Open season for public input on deer management
CALENDAR
The 2020 Wisconsin deer hunting seasons may be winding down in December, but public input opportunities on deer management are hitting high gear.
This week will feature the first winter meetings of County Deer Advisory Councils as well as a statewide Deer Stakeholder Committee.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all meetings will be held virtually through video or teleconferences.
The councils have been in place since 2014 and are intended to allow countylevel input in deer management issues. The councils are designed to have representation from a range of stakeholder groups, including agriculture, forestry, tourism and hunting.
Each year they also accept public input. This winter will be especially important in the CDAC process as they will set three-year goals for deer management. In some cases, zone boundaries may be adjusted, too.
Meetings will be held Dec. 7 to 18 to set preliminary objectives. At the meetings, Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologists will present local deer herd metrics and harvest data from the last three years and provide a preliminary recommendation on the herd size
Three antlerless deer meander through a prairie restoration project in southern Wisconsin.
objective for the next three years.
The DNR will also share preliminary recommendations on deer management unit and zone boundaries.
Following the preliminary meetings this month, the DNR will hold an online public comment period on each county’s management recommendations Jan. 4 to 13.
Each council will then reconvene in late January to discuss the public input received and finalize their recommendations to the DNR. Final CDAC recommendations will be shared with the Natural Resources Board at its February meeting.
To find the time and date for the
meetings, visit dnr.wi.gov and search for “CDAC.” The CDAC page also has links to deer metrics in each county.
The Deer Stakeholder Committee has been at work since October to identify a deer hunting framework and potential programs to accomplish three objectives:
Address concerns and areas of conflict expressed by the snowmobiling, forestry and agriculture communities.
Provide deer hunting opportunities that are easy to understand and that will support hunter recruitment, retention and reactivation.
Provide the best available tools to
Muzzleloader deer hunt ends.
Antlerless deer hunt. Dec. 31
Musky season closes. achieve population objectives and reduce the prevalence of deer with Chronic Wasting Disease.
The committee met Oct. 12 and Nov. 12 to lay the groundwork for its work. It will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday to accept public comment.
To give public input at Wednesday’s meeting, register via Zoom before 6 p.m. Wednesday.
To listen only, access the meeting on the DNR’s media site.
Bear and turkey deadline
The deadline is midnight Thursday to submit permit applications for the 2021 Wisconsin black bear and wild turkey hunting seasons.
Final hunting permit levels have yet to be determined for either species but should be announced early next year.
More information on bear and turkey hunting is available at dnr.wi.gov.