GOP bill would bar doe hunt in northern Wisconsin  Legislation would ban hunting of antlerless deer for 4 years

After a dramatic drop in the gun deer harvest up north, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would bar hunting does or antlerless deer in northern Wisconsin for the next four years.

Republican State Reps. Chanz Green, Angie Sapik, Calvin Callahan, Rob Swearingen and Sen. Romaine Quinn introduced the legislation.

While the statewide population of white-tailed deer has been steadily increasing to an estimated 1.6 million, their numbers have been falling in the north.

Green said the deer population in northern Wisconsin has been declining for years as it’s faced challenges from harsh winters, predators and other factors.

“We’re just trying to pump the brakes on the harvest, stop killing the does that produce our deer, and allow us for the next four years to put a proper deer management plan together for northern Wisconsin,” Green said.

The proposal would affect the northern forest zone in Wisconsin, which includes all or part of 20 counties. In a memo seeking co-sponsorship, lawmakers noted that 13 counties in northern Wisconsin are seeking to increase their deer herd. The bill would still allow hunters to take one buck with a rifle or muzzle-loading gun in addition to a buck harvested with a bow or crossbow.

Republican lawmakers highlighted the significant decline in the deer harvest last year, which dropped nearly 18 percent statewide.

Hunters in the northern forest region killed about 14 percent fewer bucks and about 27 percent fewer does compared to the five-year average. The overall harvest was down roughly 30 percent up north from 2022, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Sen. Quinn said in a statement announcing the bill that lawmakers have heard from hundreds of people at listening sessions about the poor season.

“Although there are many issues we will continue to debate within the hunting community, there is a clear consensus that we must act now to save and improve our deer herd, and this bill is a critical first step,” Quinn said.

GOP legislators say the purpose of the bill is to work with the DNR, county deer advisory councils, or CDACs,  and hunters to ensure “proper deer management” in northern Wisconsin.

A DNR spokesperson said the agency doesn’t comment on pending legislation.

Iron County was the only county in the state that had a buck-only harvest last year, but the overall harvest was still down around 55 percent there.

Jeff Wilson, chair of the county’s CDAC, said there’s been an outcry among deer hunters about the dismal season. He said some want to blame the DNR, but he noted the harvest was down in Michigan and Minnesota as well.

“My fear with this proposal is it’s a knee-jerk reaction by desperate people, who feel the DNR has mismanaged our herd,” Wilson said. “They think the public citizens, through this legislation and our legislators, have a better ability to manage our deer herd, which is totally in my opinion false.”

Wilson highlighted the severity of winter and snow can play a huge role in effects on the deer herd, and seven northern Wisconsin counties experienced severe to very severe conditions as the state saw record snowfall.

Green said wolves are also a common theme among deer hunters, but he added they’re not the only factor affecting the deer herd. The DNR has said winter weather and hunting play a more significant role than wolves on the deer population.

Mike Hamm is chair of Ashland County’s CDAC. Speaking only for himself, Hamm said it’s easy to point to predators like wolves, bears, bobcats and coyotes.

“It’s not just predators. It’s also lack of timber harvest. We had some bad winters. There’s a whole lot of factors here involved,” Hamm said. “I do support what they’re trying to do about northern Wisconsin to increase the herds. I do not think that legislatively it’s necessary.”

more at link

Wonder how much fewer hunters there are over the last few years.

Where I hunt (Nicolet National Forest & Vilas County county forest around Eagle River) hunter numbers have plummeted over the last 10 years, along with the deer herd in the big woods, where wolves have now established themselves. So it's no surprise that harvest numbers have plummeted up north ... less hunters, less kill makes sense. But what needs to be addressed more specifically is hunter success rate for those that are still hunting here. That has gone way down also. So even if hunter numbers were the same as 20 years ago, deer harvest would still be way down.

I hunt with a very experienced group of 5 others, & myself. Four of us are 60+, the 5th & 6th are sons of 2 of the others, both in their 30s, who have been hunting since early teens. Us 4 "old guys" have all hunted the same areas together since early 90s, and the sons joined in as they became of age... both started about 13 yo. We're talking hundreds of deer seasons of combined experience... I myself, as the oldest, now have 59 deer seasons under my belt (since 1964), the others aren't far behind. Between the 6 of us, we have not shot a multi-tined buck since 2007. In the 90s, we'd get at least one nice one every year, sometimes 3 or 4. There's been a few small bucks & does shot by the cabin of one of the guys... what we call "driveway deer" for the freezer. But nada in the big woods away from where people live. We don't even see much sign, like tracks in the snow, rubs, scrapes etc. Occasionally we encounter scattered remains of deer... hides, bones picked clean. And wolf tracks. More wolf tracks than deer tracks. FWIW... If the canine tracks I come across are smaller than those of my 70lb Choc Lab, I assume it's been made by a coyote. But if they are larger (and Labs have BIG feet), I can only assume it's from a wolf.

You've seen my pictures of deer. Those are all on my 2 acres in this subdived 40, with 17 other homes. Because there's no predators here, other than the traffic on nearby Hwy 70. The same winter weather that's in my subdivision is in the national forest 4 miles away. So it's not mostly winter kill that has reduced the deer numbers in the national forest. That's bullshit. It has played a part in some severe winters, that can't be argued... but it's not going to decimate a deer herd in one area, and not do so right next door in another that has the same exact weather and terrain, with the only difference being wolves have been avoiding the populated areas for the most part. If winter kill were the reason for the huge decline in deer numbers, with this current "non-winter", there should be a deer behind every tree next fall. As there has been absolutely ZERO with a capital Z winter kill this year, after a massive acorn crop last fall. Feeding deer is illegal here, but some people still do it. But not enough to negate a severe winter's kill.

Where would the border be, between open & closed for does?

Northern Forest zone would be closed.

All of  Bayfield, Burnett, Washburn, Sawyer, Rusk, Ashland, Iron, Price, Taylor, Vilas, Oneida, Lincoln, Langlade, Forest & Florence. Also northern parts of Chippewa, Oconto, and Marinette.

edit to add: Douglas County.

https://widnr.widen.net/s/sncccpxrtx/nrbapprovedobjectives

8 road killed deer within 1 mile of my place. Busy county road since Dec 1st. No body hunts around here anymore. Those that do hunt are trapped and restricted because of all the new city idiots moving in.

Wouldnt Douglas and Washburn be included?

If winter kills are responsible for deer numbers declining what would a mild winter like this one do?

Can't help but notice the numbers of "white" deer around Boulder are in decline even though everyone feeds them?

Thanks rfb45colt.

Yes they are. Sorry, I missed typing out Douglas.

It will make the DNR and the wolf apologists scramble to find another fall guy...

Just making sure I was understanding the map

After dog ‘miraculously’ survives wolf attack, couple shares their tale



Although it was touch and go for a while, Pepper has recovered quickly and is not expected to have any long-term health defects due to the attack. She is shown here at the vet's office after surgery.

The controversy of how to manage wolves in the state is a heated one, but for one couple in Boulder Junction the topic of wolves hit home recently when they nearly lost their dog, Pepper, to an attack.

Sue and Gary Fredenhagen, who have lived in Boulder Junction for 50 years, were compelled to share their story in order to make the public more aware of the wolf situation in northern Wisconsin.

Sue was out riding trails Sept. 24 on her property near Boulder Junction on horseback with her 20-pound terrier mix, Pepper, when she heard a series of barks followed by yelping. Kicking the horse into high gear, she said she approached the commotion at a full run, and started yelling and waving her whip when she saw Pepper being attacked by two wolves.

Sue credits the fact that she was heading downhill on horseback, along with the loud noise, as the reason the two wolves dropped her dog. But what she said was scary, was the wolves did not run away from her — they only retreated a little ways into the woods where they “milled around.”



A hefty cost

Sue noted one of the most surprising things after the attack was the debris in the puncture wounds and the awful smell that accompanied it. A vet at Northwoods Animal Hospital in Minocqua was able to clean the wounds and start Pepper on an immediate round of antibiotics, but recommended they take her to Appleton to be stapled up.

Sue was down there for three days while Pepper was fixed up and monitored. She had a drainage tube inserted, but had to be re-cut and sewn up again for the puncture wounds to heal properly.

The veterinary bills after Pepper’s attack and subsequent surgeries totaled nearly $3,600, which the Fredenhagens are hoping will be reimbursed from wolf depredation funding through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

She expressed much gratitude for the work done by both veterinarians. She said Pepper was “doing great” and making a quick recovery.

“It was a miracle she survived,” the Fredenhagens said. “According to the veterinarians taking care of her and Luke Irish of the USDA, there are no other known cases of a small dog surviving after being attacked by two wolves.”

But sometimes physical wounds heal faster than emotional ones.

“We have had to change our lifestyle to keep our two dogs safe, not to mention the PTSD I’ve been going through, especially every time I take the dogs outside for a walk,” Sue said. “We went online and found vests for both dogs to wear outside, even when they are sitting in our front yard with us. The vests will at least protect them and give us time to take action.”

She said they no longer let them outside by themselves. “Sadly, those days are over.”

She added she worries about her horse, and they have installed four webcams on their property that they check every few days, which have since picked up wolf activity on their property. Sue noted they also have found scat on their road — in five day’s time they counted four piles of wolf scat in a half-mile distance.



Possible conflicts a worry

The Fredenhagen’s property is located only about three miles from town, right on the Heart of Vilas Bike Trail System and near Nichols Lake, which is the site of a state swimming beach.

Sue said that although there have been no wolf attacks on people, she worries about small children and dogs that could be in danger. There also has been an increase in sightings in the area and alleged domestic animal depredations. Although without proof, the USDA and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) cannot officially label them as wolf depredations.

“The public has no true numbers to stay informed,” the Fredenhagens added, but say that one area near Boulder Junction — the Fishtrap and High lakes area — has had four dogs allegedly taken out of people’s yards by wolves just this year. “One person saw the wolf take her dog!”

“There were two wolves in the area around town called ‘the flats’ near a man who was walking his dog — it is a common area for dog walkers. Wolves have been seen in downtown Boulder Junction as well,” they said.

Since doing research on wolf populations, the Fredenhagens learned that Wisconsin has the second-largest wolf population of the lower 48 states and the largest people-to-wolf ratio.

“In a previous letter to the editor, Duane Harpster, a retired DNR warden, stated that the deer population is much lower than what it used to be 50 years ago and that wolves and other predators take targets of opportunities,” they said. “Therefore, as in our case, the easier targets are domestic animals, which is becoming more and more prevalent — that is according to a DNR article we found on Wisconsin wolf depredation on domestic dogs.”

Currently there is no plan in place by the federal government for the state of Wisconsin to keep the wolves in check, but wildlife officials are working on it.

“A healthy population was 150 back in the day, then 350, and now it’s at 1,200-plus. Where is that number that is a good balance?” Sue queried.

“If we can reach out to local residents and guests in or coming to our area here in the North Woods, we will feel that we have done the best we could to bring an awareness of the wolf situation in this part of the state,” the couple said.

Precautions necessary

For the time being, the couple said they will just have to be more proactive by building fences around their property or enclosing an area where pets will be safe from predators. They also received guidance from USDA and DNR officials to carry an air horn to scare off predators.

In addition, they have invested in special spiky vests for their dogs made with DuPont Kevlar called the CoyoteVest dog harness, which are available on Amazon.

“We will protect and defend our dogs, horses, our family, etc. by whatever means possible, including carrying a gun. Our ‘domestic animals’ are our loved ones and my husband and I will do everything we can to protect and keep ours safe,” Sue said.

Here's my "air horn"....

I like the sound of dat!

I wonder what a wolf sounds like when he laughs?

air horn?

I 'd hope the DNR realizes that people who have wolf problems have already developed a way to deal with them - and it ain't a frickin air horn.

I'm wondering how the lack of winter kill is going to effect all the predators who are used to getting a quick meal when the snow melts...
Now more worried about fires than animals.

While the statewide population of white-tailed deer has been steadily increasing to an estimated 1.6 million, their numbers have been falling in the north.

Where are the growing packs of wolves located?   Hmmmmm?????

I did buy an air horn...hopefully it will scare off aging hippies off the bike trail...

Lack of snow makes hunting for deer much harder for the wolves & coyotes. When snow gets deep, deer congregate (yard up) in specific areas, where there's shelter by conifers and winter browse (cedar swamps are priority #1). Wolves & yotes know instinctively where these areas are, making it easier to find their prey, they don't need to search far & wide. Wolves can run in the snow much faster than deer can. Wolves have large paws, that act like small snowshoes. I've watched my 70lb Labs run across 3' of snow with a thick crust on top from a freezing rain. Deer have more pointy hoofs. They can't ever run across snow, no matter how much crust is on top. They break through immediately, their legs "post-hole" in deep snow, and get exhausted from it very quickly. That's one of the reasons they yard up, as large numbers milling around pack the snow down and make it easier to move around. When there's no deep snow, there's no reason to yard up & congregrate, and deer are much more scattered and can move very quickly for long distances.

This is not something I read in a book, or hypothethise... I see it out my windows. Last year at this time, we had 3'- 4' of snow on the ground. I have a video I took last March 14th, that has 44 deer in it... all on my 2 acres at one time, digging in the snow for the acorns under it. This year, with snow cover never exceeding 4", I have yet to see even a dozen deer at a time. Also, bucks drop their antlers timed with how much winter stress is on their bodies. This is the first time I've seen bucks with antlers this late. A 7pt & 8pt were here last night... still sporting their head gear. I thought shed hunting would be easy this year... I never thought about them keeping their antlers until green-up.

Spent our first nights at our new Vilas County digs...we've got lots of big oaks and lots of acorns...saw one nice buck in the  yard two mornings ago...lots of tracks...but no carnivores so far...we've got thousands of acres around us very few people.

If you are seeing bucks with horns this time of year meaning less stress and lots of survivors...

Predators are going to be increasingly desperate...

From a thread earlier today

The 7 pt had his antlers on thursday, but they were gone on friday. My dog and I spent an hour yesterday searching for them, but we had that fresh snowfall friday night which wasn't enough to completely cover them, but it was enough to make them harder to see. We'll be searching again after it melts.

I've been training her to find sheds with some fake antlers and antler scent I bought at FF.... she's found 2 "spikes", so far.  




What's this all about?

Taxin' Tony vetoed this bill, along with the bill about setting a new number for a wolf goal.

He also vetoed the tax cut bill that would've decreased the income tax rate on social security and other retirement funds for those 67+, and would've exempted the first $150,000 from state income taxes. So I'll continue to pay more taxes on the taxed money I earned years ago for my pension & SS...