Crawford County says no to extending deer season

By Ted Pennekamp

The Wisconsin Conservation Congress received a record-setting 64,943 responses to the 2020 Spring Hearing Questionnaire featuring topics ranging from extending the gun-deer season to the use of non-toxic ammunition on state-owned land.

The previous record of 30,865 was set in 2000 when the agenda included a controversial proposal to allow the hunting of mourning doves.

Due to COVID-19, the in-person portion of the 72 public meetings - known as the Spring Fish and Wildlife Hearings - initially scheduled for April 13 in each county was canceled. The public was able to respond to the natural resources advisory questions from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board (NRB), and the Conservation Congress online from April 13-16.

“With more people being at home and with more time to respond, we had much more participation,” said Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist for Crawford and Vernon counties Dan Goltz. “We’re happy to have more input.”

The question that generated the most buzz prior to the annual hearings was question 10 presented by the NRB asking if state residents would like to extend the traditional nine-day gun-deer season to 19 days.

The proposal overwhelmingly failed statewide and in Crawford County. There were 42,208 who voted against the proposal statewide and 14,820 who voted in favor. There were 2,261 who had no opinion. Seventy-one counties voted no on the question. One county had a tie vote. The question is advisory only and is not binding.

In Crawford County, 204 residents voted no and 61 voted to extend the season by 10 days. There were six people who had no opinion. Of the respondents who indicated they recreate in Crawford County, 1,321 voted no and 454 voted yes. Sixty-seven had no opinion.

Goltz said he wasn’t surprised by the results. “I think people are fond of the current nine-day framework,” he said. “They want to keep that tradition.”

Goltz said the NRB was trying to gauge the public’s opinion in presenting the well-meaning suggestion that extending the season might increase excitement and participation in the hunt in the face of declining sales of hunting licenses.

While not binding, the hearing results are meant to guide decision-making and will be considered by the NRB, which sets policy for the DNR.

Rule changes require action by the NRB. In some cases, however, a rule change would also require action by the state legislature.

One such proposal was question 24, a Wisconsin Conservation Congress advisory question put forth by the Deer and Elk Committee, which consists of Conservation Congress members from different parts of the state and some DNR liaisons. The Conservation Congress is the only statutorily recognized citizen advisory body to the NRB.

Question 24 asked voters if they would like a 16-day gun-deer season opening the Saturday nearest Nov. 15. The Conservation Congress suggested that hunters would have a better harvest opportunity with an earlier hunt which was closer to the rut (mating season), said Goltz.

Statewide, 38,106 voted no on question 24, and 15,599 voted yes. There were 3,520 people who had no opinion. Seventy counties turned down the proposal and two counties were in favor.

In Crawford County, 180 voted no and 63 voted yes. Eight had no opinion. Respondents who indicated they recreate in Crawford County turned down the proposal 1,225 no to 459 yes. Ninety-one had no opinion.

Goltz said the vote totals on NRB question 10 and Conservation Congress question 24 would have no effect on the management of the Crawford County deer herd. He said the management objective for Crawford County is to maintain the herd and is based on the 2017  post-hunt estimate of approximately 15,800 deer. The management objective is re-examined every three years and will be reviewed again in 2020. The Crawford County Deer Advisory Council manages the deer herd.

Goltz said the two proposals (questions 10 and 24) might have been new solutions for deer herd management in some counties.

“Crawford County’s herd has been relatively stable over the past 10 years,” said Goltz. “It has been slowly increasing since about 2009. The deer harvest fluctuates from year to year.”

There seems to be more of an emphasis on trophy hunting in recent years, said Goltz, who noted that 30 years ago hunters hunted for food more and shot more does than they do now. “Hunting does not have the same effect on the deer herd as it used to,” he said. A significantly lower percentage than in the past, approximately 60-70% of the deer harvested each year, occurs during the nine-day gun-deer season.

In addition to the length of the gun-deer hunting season, another aspect of this year’s spring hearings that drew the interest of Goltz involved the seven questions regarding the proposed use of alternatives to lead shot or lead bullets.

“As a wildlife advocate, I personally was encouraged to see the DNR propose alternatives to lead on DNR owned or managed properties,” said Goltz.

Lead bullet fragments in a deer carcass, for example, can be lethal to a scavenger such as an eagle that consumes them, noted Goltz. “There are viable alternatives,” he said. “I’m also pleased to see that some upland bird hunters are using steel shot rather than lead.”

Statewide, Wildlife Management Advisory question 1 asking voters if they support requiring the use of non-toxic shot on all state owned or managed properties, except for DNR designated shooting ranges, passed 29,569 yes to 26,681 no. In Crawford County, the proposal passed 142-134. 

Question 2 failed, however. The question asked voters if they support requiring the use of non-toxic bullets and shotgun slugs on all state-owned or managed properties, except for DNR designated shooting ranges. The statewide totals were 33,285 no and 23,347 yes. In Crawford County, it was 175 no and 104 yes. 

A proposal to require non-toxic shot for dove hunting statewide failed in Crawford County 134 no to 129 yes.

Regarding state owned or managed properties, Crawford County voters: 

•were in favor of non-toxic shot for hunting pheasants 139 yes to 136 no.

•voted down non-toxic shot for wild turkey 158 no to 122 yes.

•voted down non-toxic shot for ruffed grouse 144 no to 130 yes.

•voted down non-toxic shot and ammunition for small game mammals 174 no to 100 yes.

The full results of the spring hearings are on the DNR website.