(Published Saturday, September 15, 2007 01:38:50 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Mike Heine Gazette staff
Wildlife supervisors for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in southcentral and southeastern Wisconsin say chances of bagging a deer should be good this season, which starts today with the early archery hunt.
Statewide, the herd is about 70 percent above targets with about 1.6 to 1.8 million deer roaming the woods, fields, swamps and prairies, according to DNR projections.
The reason is few deer dying over winter and 10,000 fewer antlerless deer shot last year in southern Wisconsin compared to 2005.
Here are some other things to know about this year's deer hunting season:
Earn-a-buck: The often-criticized program is back in the chronic wasting disease zones, which include much of southern Wisconsin. The boundaries of the zones have not changed since 2005.
Hunters will need to register an antlerless deer before shooting a buck in the earn-a-buck areas. More than 60,000 hunters pre-qualified last year for earn-a-buck by shooting an antlerless deer.
The pre-qualification pro gram will be in effect again this year for next year.
Anyone who shoots an extra antlerless deer with a $2 permit can kill another buck this year or keep the tag for next year.
The DNR says the program is needed to reduce the numbers of deer in overcrowded areas.
"It does work," said Greg Matthews, DNR public affairs manager.
"It's a matter of trying to balance social pressure and hunting pressure with the biological needs of the landscape."
No food pantry program: The DNR will not have the food pantry program for deer shot in the CWD zones this year. More than $1.7 million in state and federal funding was cut from CWD control efforts, and most of the remaining money is going to testing deer in the disease eradication zones.
"We're encouraging people to talk to friends, families, relatives to see if they'd be willing to take a deer," Matthews said.
Jim Houck, an avid deer hunter who lives in Lyons, recommended checking with local food pantries to see if they'll accept deer that haven't been tested for CWD.
If they do, hunters may be able to deduct the processing costs from their taxes as a charitable donation, he said.
Hunters donated 2,250 deer last year that were tested, processed and stored until results were returned.
Less CWD testing: The DNR will no longer require CWD testing of deer killed in herd reduction zones. Testing will be mandatory only for deer killed in the disease eradication zones and several "spark" areas where the disease was prevalent, such as near game farms.
Testing will be done on about 10,000 animals this year instead of about 30,000 as in years past, wildlife biologist Davin Lopez said.
No more sharpshooters: Sharpshooters will not return to the woods after the hunting season. Using sharpshooters was controversial among hunters and landowners because of the tactics used, Houck said.
It cost the DNR more than $300 per deer shot, Houck said.
The DNR sharpshooters removed 978 deer from the CWD zones, 26 of which tested positive.
