MADISON - Preliminary numbers for the just-ended 2010 gun deer season show Wisconsin hunters harvested 218,144 whitetails, an increase of 11 percent from 2009.
Statewide, hunters registered 102,006 bucks (a 17 percent increase) while 116,138 antlerless deer were taken (approximately seven percent above 2009).
Changes to the season structure make meaningful comparisons difficult, however. "The season included more regular units with a substantial number of buck-only units as many units in the northern and central forest regions are close to population goals; or are below goals," said Keith Warnke, DNR Big Game Ecologist.
When compared to years prior to 2009, the number of deer harvested is still below historical figures. In 2008, 276,985 deer were harvested in Wisconsin. That figure was also down substantially from 2007 when 343,767 deer were killed during the nine-day season.
The numbers in Green County have been up and down over the past four years 2010 (1646) 2009 (1,494) 2008 (1,767) 2007 (2,082). Hunters in Lafayette County enjoyed a good season with a total of 3,029 deer taken, more than any of the previous three years.
Some regions that have been hit exceptionally hard include Ashland County in the Northern Region where 1,246 deer were shot in 2010 while 1,613 were harvested in 2009, 2,508 in 2008 and 3,545 in 2007. While the harvest was up in Florence County, (from 829 to 1,304), it still remained below the 2008 total of 1,411 and far below the 2007 kill of 2,785.
Similarly, while the 2010 harvest in Marinette County in the Northeastern Region was up 3.74 percent over last year at 4,381, the figure for 2008 stood at 5,383 and more than 8,000 were shot in 2007.
"Wildlife management and especially deer management is a process of continual adjustment," Warnke noted. "This season's structure was influenced by deer hunters, population goal changes, last year's deer harvest; and the resulting estimated local deer populations."
The West Central Region of the state had the largest harvest with 76,892 deer shot. The harvest there was up by more than three percent from 2009. In contrast, the eight-county Southeast Region recorded a harvest of just more than 5,000, an increase of approximately 10 percent from 2009.
The Northern Region had the second-highest total harvest with 58,463 whitetails registered, an increase of more than 18 percent. The Northeastern Region came in next with a harvest of 43,222 while the South Central Region recorded 34,522 deer killed.
Some hunters in Marinette County are not happy campers, however. Harold Grandaw is the patriarch of the Horse Apple Hill Deer Camp near Dunbar. He has been keeping meticulous records since the early 1980s. Of the 39 people affiliated with the group, only nine shot bucks this year, Grandaw said.
Another nine saw no deer, he reported. "They were up there all week (DMUs 41, 45 and 50), and they are good hunters. You used to get 18 or 19 bucks back in the early 90s," he added.
Many hunters in Iron County were also left empty-handed, as only 470 deer were harvested. Of those, 453 were bucks with only 17 antlerless deer taken in the largely buck-only county. The harvest there was down by approximately 21 percent, the fourth straight decline.
The figures for 2009, 2008 and 2007 were 597, 1,009 and 1,536 respectively. By the conclusion of the season on Nov. 28, the number of gun deer licenses sold reached 621,000, according to DNR figures. This number was down three percent from the 2009 season. Archery license sales, however, followed recent trends with an increase of 510 licenses sold in 2010.
"There are still days to hunt in 2010," said Warnke. The muzzleloader hunt began Nov. 29 and runs through Dec. 8. And there's the statewide antlerless deer hunt Dec. 9-12, he noted. In addition, a holiday hunt within the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone will run from Dec. 24 through Jan. 9, 2011.
In February, DNR biologists will use unit-level harvest numbers to develop over-winter population estimates and will propose season structures for 2011 in March. The Natural Resources Board will take up the proposal at their April meeting.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times Outdoors Writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
Statewide, hunters registered 102,006 bucks (a 17 percent increase) while 116,138 antlerless deer were taken (approximately seven percent above 2009).
Changes to the season structure make meaningful comparisons difficult, however. "The season included more regular units with a substantial number of buck-only units as many units in the northern and central forest regions are close to population goals; or are below goals," said Keith Warnke, DNR Big Game Ecologist.
When compared to years prior to 2009, the number of deer harvested is still below historical figures. In 2008, 276,985 deer were harvested in Wisconsin. That figure was also down substantially from 2007 when 343,767 deer were killed during the nine-day season.
The numbers in Green County have been up and down over the past four years 2010 (1646) 2009 (1,494) 2008 (1,767) 2007 (2,082). Hunters in Lafayette County enjoyed a good season with a total of 3,029 deer taken, more than any of the previous three years.
Some regions that have been hit exceptionally hard include Ashland County in the Northern Region where 1,246 deer were shot in 2010 while 1,613 were harvested in 2009, 2,508 in 2008 and 3,545 in 2007. While the harvest was up in Florence County, (from 829 to 1,304), it still remained below the 2008 total of 1,411 and far below the 2007 kill of 2,785.
Similarly, while the 2010 harvest in Marinette County in the Northeastern Region was up 3.74 percent over last year at 4,381, the figure for 2008 stood at 5,383 and more than 8,000 were shot in 2007.
"Wildlife management and especially deer management is a process of continual adjustment," Warnke noted. "This season's structure was influenced by deer hunters, population goal changes, last year's deer harvest; and the resulting estimated local deer populations."
The West Central Region of the state had the largest harvest with 76,892 deer shot. The harvest there was up by more than three percent from 2009. In contrast, the eight-county Southeast Region recorded a harvest of just more than 5,000, an increase of approximately 10 percent from 2009.
The Northern Region had the second-highest total harvest with 58,463 whitetails registered, an increase of more than 18 percent. The Northeastern Region came in next with a harvest of 43,222 while the South Central Region recorded 34,522 deer killed.
Some hunters in Marinette County are not happy campers, however. Harold Grandaw is the patriarch of the Horse Apple Hill Deer Camp near Dunbar. He has been keeping meticulous records since the early 1980s. Of the 39 people affiliated with the group, only nine shot bucks this year, Grandaw said.
Another nine saw no deer, he reported. "They were up there all week (DMUs 41, 45 and 50), and they are good hunters. You used to get 18 or 19 bucks back in the early 90s," he added.
Many hunters in Iron County were also left empty-handed, as only 470 deer were harvested. Of those, 453 were bucks with only 17 antlerless deer taken in the largely buck-only county. The harvest there was down by approximately 21 percent, the fourth straight decline.
The figures for 2009, 2008 and 2007 were 597, 1,009 and 1,536 respectively. By the conclusion of the season on Nov. 28, the number of gun deer licenses sold reached 621,000, according to DNR figures. This number was down three percent from the 2009 season. Archery license sales, however, followed recent trends with an increase of 510 licenses sold in 2010.
"There are still days to hunt in 2010," said Warnke. The muzzleloader hunt began Nov. 29 and runs through Dec. 8. And there's the statewide antlerless deer hunt Dec. 9-12, he noted. In addition, a holiday hunt within the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone will run from Dec. 24 through Jan. 9, 2011.
In February, DNR biologists will use unit-level harvest numbers to develop over-winter population estimates and will propose season structures for 2011 in March. The Natural Resources Board will take up the proposal at their April meeting.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times Outdoors Writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
