DNR review confirms no changes for crossbow season
If you're looking for a spirited discussion in Wisconsin, all you need to do is bring up anything related to the Green Bay Packers or deer hunting.
So in January when Fred Prehn, chairman of the Natural Resources Board, suggested the board might propose a rule to reduce the crossbow season, no one should have been surprised when it produced a strong and passionate response.
The potential restriction not only came out of left field, it was aimed at the fastest growing segment of Wisconsin deer hunting.
Hunters reacted as if they had been told the local Packers broadcast was going to be blacked out.
“To say the board has had contact from the public on this issue would be an understatement,” Prehn said in March.
Prehn then made it clear he didn't intend to pursue any crossbow regulation changes in 2019.
Board member Bill Bruins was visibly relieved to hear that news.
“If I'd have one request, it would be that we put in headlines, neon lights, flashing lights, whatever, that there will be no change to this year's (crossbow) season,” Bruins said. “That seemed to be the major concern of the callers.”
I can guarantee you that concern is still simmering.
But a recently-completed crossbow assessment by the Department of Natural Resources should provide relief to those who support use of the equipment.
It should also serve as a guide to policy makers in the state.
The report is titled “Wisconsin's Evaluation of Crossbow Use and Season Structure.” It was presented Tuesday by Bob Nack, DNR big game section chief, at the NRB meeting in Madison.
The assessment was produced at the request of the board, which found itself in a bind after the rash suggestion of a rule change intended to reduce crossbow opportunity.
Sure, there were individuals and even organizations opposed to the law passed in 2013 that allowed all hunters, regardless of age or physical ability, to use a crossbow to hunt deer in Wisconsin.
But there was no science to support any such restriction.
So to help answer the board's questions, DNR staff put their shoulders into a professional evaluation of the five years of expanded crossbow deer hunting in Wisconsin, as well as a review of the crossbow use in other states and published studies.
The work was conducted by the department's big game staff, including Nack, Kevin Wallenfang and Brian Dhuey, and human dimension scientists Dreux Watermolen, Ben Beardmore, Robert Holsman, Meghan Pluemer and Lauren Bradshaw.
The 140-page document is available for all to see. Although he didn't specify numbers, Nack made it clear it required a significant investment in cost and staff time.
“I'm quite proud of these people I was able to work with on this,” Nack said. What does the report say? First, crossbow use in Wisconsin does not pose any threat to the deer population, according to the DNR's review.
“At the highest level, our evaluation did not identify any biological concerns about the current or anticipated number of bucks or total deer harvested under the current crossbow season structure,” the report states.
Since crossbows were legalized for all hunters in Wisconsin, they have been increasingly utilized and, in the last two years, have resulted in more deer kills than vertical bows.
In 2014, 33% of the deer killed with bows were taken by crossbow, in 2015 it was 39%, in 2016 it was 45%, in 2017 it was 51% and last year it was 54%.
The 2018 data show crossbow users registered 25,854 bucks and 20,896 antlerless deer while vertical bow users took 21,579 bucks and 18,476 antlerless deer.
Although some hunters have criticized crossbow users of targeting only bucks, in 2018 the proportion of antlered versus antlerless deer taken by crossbow users was nearly identical to that of vertical bow users (55/45 for crossbows and 54/46 for vertical bows).
Nack said the DNR had no concern about crossbow hunters killing too many bucks before the rut, the typical deer mating period that peaks in November.
And furthermore, when it comes to total deer kill in Wisconsin, the firearm seasons (nine-day gun, muzzleloader, youth, December antlerless and Holiday Hunt) continue to dominate the harvest. In 2018, gun hunters registered 239,296 deer, of which 110,792 were bucks and 128,504 (or 54%) were antlerless.
The assessment also looked at any potential impact of expanded crossbow use in Wisconsin on other forms of deer hunting and license sales.
There is justified concern in states across the nation over declines in hunting license sales witnessed in recent decades.
But the Wisconsin study found, on average, “gun-only hunters are more likely to add a crossbow license rather than give up their gun hunting license. Meanwhile archery-only hunters are equally likely to add a crossbow license as they are to switch to only buying a crossbow license.”
In the end, any potential expansions or restrictions of crossbow use come down to social science.
On that score, the report states “any future discussion about adjustments to the crossbow season or license structure are social issues that are best informed through hunter surveys and contacts with the hunting community. Addressing social issues, especially those that relate to the Wisconsin deer hunting traditions, are likely far more challenging than dealing with the biological aspects of deer management.”
When liberalized crossbow use was approved by the Wisconsin Legislature in 2013, it received a level of bipartisan support rarely seen in any political era, especially the current one.
The Assembly voted twice to support the bill, 95-0 on the initial version and 91-0 on an amended and final version.
Over the last five years the hunting public has taken to the equipment, which provides added options and flexibility for deer hunters, including the youngest and oldest among us.
Any change can be difficult.
But the new crossbow law doesn't deprive any hunter of their traditional bow choice. And there is ample room in Wisconsin for this new form of deer hunting equipment.
Other states will no doubt cite the Wisconsin crossbow evaluation for many years to come.
And the report's sensible and science-based conclusions should be all the NRB needs to leave the state's crossbow season as it is.