Every now and again, the average Joe Blow gets a shot at creating change in an official manner. The opportunity arises not at the local bar or barbershop, over the back fence, or wherever folks gather to discuss affairs of the day, but at one of the Chronic Wasting Disease public hearings offered this week.
Department of Natural Resources staff will conduct a Deer Management Unit information meeting at the Dodger Bowl in Dodgeville from 5-7 p.m. tonight, followed by the CWD hearing on proposed rules approved by the Natural Resources Board for discussion at the public hearings.
The agency will forward the results of the hearings to the NRB. That group must finalize proposals at its April meeting in order to get the rules published and distributed prior to the season opener in September.
There is a lot at stake. The CWD Stakeholder Advisory Group recommendation to combine the Herd Reduction and Disease Eradication Zones into one CWD-Management Zone is high on the agenda. This would result in identical rules and season structure for the 19 counties contained in the CWD-MZ.
The early gun season that has irked some hunters who prefer the traditional nine-day hunt in November is also back on the agenda. This, despite the SAG recommendation to skip the early season.
In addition, the SAG suggestion to offer one any-sex tag within the CWD Management Zone was rejected. This would have muted the criticism that not having a buck tag prevented some hunters from harvesting a trophy buck. The proposal would have had Earn-a-Buck rules in effect for any subsequent deer taken.
The SAG also proposed consideration of baiting and feeding into two separate issues. SAG member Ken Anderson of Eagle River said the group "got it" in this regard and expressed his support for the use of bait in some management units.
The group recommended expanded opportunities for the use of crossbows, currently restricted to those 65 and older or having a doctor-certified disability. Some bow hunting organizations have opposed such an expansion, arguing among other things that crossbows violate "fair chase" standards and have limited range and accuracy, leaving wounded animals in the woods.
Proponents maintain that crossbow technology is such that accuracy is not an issue. They look to results from other states showing that crossbow use increases the archery harvest, an important issue within the CWD zones where deer populations have held steady or increased despite the efforts of agency game managers.
Thomas Givnish, UW-Madison botany professor, is one SAG member who argues vehemently that current policies don't go far enough in combating CWD.
Givnish doesn't hunt, but has an abiding interest in the protection of plant species threatened by high deer populations. He clings to the notion that the disease can and should be eradicated while others would argue that deer management and disease management are, again, two separate issues.
In his minority report, Givnish states, "The only way to ensure the eradication of CWD is to eliminate the entire deer herd in the area known to carry the infection."
Givnish is highly critical of property owners who stand in the way.
"Such behaviors would clearly run counter to the pressing common good, and should be prohibited or indeed criminalized," he asserted.
Other rifts have occurred among members of such groups as the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. WCC member Tony Grabski served on the SAG as a representative of the organization, but broke faith with some of his colleagues on a few issues.
Arguably the most knowledgeable and influential member of the stakeholder group, Grabski strongly opposes the use of sharpshooters while the Congress poses a question at its spring hearings that would ask if the public supports a sharpshooter program made up of deer hunters working under the auspices of the DNR. He also argued against the early gun season and advocated for one any-sex tag before applying EAB rules.
As a delegate to the WCC for Iowa County, I am acutely aware of the outcry over the use of ag tags to hunt bucks, especially in late August and early September. One fellow, I'm told, routinely passes up antlerless deer in order shoot a trophy buck - he reportedly delivered not one, but three, to a local taxidermist last fall.
Individuals should approach tonight's hearing as an opportunity to speak either for or against the current proposals. And if an alternative should be added, here's the chance to weigh in.
See you tonight!
Lee Fahrney can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
Department of Natural Resources staff will conduct a Deer Management Unit information meeting at the Dodger Bowl in Dodgeville from 5-7 p.m. tonight, followed by the CWD hearing on proposed rules approved by the Natural Resources Board for discussion at the public hearings.
The agency will forward the results of the hearings to the NRB. That group must finalize proposals at its April meeting in order to get the rules published and distributed prior to the season opener in September.
There is a lot at stake. The CWD Stakeholder Advisory Group recommendation to combine the Herd Reduction and Disease Eradication Zones into one CWD-Management Zone is high on the agenda. This would result in identical rules and season structure for the 19 counties contained in the CWD-MZ.
The early gun season that has irked some hunters who prefer the traditional nine-day hunt in November is also back on the agenda. This, despite the SAG recommendation to skip the early season.
In addition, the SAG suggestion to offer one any-sex tag within the CWD Management Zone was rejected. This would have muted the criticism that not having a buck tag prevented some hunters from harvesting a trophy buck. The proposal would have had Earn-a-Buck rules in effect for any subsequent deer taken.
The SAG also proposed consideration of baiting and feeding into two separate issues. SAG member Ken Anderson of Eagle River said the group "got it" in this regard and expressed his support for the use of bait in some management units.
The group recommended expanded opportunities for the use of crossbows, currently restricted to those 65 and older or having a doctor-certified disability. Some bow hunting organizations have opposed such an expansion, arguing among other things that crossbows violate "fair chase" standards and have limited range and accuracy, leaving wounded animals in the woods.
Proponents maintain that crossbow technology is such that accuracy is not an issue. They look to results from other states showing that crossbow use increases the archery harvest, an important issue within the CWD zones where deer populations have held steady or increased despite the efforts of agency game managers.
Thomas Givnish, UW-Madison botany professor, is one SAG member who argues vehemently that current policies don't go far enough in combating CWD.
Givnish doesn't hunt, but has an abiding interest in the protection of plant species threatened by high deer populations. He clings to the notion that the disease can and should be eradicated while others would argue that deer management and disease management are, again, two separate issues.
In his minority report, Givnish states, "The only way to ensure the eradication of CWD is to eliminate the entire deer herd in the area known to carry the infection."
Givnish is highly critical of property owners who stand in the way.
"Such behaviors would clearly run counter to the pressing common good, and should be prohibited or indeed criminalized," he asserted.
Other rifts have occurred among members of such groups as the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. WCC member Tony Grabski served on the SAG as a representative of the organization, but broke faith with some of his colleagues on a few issues.
Arguably the most knowledgeable and influential member of the stakeholder group, Grabski strongly opposes the use of sharpshooters while the Congress poses a question at its spring hearings that would ask if the public supports a sharpshooter program made up of deer hunters working under the auspices of the DNR. He also argued against the early gun season and advocated for one any-sex tag before applying EAB rules.
As a delegate to the WCC for Iowa County, I am acutely aware of the outcry over the use of ag tags to hunt bucks, especially in late August and early September. One fellow, I'm told, routinely passes up antlerless deer in order shoot a trophy buck - he reportedly delivered not one, but three, to a local taxidermist last fall.
Individuals should approach tonight's hearing as an opportunity to speak either for or against the current proposals. And if an alternative should be added, here's the chance to weigh in.
See you tonight!
Lee Fahrney can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
