"I don't know the reason for this apparent decline."
IT IS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE SHOOTING THE DOES. SIMPLE.
The statement quoted is in reference to the decrease in the number of hunters I observed in the woods, not a decrease in the number of deer I observed.
"I saw what I believed to be far fewer hunters this year than in years past; I don't know the reason for this apparent decline.
"
sincere apology Dave. Today I did phone a Laurie Ross, liaison for the DNR Board, WI. She suggested to email her so as to make my comments public record, available to press, etc. Hope that's true anyhow. Below is a c/p of the email I sent:
"Hello Laurie,
This email is a follow-up for the phone conversation we had today. I am a recreational land owner in the northern central portion of Wisconsin. I've owned this land for ten years, the main purpose is for gun deer hunting. I would like to express my disappointment regarding my 2009 deer gun hunt. Not a white tail deer was seen by myself and my brother who hunts with me. Also, the 2007 & 2008 gun hunts were void of deer activity.
One gage I use to judge deer population/activity in my area is the quantity of firearm reports, i.e., gun shots I hear in the surrounding area. I've noted that for the past 5+ years the quantity of gun shot activity has fallen substantially. To me this indicates fewer deer either seen or available.
In particular I was pretty annoyed by the 2008 deer population reports released by the DNR. DNR reports leading up to the gun hunt were presented as good. When harvest results were released, amid "noise" of complaints by hunters afield, DNR states that maybe they screwed up on their population numbers. Also DNR released info regarding the WI black bear population was much greater than projected. The DNR indicated that bear permits would be increased for the 2009 hunt to reduce bear numbers.
What I've concluded is that DNR "science" regarding bear population, deer population, wolf population, is flawed. Or, at least the info presented to the public is.
An additional disappointment I have is with the DNR "desired population goal" regarding the size of the WI deer herd. Never did understand what constitutes a desired pop. goal. Could the desired pop. be what the auto insurance vendors want to minimize car/deer hits? That's one theory I've heard told around the campfire so to speak. I recall when WI deer hunt harvest totals were in the 600,000 range +/-. Then this seeming endless request from the DNR for WI hunters to kill as many female (doe) whitetail as possible. Unlimited bonus tags, earn-a-buck, T-Zone, and so forth. Then the CWD scam to encourage hunters to kill all the deer in the more or less Madison area. Now, let's add the rapid increase of the wolf, bear, coyote predator population. There is now an active wolf pack in my area. DNR wolf map says so. Heard a wolf howl this year too. By the way, both 2007 & 2008 deer hunts, I was visited up close and personal by black bears. 2007 I was able to "yell" the bear off. 2008 yell off did not work. Had to fire gunshot to scare bear away. No bear this year though (relief).
Long and short, I do realize that many factors affect the deer hunt. Here is a list of what I feel contributed specifically for my 2009 deer gun hunt:
1)deer "rut" (breeding) was over. deer were tired, need rest.
2)warm temps, with said rut done, deer took advantage of warm weather to pretty much bed all day.
3)lack of snow, makes seeing deer that were moving difficult.
4)predation by wolfs, bears, coyote, fisher.
bullet #4 I feel is a huge contributing factor to the reduced deer population in my area.
Laurie, I've spent $84 in deer tags for the '07, '08, '09 deer gun hunts. Plus the monies I've spent for food, supplies, and so forth for those hunting years. I saw a news brief on the DNR website a week or three ago saying a 16 day gun hunt is being considered for the 2010 season. Why? I'm not real encouraged to go sit in the woods for 16 days just to see more of nothing.
My current position is that I'll simply not spend the money for the 2010 deer hunt. And encourage as many like minded friends and so forth to boycott the 2010 gun deer hunt as well.
I've attached a PDF document regarding wolf predation. I do believe that the information and data contained is valid. You know, a concern I have is that when the predator population in northern WI finds limited opportunities to feed on wildlife (deer fawns?), where will these find their food source. Common knowledge is that predators will simply relocate to an area that has a food source.
To close: I'd sure like to be told the truth by the DNR regarding deer population numbers. And told of how they were arrived at. The typical press releases issued by the DNR have generally left me having listened to many words that have said nothing. Fluff.
Thank You for your regard,
my sig & contact info was here"
Laurie Ross email addy for any here who wish to contact her.
laurie.ross
wisconsin.gov
