WISCONSIN DELLS - I traveled to the Dells recently to attend a meeting of the executive council of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, hoping to discuss the creation of a new outreach committee designed to improve the Congress' internal and external communications. According to the agenda, the council would make a decision on the matter, thus opening the way for revised promotional materials, a new PowerPoint presentation and a newsletter for distribution to WCC delegates and other "customers." Unfortunately, the agenda item was trumped by - no surprise here - a two-hour discussion over CWD. Despite being worn out by the never-ending debate over CWD, I did pick up a few tidbits that may be of interest to deer hunters from this area. A proposal backed by several members of the DNR-sanctioned Chronic Wasting Disease Stakeholder Group would launch significant changes in the CWD zone structure for 2008. Instead of separate Disease Eradication and Herd Reduction Zones, there would be only one zone, with one set of rules regarding legal firearms, registration, CWD testing requirements and landowner preferences. As proposed, the zone would extend out approximately 10 miles beyond the location of any deer testing positive for the disease. The new rules would apply to portions of Green, Lafayette, Iowa and Rock counties heretofore lying within the HRZ. On the other hand, some parts of those counties could be deleted from the CWD zone entirely. Now, only small portions of Lafayette and Green counties are included in the DEZ. The other major proposal would revise DNR population goals for the CWD zones - now five deer per square mile in the DEZ and 10 deer per square mile in the HRZ. In its place, proponents urge a return to the pre-CWD goals established in 2000. For example, in management unit 70A in western Dane and eastern Iowa counties (where CWD was first discovered) the goal for 2000 was approximately 25 deer per square mile. While WCC representatives from southern Wisconsin representatives are supportive of the recommendations, those coming from central and northern Wisconsin are less enthusiastic. Mark Noll, WCC delegate from Buffalo County and co-chair of the Big Game Committee, wants the disease dealt with before it spreads to, as he put it, "my back yard." "I see a rift coming between different parts of the state," he said. Arold Ninneman from Florence County agrees with Noll, saying that it would be devastating to the economy in his area if the disease spreads into large tracts of public forests. "We would never be able to control it," Ninneman said. Ninneman strongly disagrees with sentiments among southern hunters who believe attempts to contain the disease are futile. "I think what we've done so far, we've done a pretty good job. We've stopped it where it started," Ninneman declares emphatically. Kenneth Risley of Monticello holds the opposite view. He serves as chairman of the Green County delegation to the Congress and holds a seat on the executive committee. "I hate to be critical, but they haven't been able to do anything about the problem," he said. Risley sees fewer landowners out hunting with the expanded season structure. "They used to get together for deer drives and covered everybody's land; the deer were moving and a lot of deer were shot." It takes too much time now, Risley said. "People don't have the time to spend away from their work and their families to shoot deer," he said. Getting the stakeholder group's proposals in place for the 2008 season will be a challenge, according to CWD project leader Alan Crossley. "They will have to complete their work in January in order to submit a proposal to the NRB at its February meeting." Crossley said. In the midst of the debate, a couple of disgruntled sportsmen from Sauk County looked on from the periphery, awaiting their turn to present a resolution to scuttle the entire eradication effort. Like many hunters from southern Wisconsin, they view the expenditure of more than $30 million as a waste of hunting and fishing license revenues. When their turn came to present their case, however, the bricks and mortar had already hardened. The proposal for a return to the traditional nine-day gun season, muzzleloader and archery seasons crashed and burned in a near unanimous vote. The message conveyed by Sauk County resident Ron Lestikow points out just how broad the division remains. There are several thousand acres in Sauk County that will be off limits to hunters as a result of DNR attempts to kill all the deer, he said. "We're not going to give up," Lestikow said. After years of failed attempts to eradicate, contain or control the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease, we seem to continue beating each other up on the issue. Especially frustrating when the endless debate gets in the way of addressing other priorities, in this case ironically, efforts to improve communications among the members of the Conservation Congress.

- Lee Fahrney can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.