9314.........135........1.45 %.......518,573
08......12289........181........1.47 %.......451,885
09......6359..........59......... .73 %..........N/A

What I see from this is that regardless of the number of deer harvested or tested that it is no where near 13% Not by a long shot. In fact I see no direct correlation between the number of deer harvested and the percentage of deer testing positive. Also, no matter how important the DNR makes this out to be and regardless of the amount of money spent on eradication, it ain't working.

What I have figured out is that the DNR has no clue how to deal with this. Maybe they should quit shooting in the dark:wink:

I disagree with this statement. The DNR wants every deer dead in cwd zones and if not for the land owners that are protecting the deer on their land, every living deer would be exterminated. I think this attitude is disgusting. Colorado has had cwd for years and they have'nt reacted this way. I think, cwd has been around for many,many years.
:s6:

Me too. If they were not trying to eradicate deer then why does the DNR call them ERADICATION ZONES???

"In 2008, the CWD eradication zones and the herd reduction zone were combined to form the CWD management zone (CWD-MZ)" from the DNR website:

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/...wd/hunting.htm

I agree they want every deer dead in the CWD zone. If they didn't why would they keep giving us more dates to shoot more deer and keep us in EAB when hunters are complaining of not seeing any deer. News station did reports and in sauk city hunters said the only reason they shot a doe was to get a buck tag and it took him till the last day to see a doe.
As far as CWD testing this is straight from there website, they analyzied 158351 deer and only 1231 tested positive for CWD. These numbers are for all the years they have been testing for CWD. That comes out to .77% of deer testing postive. Ridiculous is all I can say about it.

Huh?? Let's see...from 2002 to 2007, we saw a sideways trend...nothing more, nothing less! There is no indication of an upward trend based on one year of data that appears to show a higher infection rate. The 2008 figure that appears to show a spike is simply one years' figure that may or may not indicate anything. Even the DNR in the statement I quoted acknowledges that.

But let's assume for a minute that there is an upward trend. Increasing harvest quotas in "the zone" or statewide will do what exactly? The harvest last year was down...significantly...for the second year in a row. Chances are that there will be fewer hunters afield next year to begin with, and should the DNR suddenly decide to bring back EAB or do something else to increase the deer kill, what do you think the reaction will be from hunters, farmers who lease land, and other stakeholders? Acquiescence to something that does not appear to have any scientific or statistical basis?

Don't think so...

So who is going to shoot all the additional deer that would need to be shot under such a scenario? Al Qaeda?...

http://host.madison.com/sports/recre...cc4c002e0.html

"Colorado's worst infection is a mule-deer herd near Boulder. Today, 41% of the bucks and 20 percent of does have CWD. Its infected deer have a life expectancy of 1.6 years more years, while its healther deer live about 5.2 more years. That's likely why this unhunted herd declined 50% since the late 1980s."

"In 1997, Wyomings endemic area had an 11 percent infection rate for muledeer. It hit 15% in 1998, slipped to 13% in 2000 and worsened annually until surpassing 35% in 2007. Wyoming's worst region, Hunt ARea 65, now has a 43% infection rate."

See Wyomings CWD positive map ...

http://gf.state.wy.us/downloads/pdf/...ated2-2008.pdf

"... Clausen offered information, which appeared to be in response to the HRC, that showed a map of CWD in Wyoming units, noting a decline of white-tailed deer populations.

"(Wyoming's) Unit 65 a few years ago had 16,000 to 17,000 deer, but the current estimate there is 50 percent of that," Clausen said. The area had had no significant antlerless harvest, and the number of 4-and 5-year-old bucks on one ranch in the unit, which manages for trophies, are not being seen. ..."

http://www.wisconsinoutdoornews.com/...ews/news04.txt

First, we need to start by comparing apples to apples. We don't have mule deer in Wisconsin, and we do not have a large enough population of elk that could sustain any sort of hunting season. Second, if we look at the infection rates among whitetail deer in these areas of Colorado and Wyoming that do have some incidence of CWD, we see infection rates no where near those seen in mule deer, despite the fact that CWD has been an issue in these areas since the mid to late 1970's. So let's take a look at how CWD impacts the population of whitetail deer in Colorado and Wyoming. Note from the map from this link from Colorado that CWD prevalence has not increased outside of the area where it was first found more than 30 years ago.

http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonl...Map2009WTD.pdf

And the test results by unit...information on whitetails is about 3/4 of the way down the page...

http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonl...port_06082.pdf

Wyoming does not separate out results between whitetail and mule deer, but again the disease rates are modest, again decades after initial detection.

http://gf.state.wy.us/downloads/pdf/cwd_2007_web2.pdf

Further, perhaps we can take some lessons from the game managers in Wyoming who have been dealing with this issue far longer than we in Wisconsin, as opposed to some who are being paid to come up with a particular answer.

Yep they have been dealing with it for a long time, Wi. just wants to spend money. I am afraid it will get worse (not CWD) and the DNR will try to wipe out a lot of deer, Heck they even want to go on private land without permission and shoot the deer? I hunt in CO. and they allow cattle and sheep to graze freely with the wild game in CWD units. Sure seems like if it posed a problem that wouldn't happen.
Redclub

They allow cattle to graze in texas and WY also. The world don't stop because of CWD. It has most likely been around before they knew what it was. Mass Hysteria I say.:s1:

Why can't the DNR just let mother nature take care of this. Ultimately mother nature has the upper hand on everything and if there are to many deer in one area mother nature will take over, but there will never be to many deer in one area anymore cause the DNR has ordered a massacre on them.

Does anyone question why they estimate herd populations in the winter when they are herded up?Iwould think it would be easy to overestimate

Hmm unfortunately they dnr is gonna do waht they c is fit. many of us wont hunt this year. Ill get a bow tag and maybe a gun tag. bow hunting i will shoot a nice buck if i find one but i prolly wont do nething gun hunting

The problem with counting deer in winter is they yard up. I saw in the paper a few weeks ago that in there survey that they found some areas had 0 deer per square mile while one area had 232 deer per square mile. That's why you don't do it during the winter or set goals by doing it that way. Also just checked there latest CWD count and only .84% of deer tested had it. Is this something that we really need to kill more deer for. Hunters take out enough deer each year that we don't need more hunting seasons to kill them.

hmmmmm.saw the article.what a joke.DNR get a clue!

Copy of my rough draft paper 4 school!

If you picked up a newspaper in the last couple of months and noticed an article that is discussing the huge controversy regarding deer and the Wisconsin DNR and didn’t know why, you’re about to find out. The hunters in this state and the DNR are currently not on the same page. But one thing is for sure, all the hunters most definitely are! The Wisconsin DNR is devastating our deer herd and is turning Wisconsin’s oldest past time into a war.
Wisconsin’s love for deer is very important for a couple of different reasons, and the Wisconsin DNR needs to stick back to its original values. The Wisconsin Deer Management Program- the Issues Involved in Decision Making, Second Edition, writes how important deer are to us (WI Deer 2). Based on results from more than one study, the whitetail deer in Wisconsin has the largest popularity rate ranked with all other wildlife in Wisconsin (WI Deer 2). We can all agree Wisconsin is a fairly small state, but it still ranks third in the nation for the total amount of deer hunters (WI Deer 2). The Wisconsin deer gun season is a huge statewide event. Lots of people save their sick days and vacation days to use up for the nine day gun season. “The Wisconsin Deer Management Program” observed that “Some schools close their doors, northern industries shut down, and businesses downstate adjust work schedules to reduce absenteeism during the gun deer season. Such high levels of commitment feed the social foundation of deer hunting in Wisconsin—encouraging continued participation by passing the tradition down from one generation to the next” (WI Deer 2). Dating back to 1996, a total of 2.5 million in and out of state people planned events associated with whitetail deer relative to Wisconsin (WI Deer 3. Wisconsin residents love everything there is to offer with whitetail deer. This varies from small businesses that thrive during deer season, families spending quality time together in hunting cabins, passing traditions on to future generations, or simply being able to watch the beautiful wildlife our state has to offer. Therefore, Wisconsin will always have a huge concern with proper deer management.
The harvesting methods being used in Wisconsin currently are simply bad, and they seem to be unsustainable. Ben Myers states that “I am a 20-year-old avid Wisconsin hunter. As such, I was verysurprised to see that the 16-day gun deer season was even being considered. My family hunts in Florence County in upper Wisconsin. For the past 5 to 7 years we have noticed an enormous decrease in the deer population as a result of wolves, beers and harsh winters. I was happy to see that this year no doe tags were issued, but at the same time I am very upset with how the Wisconsin DNR has handled the deer population. This decrease in the population is a direct effect of the DNR issuing the same number of doe tags without considering how many deer are taken due to increases in wolf and bear populations. Out of a camp which had 12 hunters sit from 30 to 70 hours, we did not harvest a single deer. My father and uncle, who sit all day everyday of the gun season, saw a combined 9 deer. I am very saddened by this, as this decrease will have a great affect on future generations. How are hunters throughout Wisconsin supposed to get children interested in the sport of hunting? Without some change in the DNR agenda, I feel as though the sheer number of hunters will decrease significantly over the next couple of years, which is to me very sad”(Ben Meyers). This is just one example out of hundreds and hundreds of complaints proving the deer numbers are down and poor management practices in Wisconsin are currently in place.
Wisconsin hunters are getting sick of not seeing any deer and aren’t having any fun. J.R. Robbins emphasizes that many hunters are getting very angry and frustrated (Angry Hunters 1). J.R. Robbins also stated that some hunters are getting so fed up that they will not continue to buy licenses in upcoming seasons (Angry Hunters 1). Michael Solberg, a producer of bow hunts featuring whitetail deer, a hunter known for his success, and my hunting buddy, discussed with me the importance of having fun while hunting. The sport of hunting involves a lot of preparation and self dedication. Within the past couple years the sport of hunting has turned into a mystery, rather than an eventful opportunity. I can remember the first year I went hunting it was the amount of deer I saw that kept me in the woods. At a young age it isn’t easy sitting in a tree stand for countless hours without seeing a deer. With the deer population depreciating as it is, the involvement of younger kids will decline in reference to the low population. I believe Michael hit the nail right on the head. I also agree very much that when I was 14 years old, before they had started earn-a-buck in this state, the sheer number of deer I saw in the woods kept me interested in the sport. The Wisconsin DNR needs to take serious consideration of us “the hunters” concerns. If they don’t, the DNR will be missing out on a large chunk of their income due to hunting license sales down. Hunting isn’t always about killing, it’s about having fun!
The Wisconsin hunters need a solution to the current terrible management plan. State Senator Russ Decker suggests “Fire those responsible for managing the state's deer herd.” "I've spoken to the DNR people in the past and they're pretty oblivious to what we tell them. They think their way is the only way and the rest of us oughta go down the highway. So I've simply had it with those type of people” (Decker Interview). If I were voted into the top DNR spot today, I would change numerous hunting laws and regulations right away. First of all, I would drop all the t-zone hunts. Secondly, the youth season would be held before archery season begins and would be antlerless only. With the purchase of both archery and gun licenses the tags received would be one doe tag and one buck tag. No extra tags would be sold. Lastly, I would make it illegal to shoot a buck with less than three points on each side. All hunters may not have a cut and dry solution to our problem right now, but we know firing the DNR officials is the best way to start getting on the right path.
My voice alone can’t change the DNR’s decisions, but when all of us hunters come together we can be strong and get our point across. This may not happen today or next week, but they will soon listen to us when they need their revenues back because all hunters across the state quit purchasing licenses. The Wisconsin DNR will not get away with devastating our deer herd like they have been anymore. We can do this!
















Robbins, J.R. "Abysmal Harvest Angers Wisconsin Hunters - NRAHuntersrights.org, NRA." NRAHuntersRights.org - Learn what NRA is doing to defend your freedom to hunt. National Rifle Association, 14 Dec. 2009. Web. 7 Feb. 2010. <http://www.nrahuntersrights.org/Article.aspx?id=2787>.
"Sen. Decker: Fire DNR's Deer Management Team." Interview by Liz Hayes. Www.wsaw.com. WSAW Channel 7, 4 Dec. 2009. Web. 7 Feb. 2010. <http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/78555787.html?storySection=story>.
United States. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. WISCONSIN?S DEER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM The Issues Involved in Decision-Making. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1998. Web. 7 Feb. 2010. <http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/HUNT/deer/Deerbook.pdf>.

sorry if its to small....if so copy it into word and read it

It looks good, I know the main reason I started deer hunting was because I was able to spend time with my grandpa and opening day we would see 50 or more deer. That was when I was 8 and now I'm 20 and I saw 10 this past year. Somethings gotta change.