MADISON - If there was any misunderstanding about hunter sentiments regarding Earn-a-Buck rules and Department of Natural Resources management techniques, those doubts were laid to rest at a joint legislative hearing at the Capitol on April 15.
They came from all corners of the state, legions of sportsmen and women tricked out in a wide array of glowing blaze orange and leafy camouflage, plus a couple of lawyers dressed in suits and buttoned down shirts.
Their mission: Send a strong message of protest to the legislature regarding the shortcomings of the 2008 deer season and the DNR's Sex-Age-Kill formula.
Senator Jim Holperin and Representative Ann Hraychuck conducted the joint hearing.
Hraychuck referred to the event as "Deer Hunters Day" as she thanked everyone for coming. To hearty applause, Hraychuck affirmed, "This building does not belong to legislators; it does not belong to the Governor; it does not belong to the DNR; it belongs to each and every one of you."
Much discussion about the science involved in determining deer populations centered on the SAK formula, believed by several speakers to have serious flaws.
While expressing support for the SAK approach, Wisconsin Conservation Congress Chair Edgar Harvey noted that the SAK has to be maintained, "just as one would maintain any other tool or piece of equipment."
Other speakers blamed Earn-a-Buck for the disappearance of deer as well. Several suggested that EAB rules corrupt SAK calculations, thus rendering deer population estimates meaningless.
Greg Kazmierski, president of the Safari Club International Dairyland Committee, declared the DNR "habitually acts contrary to the public will" and urged the legislature to impose greater oversight authority.
Kazmierski criticized the 30-plus million dollars and "a steady diet of Earn-a-Buck and extended hunts in the CWD zone that has angered so many hunters in the southern part of the state."
"Now, the same backlash is occurring in the rest of the state," he declared.
Secretary Matt Frank defended the agency's methods. He reminded the committee that several years ago the DNR brought in a group of outside experts to evaluate deer herd management practices. That study, Frank said, confirmed that Wisconsin is using a solid set of criteria.
Frank acknowledged some shortcomings, however. "We are always looking for ways to improve our analysis. And the science does not always tell us about the impact of a severe winter."
"We recognize we overestimated the size of the herd; we apologize for that; we're going to listen to the hunters," he added.
Former DNR Secretary George Meyer critiqued the "false expectation" generated by DNR reports of a 1.5 to 1.7 million deer herd population immediately prior to the season.
"In fact, the DNR knew of a significantly lower fawn deer count late last summer," Meyer surmised, "and that information should have been publicized before the season to lower hunter expectations."
Meyer argued against the legislature taking on anything more than an oversight role in setting deer management policy. It's a lose-lose situation for whoever makes the decision. The reality has been and always will be, that deer management in Wisconsin is highly controversial.
Controversial indeed. Neo-populist organizations appear to be springing up across the state in reaction to deer management issues. Some are loose knit and local, while others have become highly organized with web sites and extensive e-mail networks.
The Hunter's Alliance for Regulatory Communication is one such organization. HARC has its roots in a Feb. 2008 letter to the editor of Wisconsin Outdoor News urging hunters to unite against policies such as Earn-a-Buck.
Tony Ungerer, introducing himself as HARC's administrator, offered information from a Deer Hunter Survey that included more than 2000 respondents.
The survey showed 80 percent of respondents felt the quality of their hunt had decreased over the past 3-5 years and 85 percent believed the DNR was not accurately predicting deer numbers.
Tom Murphy, a Wisconsin native and retired wildlife biologist, suggested the SAK methodology should be expanded to include statistics from car-killed deer.
Murphy declared that including car kill rates as a factor would improve predictions regarding pre-hunt deer populations. He noted that over a four-year period (2005-2008) in Unit 62B the pre-hunt deer herd was (reported to be) up 21 percent while car kill rates were down 56 percent. "The reason is that Earn-a-Buck is inconsistent with the SAK formula."
Ron Kulas, representing the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association, also challenged the SAK formula. While the DNR's 2008 pre-hunt herd estimate was more than 1.5 million deer, he believes the herd was closer to 1.25 million with some units 60 percent below goal. "We're probably pretty close to goal statewide."
Attorney Ted Wisnefske, representing the Wisconsin Hunters Rights Coalition, lent a legal perspective regarding Earn-a-Buck and Wisconsin law. "Earn-a-Buck violates or is otherwise inconsistent with the Wisconsin Constitution, Wisconsin statutes, and the Wisconsin administrative code."
Quoting from Article 1, Section 26 of the Constitution, Wisnefske stated that Wisconsin citizens have the right to hunt, fish and trap, and take game subject only to "reasonable restrictions."
He alleged that Earn-a-Buck is an unreasonable restriction because it requires someone to take one action, i.e., shoot an antlerless deer, in order to take another action, which is to harvest a buck.
In response to public opposition to Earn-a-Buck rules, the DNR has suspend EAB requirements outside the CWD Zone indefinitely.
Lee Fahrney is The Monroe Times outdoors writer and can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
They came from all corners of the state, legions of sportsmen and women tricked out in a wide array of glowing blaze orange and leafy camouflage, plus a couple of lawyers dressed in suits and buttoned down shirts.
Their mission: Send a strong message of protest to the legislature regarding the shortcomings of the 2008 deer season and the DNR's Sex-Age-Kill formula.
Senator Jim Holperin and Representative Ann Hraychuck conducted the joint hearing.
Hraychuck referred to the event as "Deer Hunters Day" as she thanked everyone for coming. To hearty applause, Hraychuck affirmed, "This building does not belong to legislators; it does not belong to the Governor; it does not belong to the DNR; it belongs to each and every one of you."
Much discussion about the science involved in determining deer populations centered on the SAK formula, believed by several speakers to have serious flaws.
While expressing support for the SAK approach, Wisconsin Conservation Congress Chair Edgar Harvey noted that the SAK has to be maintained, "just as one would maintain any other tool or piece of equipment."
Other speakers blamed Earn-a-Buck for the disappearance of deer as well. Several suggested that EAB rules corrupt SAK calculations, thus rendering deer population estimates meaningless.
Greg Kazmierski, president of the Safari Club International Dairyland Committee, declared the DNR "habitually acts contrary to the public will" and urged the legislature to impose greater oversight authority.
Kazmierski criticized the 30-plus million dollars and "a steady diet of Earn-a-Buck and extended hunts in the CWD zone that has angered so many hunters in the southern part of the state."
"Now, the same backlash is occurring in the rest of the state," he declared.
Secretary Matt Frank defended the agency's methods. He reminded the committee that several years ago the DNR brought in a group of outside experts to evaluate deer herd management practices. That study, Frank said, confirmed that Wisconsin is using a solid set of criteria.
Frank acknowledged some shortcomings, however. "We are always looking for ways to improve our analysis. And the science does not always tell us about the impact of a severe winter."
"We recognize we overestimated the size of the herd; we apologize for that; we're going to listen to the hunters," he added.
Former DNR Secretary George Meyer critiqued the "false expectation" generated by DNR reports of a 1.5 to 1.7 million deer herd population immediately prior to the season.
"In fact, the DNR knew of a significantly lower fawn deer count late last summer," Meyer surmised, "and that information should have been publicized before the season to lower hunter expectations."
Meyer argued against the legislature taking on anything more than an oversight role in setting deer management policy. It's a lose-lose situation for whoever makes the decision. The reality has been and always will be, that deer management in Wisconsin is highly controversial.
Controversial indeed. Neo-populist organizations appear to be springing up across the state in reaction to deer management issues. Some are loose knit and local, while others have become highly organized with web sites and extensive e-mail networks.
The Hunter's Alliance for Regulatory Communication is one such organization. HARC has its roots in a Feb. 2008 letter to the editor of Wisconsin Outdoor News urging hunters to unite against policies such as Earn-a-Buck.
Tony Ungerer, introducing himself as HARC's administrator, offered information from a Deer Hunter Survey that included more than 2000 respondents.
The survey showed 80 percent of respondents felt the quality of their hunt had decreased over the past 3-5 years and 85 percent believed the DNR was not accurately predicting deer numbers.
Tom Murphy, a Wisconsin native and retired wildlife biologist, suggested the SAK methodology should be expanded to include statistics from car-killed deer.
Murphy declared that including car kill rates as a factor would improve predictions regarding pre-hunt deer populations. He noted that over a four-year period (2005-2008) in Unit 62B the pre-hunt deer herd was (reported to be) up 21 percent while car kill rates were down 56 percent. "The reason is that Earn-a-Buck is inconsistent with the SAK formula."
Ron Kulas, representing the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association, also challenged the SAK formula. While the DNR's 2008 pre-hunt herd estimate was more than 1.5 million deer, he believes the herd was closer to 1.25 million with some units 60 percent below goal. "We're probably pretty close to goal statewide."
Attorney Ted Wisnefske, representing the Wisconsin Hunters Rights Coalition, lent a legal perspective regarding Earn-a-Buck and Wisconsin law. "Earn-a-Buck violates or is otherwise inconsistent with the Wisconsin Constitution, Wisconsin statutes, and the Wisconsin administrative code."
Quoting from Article 1, Section 26 of the Constitution, Wisnefske stated that Wisconsin citizens have the right to hunt, fish and trap, and take game subject only to "reasonable restrictions."
He alleged that Earn-a-Buck is an unreasonable restriction because it requires someone to take one action, i.e., shoot an antlerless deer, in order to take another action, which is to harvest a buck.
In response to public opposition to Earn-a-Buck rules, the DNR has suspend EAB requirements outside the CWD Zone indefinitely.
Lee Fahrney is The Monroe Times outdoors writer and can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
