Deer Czar Recommendations?

[bullwinkle]

Anyone have any predictions or insight? I just hope he puts more control towards the landowners. Regulate the heck out of pubic land, give land owner more rope to do what they want and need to do. With this mild winter, the deer population is going to boom in some areas including my land. Ourselves and the neighbors took almost 60 deer in about 1 square mile of property. Even with this heavy harvest, my prediction is our deer sightings will go up 10-20 percent with the winter and fawning season that most likely will be coming.

[Dan Salmon]

I hope to hell that there isn't more regulation on public lands in his recommendations.

If you want to see the end of sport hunting and the introduction to pay to play like in TX, then by all means, regulate the hell out of public lands.

This single item would be the nail in the coffin to the economies of northern cities that depend on money from deer hunters.

This is a bad idea.

[bullwinkle]

Dan - They dont have a choice but to regulate the heck out of public lands. There is no way around the pressure that exists on public property unless we start a drawing system for tags like they do in some states.

In the South they give land owners more latitude and I personally think this is a huge missing piece in Wisconsin. Like it or not, the deer exist in pockets and most of the high population pockets are on private lands. The only way I see to control the deer is to give the land owners more room to do what they want/need to do. Maybe I am missing a great idea but I really dont see any other way.

In my opinion, like it or not, becoming a land owner/leaser and developing your deer habitat to be attractive in your neck of Wisconsin is a recipe that every serious deer hunter needs to consider in todays environment. The last 6 years I have worked my tail off and it has done wonders for my property. We saw record deer levels this past year. Last year we increased the food plots from 2 acres to 6. This year I plan to go to 16 and I have a feeling it will be a season to remember. There is no way I can keep the does in balance with the current rules. All that would need to change is to quit register does and give me unlimited doe tags as a land owner. It costs me at least an hour of precious up North time registering a deer. 6-7 does are enough each year. If all I had to do was bring them to the shed and cut them up, I could easily double my doe kill and not eat any more time away from the farm. As you can tell, I want to shoot more, it is just such a pain. The ironic thing is, the best thing I could do to spread out the deer is shoot more of them. The rules are such that it is unattractive to us and thus the deer are less likely to leave my property. The DNR rules are back firing for my neighbors and for me for that matter.

I know there are a lot of guys who have situations like me who dont want to shoot does and want to keep all the deer on their lands so I am probably a minority deer land owner. I also know a lot of guys are still worrying about just seeing deer and I know I am part of the problem for guys around me. I am blessed with the opposite problem because of action and choices I have made - it is actually real easy to do if you have the time, dedicate the work and are willing to spend the money. Either way, I will keep doing the farm work because it is almost more fun than hunting. It will be interesting to see if change is coming or if Walker just wasted Wisconsin tax dollars to the Dr Craz

[Dan Salmon]

All I'm saying is, if this does happen, the state is going to loose many more hunters than it appeases with the new rules.

I, for one, will be one that quits deer hunting in WI if it goes this way. I'll start applying for tags out west and let them benefit from my money. One only needs to look at the current bear season structure in WI to see where this will lead. It takes 5 years or more of buying preference points to be able to get a license for a single tag, and not in areas that are good bear areas. If that's the direction deer hunting is heading here, I'll just start hunting in other states or quit all together. I can certainly find much better ways to spend my time and money than to support something that is benefiting only one segment of the population.

[Dan Salmon]

Sorry Bullwinkle, I didn't mean to "Retch" your thread.

[retch sweeny]

All I'm saying is, if this does happen, the state is going to loose many more hunters than it appeases with the new rules.

I, for one, will be one that quits deer hunting in WI if it goes this way. I'll start applying for tags out west and let them benefit from my money.

But your only a gun deer hunter now right? So you will quit the 9 days a year that most folks deer hunt. I wonder what the state budget will do with the loss of your $24?

[Dan Salmon]

You're right Retch, just keep pissing off the middle aged hunters in the state. That's probably one of the best strategies I've heard of lately.

Let's make guys/ladies in this age group, the ones that will introduce more new hunters to the sport than any other age group, and make it a little bit easier for them to say "You know, it isn't worth all the hassle to go deer hunting anymore, I'd rather spend my time with my kids doing (fill in the blank)". And, just like their kids, this group has grown up with the internet, they've grown up with video games and mass media, if they're not entertained they go and do something else that keeps their interest.

A lot it seems, have already made their decision, I guess we'll see how many more will too. You're right, my $24 (Insinuating that I only buy a General Firearms License and nothing more and that no one else buys anything more than a General Firearms License) doesn't make much of a dent, but the impact of three to eight additional hunters that I could have brought into the fold but now will not, does make a difference. And when you multiply that by however many that have already and/or will stop hunting for the same and or similar reasons, does make a difference, a potentially huge difference.

I await the spin...

[retch sweeny]

Certainly you have the ability to hold the DNR hostage until your demands are met. You are also free to hunt other states instead of WI. Some might even encourage you to do so. Based on years of reading your posts you are not one to actually expend any energy or effort (Beyond prattle on a chat room) to actually advocate for your cause. Clearly you have ideas about how things should be done even if you dont manifest that into actual action. I think you stated that you are too busy to do such things so I guess you are destined to fall subject to those that make the effort and do the heavy lifting.

[Dan Salmon]

Have you ever worked in a Post Office?

[retch sweeny]

I have held many many many diff jobs in my youth and adult life inclding working as a postal mail carrier moving US mail from a regional location in Wausau to 6 diff post offices and then picking up the mail from those post offices and returning it to the regional distribution center in Wausau. So yes, I have worked and I have worked within a post office.Why do you ask since this is a thread about the deer trustee?