Deer Management Ideas
 

We in Wisconsin are having a battle between hunters and the states Department of Natural resources on the issues surrounding deer/herd management.

We have had a few seasons in a row where the herd and harvest numbers have been down in Wisconsin.

Has anyone from any other states had to go through this and if so, what came of it. What deer or herd management strategies does your state or area practice that appeals to hunters, farmers, business owners, insurance companies, etc...?

Thanks for your help

Ben Halverson
Owner
Wisconsin Whitetail News
WisconsinWhitetail.blogspot.com

hard to do land management when the neighbors hate each other already.

You should change something in the season regualations to "spice" up the season. I was really excited when Va. let us hunt with crossbows without a disability a few years ago. Then they started the earn a buck program in some counties with denser populations. And they changed a law in my home county where you can use ML and Shotgun w/ slug, not ML and Shotgun w/buckshot.

Absolutely. Im from Pa and you wanna see "deer wars", you aint seen nothin' in Wi! Our ex deer management team leader hadda wear a bullet proof vest in public. The game commission is being denied a license fee increase through legislative intervention on behalf of the sportsmen, they are also being sued by a sportsmens group, and also legislators have demanded that an audit be done. Hunter disgust is at an all time high, and hunters are on the legislators to do something constantly, with no effective results.

Our agency is called "independant" and therefore makes them very hard to fight. They are a sock puppet of other state agencies and the not very hunter concerned governor. There is no effective check and balance system and they basically do whatever they like. They are currently run by environmental extremists whove managed around a decade ago to get their feet in the door. We now have goals of extreme biodiversity, they want things like tons of "trillium" and "hobblebush" etc. We have modern day low deer densities and 40- 50 year low buck harvests, and lower harvest than you guys in Wi, even though we have hundreds of thousands more hunters. And we STILLhave 8-9 hundred thousand doe tags, plus all kind of other deer killing "tools" and programs.

Antler restrictions arent bad imho, but the excessive reduction is ridiculous and done in the name of forest certification, and excessive extreme unnatural levels of biodiversity being pushed by our dcnr, audubon society & other enviro-weeny groups.

Of all the states asked, Our pgc is one of very few states that said they will support and give permission for in state thorough "real world" testing of the new epa approved gona-con deer contraception. FIne bunch our commission.

Worst deer management in the nation, bar none and not getting any better any time soon. Lotsa info on it down in threads throughout the northeast forum down in the regional section lower on this site.

Nothing a little bear-mace can't handle. Let someone stand in my way going hunting, it's a Federal Offense!

Not in my way as in a local or state road closure but say an anti-hunter were to block me or something of that nature.

Personally I believe that the Wisconsin DNR is doing a fine job of managing the states deer herd. A lot of hunters I hear complaining about there not being enough deer have very skewed expectations. They think that if they don't see 20 deer a day the herd is "DECIMATED". Most of those hunters that you hear complaining don't care about anything but seeing and shooting a ton of deer. They don't care that the state needs to manage the herd at a level that is in line with the available habitat, or what overabundant deer numbers can do to that habitat.

Funny, all the hunter's I've talked to have had some of their best hunting this year. I just love the "excessive extreme unnatural levels of biodiversity" comment. Shows you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Do you think its natural to be able to see over 100 yards in a forest because theres NO regeneration? Do you think its natural to see 40 deer run past your stand with the first 39 being doe? Open your mind a little bit. I hate people who only think for themselves, and use idiotic evidence to support their claims. Sorry, it needed to be said.

Thank you. Said it better than I could.

I can say the exact opposite, what does that prove? You know just as well as I that there are some extremely unhappy hunters in PA.


Its very natural to be able to see 100 yards or more in some areas. Now why is that? Youre implying that deer are the root cause. The problem is youre pro QDMA and as such keep spewing BS to further your agenda. The fact is 99% of our forest in which those conditions apply are the result of Forest management. All forests will get to this stage in the growth cycle if managed in the way that DCNR has.




And I hate when people spew idiotic statements such as yours. Your views are obviously skewed from your direct involvement in QDMA.

Don't know a thing about Wisconson but PA isn't quite the picture that a few folks like to paint. We have had a reduction in the herd but that has been the stated goal for many years and has just now appears to have been accomplished in a meaningful way. Pa had vast tracts of timber in our "big woods" where precious little forage was to be found below the browse line.

It hasn't come without a price. Casual one day a year hunters can no longer just go out and sit on a favored stump and see 20-50 deer in a half days hunt and that has caused some limited but very vocal protests and as someone said here even a lawsuit filed by a tiny splinter group of misguided individuals from the fringes of PA's hunters. This group has railed about a percieved overharvest of does since the mid 80's. The wording of suit itself is frivilous enough that it's alteady been thrown out once and had to be reflied. The new suit will undoubtedly have similar results.

At the same time the herd reduction began, so did an antler restriction designed to let some of our bucks get past a year and a half in age. (we were killing 80+% of our yearlings every single year)
The photos in the local papers and the remarkable volume of trophy racks in the local taxidermy shops are testament to the success of our new average antler size.

Pa's changes have pleased most but the few disgruntled hunters have been vocal, passionate and persistent. Hunters have always been notoriously quiet when satisfied as most seem to be. The vocal few have succeeded temporarily in placing a financial chokehold on our State Game Commission. An independent audit of our commisions management plan by an outside firm is due soon though and should debunk some of the fiction being placed out there by the few.
Positive findings from the audit seem imminent simply because the vocal splinter groups began crying foul the moment it was undertaken. It seems they know that their position is based on a sentimental clinging to traditions more than good sound science and popular results.

PA's deer management is on the right track and most PA hunters agree.