The ink is still damp on the external review of the DNR's proposed CWD Management Plan. While the 15-page report is a rather laborious read, it is current news and begs for coverage to keep Wisconsin's hunting public aware of the latest change de jour within the CWD Management Zone.
It's a bit difficult to stay on task, however, with the recent tragedy that has struck the Blanchardville community fresh on the mind. Like so many other folks around here, I knew all four of those who died in the fire that gutted the historic Ryan Hotel building and Silver Dollar Saloon earlier this week. More on that later.
A covey of scientists from Iowa, Michigan and Texas, a veterinarian from Alberta, Canada and a professor of journalism and mass communications from UW-Madison were called in last August to review the 10-year (now reduced to five-year) plan to combat CWD.
Two themes stand out from that report. First, the plan is unclear as to what the agency hopes to accomplish. Two, more drastic measures would be necessary to stop the spread of the disease to the rest of the state.
Hunting is not the answer, according to the team of experts. The report states, "Realistically, it is probable that active, intensive CWD management of this type is incompatible with anything resembling traditional recreational hunting, and techniques many 21st century Americans may find unpalatable must be considered."
What are those techniques? The sharpshooter idea stands front and center and shooting from helicopters earns a place on the agenda once again. The idea most likely to turn heads, however, is this gem: "... statutory changes may be required in order to ensure agency employees have access to private lands.
If they are thinking the state should force its way onto private property to shoot deer, the agency would do well to consider the public relations consequences. While many hunters find sharpshooting repugnant, one can only imagine the response of unwilling property owners to helicopter raids.
In the early days of the CWD panic attack, DNR reps would stop by to inquire about having sharpshooters come on the land in an attempt to "eradicate" the disease. There were a few takers back then, but both the DNR and the sharpshooters stopped coming around after it became apparent that landowners and the hunting public wouldn't stand for it.
Here is perhaps the most significant passage from the report, however: "As difficult as it may be to accept, at this point there is little reason for optimism that the ultimate course of CWD in the current endemic areas can be significantly altered."
Amen, let's move on!
As tragedies go, however, the controversy over CWD plays second fiddle to the recent deaths of four innocent people in Blanchardville. I've played Texas Hold 'em on many a Sunday night at the Silver Dollar where Dan Hardekopf and Cody Olson would also try their luck amongst a table or two of other local characters. It was as much social as competitive poker, however, with an NFL Sunday night football game flickering on the TV at the corner of the game room generating much discussion - especially if Dan's Chicago Bears were playing.
As young as he was, Cody was a dangerous player to go against. He played with confidence and could build a mountain of chips in short order. Dan was a bit more conservative, but no less hazardous to your stack. A good-natured fellow, Brian Monte would take a seat at the table on occasion, but usually worked behind the bar on Sunday nights.
Dan was an excellent hunter as well, as some impressive buck mounts hanging from the walls of the bar would attest. He was a crack shot with either rifle or shotgun. I recall following him around the grounds of the Argyle Rod & Gun Club a few years ago as he shattered one orange-colored clay after another.
And the Ryan Hotel brings back memories from my childhood. To fill in some of the gaps, I called Tim Ryan, who now lives on the edge of the village. His great grandfather, Jim Ryan, I learned, was the original owner of what was then a wood frame building, later replaced by the current structure after the turn of the century.
One or more of the Ryan clan ran the place for more than 60 years, including Tim's dad, Kenny, from 1947-1964. I also remember hearing the name "Twist" Ryan, perhaps because of the rather curious nickname. I'm told Sylvester Ryan was Jim's son, one of seven children.
My dad invested his cash in more than a few euchre games at Ryan's where the stakes were consistent with the cost of a "shave and a haircut." My mother fumed a bit, I recall, when he stayed there longer than she felt a good Christian should.
I loved the place even then, sometimes begging to go in and look over Dad's shoulder on a Wednesday or Saturday night while my mother went shopping in the many retail stores along Blanchardville's bustling main street in the 1950s.
Now, the Ryan Hotel is a blackened mess with nothing left but bittersweet memories - of four lives cut short and a piece of history gone forever.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
It's a bit difficult to stay on task, however, with the recent tragedy that has struck the Blanchardville community fresh on the mind. Like so many other folks around here, I knew all four of those who died in the fire that gutted the historic Ryan Hotel building and Silver Dollar Saloon earlier this week. More on that later.
A covey of scientists from Iowa, Michigan and Texas, a veterinarian from Alberta, Canada and a professor of journalism and mass communications from UW-Madison were called in last August to review the 10-year (now reduced to five-year) plan to combat CWD.
Two themes stand out from that report. First, the plan is unclear as to what the agency hopes to accomplish. Two, more drastic measures would be necessary to stop the spread of the disease to the rest of the state.
Hunting is not the answer, according to the team of experts. The report states, "Realistically, it is probable that active, intensive CWD management of this type is incompatible with anything resembling traditional recreational hunting, and techniques many 21st century Americans may find unpalatable must be considered."
What are those techniques? The sharpshooter idea stands front and center and shooting from helicopters earns a place on the agenda once again. The idea most likely to turn heads, however, is this gem: "... statutory changes may be required in order to ensure agency employees have access to private lands.
If they are thinking the state should force its way onto private property to shoot deer, the agency would do well to consider the public relations consequences. While many hunters find sharpshooting repugnant, one can only imagine the response of unwilling property owners to helicopter raids.
In the early days of the CWD panic attack, DNR reps would stop by to inquire about having sharpshooters come on the land in an attempt to "eradicate" the disease. There were a few takers back then, but both the DNR and the sharpshooters stopped coming around after it became apparent that landowners and the hunting public wouldn't stand for it.
Here is perhaps the most significant passage from the report, however: "As difficult as it may be to accept, at this point there is little reason for optimism that the ultimate course of CWD in the current endemic areas can be significantly altered."
Amen, let's move on!
As tragedies go, however, the controversy over CWD plays second fiddle to the recent deaths of four innocent people in Blanchardville. I've played Texas Hold 'em on many a Sunday night at the Silver Dollar where Dan Hardekopf and Cody Olson would also try their luck amongst a table or two of other local characters. It was as much social as competitive poker, however, with an NFL Sunday night football game flickering on the TV at the corner of the game room generating much discussion - especially if Dan's Chicago Bears were playing.
As young as he was, Cody was a dangerous player to go against. He played with confidence and could build a mountain of chips in short order. Dan was a bit more conservative, but no less hazardous to your stack. A good-natured fellow, Brian Monte would take a seat at the table on occasion, but usually worked behind the bar on Sunday nights.
Dan was an excellent hunter as well, as some impressive buck mounts hanging from the walls of the bar would attest. He was a crack shot with either rifle or shotgun. I recall following him around the grounds of the Argyle Rod & Gun Club a few years ago as he shattered one orange-colored clay after another.
And the Ryan Hotel brings back memories from my childhood. To fill in some of the gaps, I called Tim Ryan, who now lives on the edge of the village. His great grandfather, Jim Ryan, I learned, was the original owner of what was then a wood frame building, later replaced by the current structure after the turn of the century.
One or more of the Ryan clan ran the place for more than 60 years, including Tim's dad, Kenny, from 1947-1964. I also remember hearing the name "Twist" Ryan, perhaps because of the rather curious nickname. I'm told Sylvester Ryan was Jim's son, one of seven children.
My dad invested his cash in more than a few euchre games at Ryan's where the stakes were consistent with the cost of a "shave and a haircut." My mother fumed a bit, I recall, when he stayed there longer than she felt a good Christian should.
I loved the place even then, sometimes begging to go in and look over Dad's shoulder on a Wednesday or Saturday night while my mother went shopping in the many retail stores along Blanchardville's bustling main street in the 1950s.
Now, the Ryan Hotel is a blackened mess with nothing left but bittersweet memories - of four lives cut short and a piece of history gone forever.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
