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2 Deer ForecastBy Jason Fleener, assistant

Big Game Biologist

25 Bear Forecast By Linda olver assistant Big Game Biologist

38 FurBearer Forecast By John olson, Furbearer Biologist

28 uPLaND GaMe Forecast By sharon Fandel, acting upland Game Biologist

49 WaterFoWL ForecastBy Kent Van Horn, Waterfowl Biologist

Questions about anything in this fall hunting forecast?

In this issue:

2010 Hunting ForecastWisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Deer season Forecast ..................................................2What’s New in 2010? ..................................................4season Dates ...............................................................52010 Deer Management unit Map .............................7Fall Deer Hunter – Wildlife observation survey .......8Venison Donation Program .........................................9update on Investing in Wisconsin Whitetails ...........10New Web Page tracks Deer research Projects ........12Deer Management units in 2010 ..............................13 regular units ........................................................13 Herd control units ................................................14 Metro units ...........................................................14 state Park units .....................................................14New email alert service ..........................................15chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone ...........16Deer Impacts on Motorists ........................................19Lowdown on Lead ....................................................19regional Deer season Forecasts ...............................20 Northern region ....................................................20 West central region ............................................21 Northeastern region .............................................22 southeast region....................................................... 23 south central region ............................................24

By Doug Fendry, area supervisor ..................................... 2Bear season Forecast ................................................252010 season Dates ....................................................25Northern region Bear Forecast ................................26Northeastern region Bear Forecast ..........................26West central region Bear Forecast ..........................27

upland Game Forecast ..............................................28ring-Necked Pheasant ..............................................28turkey .......................................................................30ruffed Grouse ...........................................................32sharp-tailed Grouse ..................................................34Bobwhite Quail .........................................................36Gray & Fox squirrel .................................................37cottontail rabbit .......................................................37

Furbearer season Forecast ........................................38Best Management Practices (BMPs) for trapping ...39Beaver .......................................................................40raccoon .....................................................................41otter ..........................................................................42Fisher.........................................................................43Bobcat .......................................................................44Mink. Muskrat and Fox.............................................45coyote .......................................................................46Gray Wolves ..............................................................47the american (Pine) Marten ....................................48

Wetland conditions ...................................................49Ducks - continentally & in Wisconsin .....................50Blue-Winged teal/Wood Ducks & Mallards ............51Migratory Bird Hunters: Don’t forget to be HIP... ....51canada Geese ............................................................52early canada Goose season .....................................53Woodcock..................................................................53Mourning Dove .........................................................54Youth Waterfowl Hunt - sept. 18 -19 .......................54Design by Holly robertson

2 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 3Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

levels) are thought to have played the biggest roles.current deer populations vary throughout the state. the 2010 hunting season will be outlined by roughly half of the DMus in a herd con-trol season structure where deer population estimates are currently 20% or more above

popu-lation goals.

the other half of

the DMus are going to be in a regular unit season struc-ture where deer populations are currently near or below established goals. twenty-two deer managements in southern Wisconsin make up the cWD Management

In the months leading up to the 2010 deer season, hunters across the state will anx-iously await for their favorite time of year. time spent hon-ing shooting skills, readying equipment and scouting the land for deer sign are enjoy-able and can pay off when the season opens. Bonds with family and friends strengthen during the deer season as old traditions continue and new ones begin. and of course, everyone is wondering what the season will bring.

the 2009 deer season ended with a statewide registered harvest of approximately 330,000 deer. this would be a remarkable harvest by the standards of many states, but fell short of some hunter’s expectations based on Wis-consin’s previous 5-year annual harvest average of 492,000 deer.

several factors likely con-tributed to the lower harvest. a reduced deer population and a reduction in antlerless harvest (no earn-a-buck out-side cWD units, fewer herd control units, lower permit

Deer Season Forecast

Zone, which will again have unlimited earn-a-buck regula-tions intended to meet deer population goals and disease management objectives.

While herd control has been the primary statewide focus over the last decade, herd growth is actually the primary objective throughout much of northeast Wisconsin for 2010. Herd growth in a DMu is achieved if the total deer harvest plus all other mortality is less than the total number of fawns recruited into the fall population. the strategy for herd growth is to have a very small antlerless harvest quota or a bucks-only hunt.

In DMus where the post-hunt population was more than 20% below the population

In 2010, 19 DMUs in the north-ern forest will have buck only

hunting during the archery and gun deer seasons

goal from the previous winter, a decision for a zero antlerless quota (bucks only hunting) would be influenced by lo-cal public input and the local biologist.

In 2010, 19 DMus in the northern forest will have buck-only hunting during the archery and gun deer sea-sons (see “2010 Deer season structure” map). some excep-tions may apply to qualified members of the u.s. armed Forces who are home on fur-lough or leave, class a and c disabled permit hunters, first time hunter education gradu-ates, and agricultural damage permits (see 2010 Deer Hunt-ing regulations booklet for details). the December 9-12 antlerless-only hunt will still be held statewide, however, in the nineteen units where zero antlerless tags are available, only hunters who qualify un-der the exceptions listed above will be eligible to hunt.

Statewide OutlookFollowing a review of popula-tion goals that included exten-sive public input and legisla-tive review deer population goals were increased in 43 units this year. the end results are season structures and per-mit levels that will be aimed toward a more conservative antlerless harvest. the elimi-nation of earn-a-buck outside of the cWD management

zone last year also allowed all hunters to take bucks and pass on antlerless deer. Hunters who will be hunting in former earn-a-buck units may notice an increase in the number of antlerless deer and fewer mature bucks this year.

areas in the state hit hard by winter in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, may experience a depression in the num-ber of deer in the 2-3 year old age class this year. old Man Winter lessened its grip throughout most of the state this year, which resulted in increased winter survival rates and birth rates. In many areas, hunters may notice more does with twin fawns this fall. snow melt also oc-curred earlier this year than normal, resulting in earlier green-up and good lactation.

While these observations are promising, it should be kept in mind that local fawn recruitment into the fall population is variable, as they may be impacted by lo-cal predator populations and other sources of mortality and that the combination of conservative antlerless har-vest opportunities in regular units along with no earn-a-buck outside of cWD zones may result in a harvest below the 10-year average.

regardless of statewide or DMu level deer popula-tions and expectations, hunters are reminded that deer abundance on the property or local level often does not reflect deer popu-lation trends on the larger scale. Pre-season scouting and discussions with neigh-bors will give hunters a bet-ter expectation of the hunt in their hunting area.

Stakeholder Interaction a lot has happened over the last year in the deer man-agement world. In 2009, two stakeholder advisory panels prepared recom-mendations to the Natural resources Board and the DNR. The first group’s objective was to review the state’s deer management unit (DMu) post-hunt pop-ulation goals and bound-aries. after considering public feedback, the panel recommended increasing deer population goals in 12 DMus and reducing goals in 3. after Natural resources Board approval, legislative committees re-quested additional changes to goals. as a result, the department suggested goal increases to 43 DMus and decreases to 2 DMus, which were subsequently approved. a number of units with deer population

Photo by ryan Brady

4 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 5Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

What’s New in 2010?there are a number of rule and regulation changes this year, that may be of interest to hunters. changes will be printed in the “What’s New in 2010” section of the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunt-ing regulations booklet. Most notable changes include:

• the “archery antlerless carcass tag” is no longer valid in all units statewide. Instead, the tag will be valid only in units with an established antlerless quota. see the 2010 Deer season Structure Map to find “regular-buck only units” where this tag is not valid.

• there is no longer a three day waiting period to use archery licenses purchased during the open archery season.

• The use of rifles for firearm deer hunting is now legal: south of highway 170 in Dunn County, west of highway J in the southwest corner of shawano county, and in the Waupaca county portion of Hartman Creek State Park. See the firearms restrictions map in the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting regulations. Hunters are also encouraged to check with local authorities to see if there are any firearm restrictions different than the state’s.

• A hunting season during the nine day firearm deer season has been established at both White-fish Dunes State Park and Potawatomi State Park.

• To facilitate removal from the field, hunters may divide a deer into no more than five parts (e.g. four quarters plus the head attached to the spinal column and rib cage).

• Non-residents 65 years and older may use a crossbow during any archery deer season without a special permit authorizing its use.

• Magnifying scopes will be permitted on muzzleloaders during the designated 10 day state-wide muzzleloader deer season, Nov. 29 – Dec. 8.

goal increases will be affect-ed this year with a change in season structure and a reduced antlerless harvest quota. Higher goals and in-creasingly conservative ant-lerless harvest strategies will initially result in fewer deer harvested in those units.

another stakeholder panel met to seek alternatives to earn-a-buck (eaB) regula-tions for deer management units that are substantially

Continued from page 3

above population goals at the request of the legislature and Natural resources Board. the panel provided 3 alternative packages with varying hunting regulations and season dates intended to increase antler-less harvest in units where it is needed. the primary com-ponent to these packages was a 16-day gun deer season in November. after an online comment process and public hearings, it was clear how vari-able the opinions were across

the state and how passionate Wisconsin deer hunters are about their hobby. at that time, preliminary harvest results were in from the 2009 hunting season, which sug-gested deer populations were nearing goals across much of the state. this lead to the DNr dropping the eaB alternative proposals. thank you to all of those who pro-vided input during the com-ment period.

Season Datesarchery:

sept. 18 – Nov. 18 Nov. 29 – Jan. 9, 2011 NOTE: archery harvests in all cWD and Herd control units are restricted to antlerless-only during oct. 14 – 17, and in all units statewide Dec. 9-12 with valid carcass tags (deer hunt-ing will not be allowed in non-quota areas and state parks located outside of the cWD Man-agement Zone).

Gun:Regular Gun: Nov. 20 – 28 Muzzleloader: Nov. 29 - Dec. 8 Early Antlerless-Only Gun Hunt: oct. 14 - 17 (cWD and Herd control units) Late Antlerless-Only Gun Hunt: Dec. 9 - 12 (statewide with valid carcass tags) Holiday Gun Hunt: Dec. 24- Jan. 9, 2011 (cWD units only, earn-a-buck regulations apply)Youth Gun Hunt: oct. 9 – 10Disabled Gun Hunt: Oct. 2 – 10 (qualified disabled permit hunters on sponsored properties only) NOTE: Hunters are reminded that coyote hunting is closed in approximately the northern third of the state if any gun or muzzleloader deer hunt is in progress. see the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting or small Game regulations for the southern boundary of the closed area. the coyote hunting season will remain open during the two-day youth gun deer hunt on oct. 9 – 10 and during the disabled gun deer hunt on oct. 2 – 10. as with all hunting seasons, hunters are reminded to be absolutely sure of their target before they shoot. Mistakes in identifica-tion can be very costly.

October Antlerless-Only Gun Deer Hunt:there will be a 4-day october 14-17 antlerless-only hunt (formerly called the t-Zone hunt) in 2010. this hunt will be in effect for all cWD and Herd control units. During this hunt, only antlerless deer may be legally harvested by both gun and archery hunters within these units. archery deer hunters must also wear blaze orange if they are bow hunting from oct. 14-17. In addition, all turkey and small game hunters, with the exception of waterfowl hunters, are required to meet blaze orange requirements during this time. In “regular” units, no game hunters will be required to wear blaze orange during these 4 days, and archery deer hunters may har-vest deer of either sex if they have valid tags. In cWD units, this hunt will be a good opportunity to earn a buck authorization sticker which can be used to tag a buck later during the archery, 9-day gun, muzzleloader, or Holiday gun seasons within the cWD Management Zone.

Photo by Dave oginski

6 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 7Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Statewide December Antlerless-Only Gun Deer Hunt:the four-day December antlerless-only deer hunt will be held Dec. 9-12, 2010. unlike the october antlerless-only gun hunt, this hunt will take place in all DMus statewide, except state parks outside of the cWD Management Zone, and non-quota areas. Hunters will need to possess or be in a group that has at least one antlerless deer carcass tag valid for the unit which they will be hunting in. Unit specific tags will not be available for nineteen regular units in northern Wisconsin (see 2010 Deer season structure map), so very few hunters will be eligible to take part in the antlerless hunt under the authority of other carcass tags. all gun and archery deer hunters, and small game hunters are required to meet blaze orange re-quirements during this hunt statewide.

Youth Gun Deer Huntthe eighth annual Youth Gun Deer Hunt will be Oct. 9-10, 2010. this special hunt was established to get youth involved in hunting under conditions with low hunting pressure, in a safe and educational setting. the hunt will be held in all DMus statewide, except state Park and non-quota areas.

resident and non-resident youth hunters ages 12 to 15 who have successfully completed a hunter education program and possess a gun deer hunting license may participate in this hunt. also, any youth 10-11 years of age, or those 12-15 year olds who have not completed a hunter education program, may participate in the youth hunt under the “Mentored Hunting Program” guidelines. Qualified youth hunters may harvest one buck deer using their Gun Buck Deer carcass tag and additional antlerless deer with the appropriate carcass tag. earn-a-Buck restrictions do Not apply in cWD units if the Gun Buck Deer carcass tag is used during the youth gun deer hunt.

Youth hunters must be accompanied by a parent or an adult guardian. a 10-15 year old hunting under the mentored hunting program guidelines must be at arm’s reach from an adult mentor. No more than 2 youth hunters may be accompanied by an adult. adults supervising youth hunters may not gun deer hunt while accompanying or mentor-ing a youth.

all deer, turkey and small game hunters, with the exception of waterfowl hunters, are required to meet blaze orange require-ments on these two days statewide. For more information on the youth hunt, check the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations.

2010 Deer Management Unit Map

52

54A

CALU

MET

MENOMINEE

DOUGLAS

BAYFIELD

IRON

BURNETT

ST. CROIXCHIPPEWA

MARATHON

MARINETTE

KEWAUNEE

SHEBOYGAN

MANITOWOC

VERNON

CRAWFORD

GRANT

MILW

AUKE

EWAUKESHA

DODGE

OZAU

KEE

WASHINGTON

FOND DU LACGREE

NLA

KE

WOOD

JUNEAU ADAMS

FOREST

LINCOLN

LA CROSSE

POLK

LANGLADE

PEPIN

BUFFALO

CLARK

DUNN

FLORENCE

VILAS

ASHLAND

ONEIDA

SAWYER

PRICE

RUSK

BARRON

PIERCE

MONROE

FortMcCoy

21

1M

4

8

3

7

69

28

121110

16

1517

22

13

30201918

2325

2624

14

3435

36

31 37

32

33

39 4050

38

45 41

49B49A

44

4342

4647

59A 58

2757

57A

5553

57C

57B

56

78

79

22A

21

60M 60B

59B

60A

61

72

59D

74A

54B

65A64

68A

68B

74B

73B

73D

77M

77C

6967A

54C

80A

81

48

Bad RiverIndian

Reservation

29B

ChambersIsland

82

Waukesha

Port WingSuperior

Hurley

Presque Isle

MadelineIsland

Florence

Crandon

Rhinelander

Tomahawk

Merrill

WausauOconto

GreenBay

Shawano

Two Rivers

Manitowoc

Sheboygan

Ship Canal

Milwaukee

Racine

Kenosha

Cassville

PatchGrove

Maiden Rock

Prescott

Houlton

St. CroixFalls

EauClaire

ChippewaFalls

Spooner

Wis.Rapids

De Soto

51

51

51

51

51

45

45

45

53

53

53

53

63

63

63

1010

8

8

88

8

8

8

2

2

90

94

36

74

57

73

82

7373

73

73

73

80

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

35

35

77

77

77

707070

7070

70

8748

48

27

27

27

27

29 29

6464

6464

47

47

17

17

32

32

32

32

55

55

2121

98

86

42

133

11

144

175

182

169

102

253

186

105

153

107

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USFS2176

FR 223

FR 2178USFS132

USFS 144

Camp Amnicon Rd.

Parkway Rd.Bad River

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisc

onsin

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K

33

173

39

R

12

D

86

63

MooseRd.

27

U2

A

35

BrinkmanRidge Rd.

D

D

Fond Du Lac

47

47

WASHBURN

Marshfield

Ashland

Delta-Drummond Rd.

StevensPoint

ESL 6/2010

63

Appleton

MARQUETTE

EAUCLAIRE

Merrill

70D Blue Mound State ParkCWD

77D

69C

80CPeninsulaState Park

52ACouncil Grounds State Park

57DRib Mountain State Park

Harrington BeachState Park

Loew Lake Unit -Kettle Moraine

73A Wyalusing State Park

Natural Bridge State Park

72A Wildcat Mountain State Park

61A Perrot State Park

23ABrunet Island State Park

70C Governor Dodge State Park CWD

75B Yellowstone State ParkCWD

Kohler-AndraeState Park

77E

17

LakePuckaway

1418

70FCWD

Trempealeau

La Crosse

14 6116

Prairie du Chien

OCONTO DOOR

BROWN

WINNEBAGO

OUTAGAMIE

WAUPACAPORTAGESHAWANO

51A

51B

62A

62B

63B

64M65B

63A

80B

66

67B

MenashaNeenah

Marinette

Oshkosh

61

51

4553

53

1010

10

41 41

22

4473

73

23

22

22

22

35

93

93

27

29 29

65

64

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47

49

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96

96

117

161

110

121

128

170

180

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39

141

WAUSHARA

141

64

29

51

44

23

39

49

175

29

49

9094

14

71

82

59M

JACK

SON

TREM

PEAL

EAU

59C

BlackRiver

29A

2828

82

64A High CliffState Park

TAYLOR

59ELake Wissota State Park

State Forest

2010 Deer Season Structure

Herd Control Unit CWD Unit - With Unlimited Earn-a-Buck Regulations

Regular Unit - Limited Number of Antlerless Deer Tags Available

Non - Quota Areas (Ft. McCoy and units 48, 79, and 82) Oct. 14-17 Antlerless only deer hunt* in herd control and CWD units only

Dec. 9-12 Antlerless only deer hunt* in all units statewide, except non-quota areas and state parks* Antlerless only restrictions apply to both gun and archery hunters

71CWD

RICHLAND

River

61

130

82

73BCWD

18

61 80

81

73ECWD61

130

23

75DCWD

LAF YETTEA80

75ACWD81

78

104

GREEN

77ACWD

14

59

Beloit ROCK KENOSHA

77BCWD

RACINE

94

43

CWD77C

WALWORTH

16418

89

JEFFERSON

CWD76A

60

67

16

51

70GCWD

Columbus

73

22

16

70ECWD

23

SAUK54BCWD

136154

58

33

12

COLUMBIA

70BCWD

12 51

33rRi ev

CWD75CDodgeville

IOWA

18

CWD70A

70CWD

SaukCity

76MCWD

Madison

T

14

90 73

151

AB

19113

78

DANE

9269

CCB

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15169

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P

K M

59

E

G

Regular Unit - Bucks Only. See pages 11 and 12 for exceptions. Phot

o by

Har

vey

Hal

vors

en

8 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 9Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Wisconsin Summer Deer Observation (Fawn Watch) Survey

Fall Deer Hunter – Wildlife Observation Survey

the summer of 2010 will mark two significant changes to Wisconsin’s summer deer observation survey. First, no July data will be col-lected in accordance with recommendations made by the saK audit and, beginning in 2010, the public will also be involved in report-ing observations. an online summer deer obser-vation survey from the DNr website has been created to gather observation data. this online survey is modeled after the fall deer hunter - wildlife survey, which was launched in 2009. these surveys increase the data pool which biologists utilize to make sound man-agement decisions.

In 2009, an online reporting system was launched, which allowed deer hunters to report what they were seeing out in the field. Many hunters took advantage of this opportunity and observations from rough-ly 20,000 hunting trips were reported. the countless hours put into the field by hunters are a valuable source of infor-mation for creating indices of wildlife presence and abun-dance throughout the state.

Data collected will become more meaningful as the num-ber of survey years increases to show wildlife population and distribution trends over time. the more hunting trips reported by deer management unit, the more significant the data will become. Final results from the 2009 web survey can be found online.

the online wildlife observation reporting system will once again

be available for the 2010 deer hunting season from septem-ber 18 – January 9, 2011. We hope archery and gun deer hunters from all corners of the state continue to take part in the survey and for new hunt-ers to begin participating. A field observation sheet is available for hunters to keep track of their observations throughout the season, so they can enter their data at a later time.

this survey has traditionally been conducted from July 1 – september 30 by DNr, usFWs, usFs, and usDa field staff since 1960. During daylight hours, deer are identi-fied by sex and age (fawn or adult) and are recorded by date and Deer Management unit (DMu). the most critical data obtained from the survey is

the average fawn to doe ratio. Fawn:doe ratios are calcu-lated according to groupings of DMus with similar habitat and deer density goals. this ratio is an input to the sex-age-Kill (saK) population model, and is adjusted yearly in the Northern and central Forest regions.

Wisconsin’s Venison Donation Program is a partnership between local charitable organizations, counties, the Department of Natural resources, meat processors and hunters. this effort has provided high qual-ity protein to thousands of families over the years. In addition to donating deer to the program, since 2002 hunters have chipped in an additional $123,000 to the pantry program on top of the fee they pay for deer harvest permits.

2009 marked 10th anniversary of Wis-consin’s Venison Donation Program. In 10 years the program distributed over 3.1 million pounds of ground venison from nearly 70,000 deer donated by hunters, processed by participating meat processors and distributed by volunteers to state food pantries.

“Wisconsin’s venison donation program is an important effort that provides high qual-ity food to Wisconsin families in need,” Department of Natural resources secre-tary Matt Frank said. “this program has

been very popular. I encourage hunters to continue this charitable effort by bagging a deer for food pantries.”

a list of participating meat processors is available on the DNr Web site and search-able by county.

rules of the program are simple. Hunters harvest, tag, field dress and register a deer same as they always have. after registra-tion the hunter can drop off the carcass at a participating processor. there is no cost to the hunter other than transporting the car-cass. Hunters are advised to call ahead to a processor to check on business hours and if the processor currently has space to accept the carcass.

Venison Donation Program

In 10 years the program distributed over 3.1 million pounds of ground venison from nearly 70,000 deer donated by hunters

10 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 11Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Update on Investing in Wisconsin Whitetails

In February 2010 the Department of Natu-ral resources announced that it was direct-ing roughly $2 million in one-time Pittman-robertson funds toward white-tailed deer research. Descriptions of the research proj-ects including how you can get involved are available on the DNr website.

the primary objective of the effort is to fully implement the recommendations of the 2006 audit of the sex-age-kill population model and gain a better understanding of causes of fawn and buck mortality, including the roles of predators, habitat and weather. additional projects will examine aerial deer survey techniques and hunter recruitment and reten-tion.

Buck Mortality, Fawn Mortality and Recruitment these studies will capture, radio collar and ear tag bucks and does. In addition, adult does will be fitted with vaginal implant transmitters that will signal when a doe gives birth so her fawns can be captured and ra-dio collared. all radio collared deer will be followed and studied for causes of mortality, including predators, environmental condi-tions and hunters. also:

• two study areas have been selected; one in the northern forest including parts of saw-yer, Price, rusk and ashland counties and one in the eastern farmland in parts of out-agamie, Waupaca, shawano, oconto and Brown counties

• Wisconsin conservation congress is mov-ing forward rapidly contacting landowners in the study areas seeking permissions for access and cooperation in the research ef-forts

• over 160 volunteers have signed up to par-ticipate in field work

• a research website has been developed• roughly 50 box traps have been built by

Whitetails Unlimited out of Marshfield• AFL-CIO members are finalizing plans to

build about 100 netted-cage traps

Distance Samplingthis study is looking at other ways to sample deer populations that could be used as a check against the department’s PoP2 estima-tion method which is used in earn-a-buck deer management units. the technique involves flying survey lines in fixed wing aircraft and recording deer sightings from the air. the following has been done:• Survey lines were flown during the winter

of 2009-10• scientists are looking at the aerial counts

and are at work developing adjustments to the technique for Wisconsin terrain and ground cover

Article by Christopher Jacques, DNR research scientist Photo: deer counting via aerial survey

So, what’s been happening since last February ?

? So you want to be a volunteerOver 160 individuals have signed on as volunteer field workers for the buck mortality, predation and fawn re-cruitment studies. More will be needed as these studies will run for three to five years. So what does a volunteer do? Here are a few tasks and services you could be asked to perform:• Help build deer traps• raise or donate funds for trap building materials• If you are a landowner in a study area, allow traps to be placed on your property and access to

the traps for monitoring• transporting, placing, setting up and monitoring traps• Participate in processing deer captured through winter helicopter net gunning and ground

trapping efforts• at a trap site participate in weighing, sampling blood, aging, ear tagging and collaring deer• Locating newborn fawns for weighing, ear tagging, sexing and collaring• Locating deer when collars give off mortality signals and determining cause of death

If this interests you the department can use your help. at a minimum you should be prepared to provide a full day’s work; most of the time you’ll be paired with a department or university researcher. In each study area scientists estimate it will take at least 4-5 five days of helicopter net-gunning and 10 weeks of ground trapping each winter to capture and tag (radio collars, ear tags) enough deer to accomplish research goals.

“this is boots-on-the ground, hands-on deer research,” says DNr deer researcher chris Jacques, “and we’ll likely be cold and dirty and tired at the end of the day, but it’s a real contri-bution to our knowledge of deer in Wisconsin.”

click here to fill out the volunteer sign up form.

What’s Up With Research?

12 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 13Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

The FoUR ReSeaRch pRojecTS InclUde:

new Web page Tracks deer Research projectsStaying on top of develop-ments and progress in Wis-consin’s $2 million invest-ment in deer research is only a mouse-click away at a new “White-tailed Deer research Projects” page on the Depart-ment of Natural resources website. on this page you can register for updates, us-ing the link on the right side of the page.

When the White-tailed Deer research Projects page is updated, subscribers will re-ceive an e-mail alerting them to new information posted on the page.

the White-tailed Deer re-search Projects page will keep subscribers up-to-date on four research efforts designed to improve the accuracy of estimating Wis-consin’s deer population and gain a better understanding

of population trends. the projects were requested by hunters and a scientific re-view panel of North ameri-can wildlife experts.

Volunteers are already step-ping up to help with the work. The Marshfield chapter of Whitetails unlimited has already constructed approxi-mately 50 box-style deer traps (see related story) the traps will be used to tag and or collar deer as part of the predation study.

By early fall, DNr expects that members of the pipefit-ters and sheet metal work-ers’ unions of the aFL-cIo will be gearing up to build a second type of deer trap, one that requires some metal fabrication skills as part of the aFL-cIo’s “Boots on the Ground” program. Boots on the Ground is an effort to

link skilled labor with need-ed conservation projects.

researchers from DNr, university of Wisconsin-Madison – Department of Wildlife ecology, uW’s applied Population Labora-tory and the university of Wisconsin-stevens Point are all involved in parts of the research. the Wisconsin conservation congress and Whitetails unlimited are also involved in the effort.additional volunteers are needed to participate in deer capture, placing radio col-lars on captured deer, and monitoring survival status and seasonal movements of collared deer.

For More INForMa-tIoN coNtact: christo-pher Jacques, DNr research scientist – (608) 221-6358

estimating the survival rate of bucks

predator impacts on deer popula-tions

aerial deer survey techniques

human dimensions re-search to better under-stand factors contribut-ing to declining hunter numbers

Deer Management Units in 2010Deer populations are at or near goal in these deer management units. For the 2010 season, most regular units will have a limited number of Unit Specific Antlerless Deer Carcass Tags available.

antlerless tags for odd numbered regular units go on sale beginning at noon on sat-urday, august 21 until midnight. antlerless tags for even numbered regular units go on sale beginning at noon on sunday, august 22. remaining antlerless tags for all units will resume sales on Monday, august 23 until sold out or until the hunting season ends. Hunters may purchase one antlerless tag per day. Fees are $12 each for residents and $20 each for non-residents.

units with lower numbers of available per-mits can be expected to sell out quickly. the supply of available permits in units with high numbers can be expected to last longer, or may not sell out. Hunters may want to moni-tor permit availability online, which is updat-ed periodically.

Hunters must purchase a 2010 Wisconsin deer hunting license before purchasing a unit-spe-cific antlerless tag. Purchasing a deer hunt-ing license prior to aug. 21 can speed up the permit purchasing process, suggest officials. Hunters must purchase a 2010 Wisconsin deer hunting license before purchasing a unit-spe-cific antlerless tag. Purchasing a deer hunt-ing license prior to aug. 22 can speed up the permit purchasing process, suggest officials. Licenses and tags can also be purchased by phone (1-877-945-4236) or at the DNr on-line Licensing center.

Nineteen Regular units will not have any unit-specific antlerless tags available in

2010: DMus 7, 13, 28, 29a, 29B, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49a, 52 and 52a. these units are below deer population goals. only certain hunters will be allowed to harvest antlerless deer in these nineteen units under the following circumstances:• First time deer hunters who have recently

completed a hunter education program may obtain one free antlerless deer tag from an open DNr service center during business hours. contact the DNr at 1-888-936-7463 for questions about the free tags. these special tags are valid in any DMu statewide and can be used with a gun or archery li-cense. the free antlerless tags may be used with an archery or gun deer license.

• class a and c disabled permit holders may harvest a deer of either sex using their one “Gun Buck Deer carcass tag” during any gun deer season in any unit statewide. class a and c disabled permit holders may use their “archery antlerless carcass tag” on antlerless deer they shoot during the archery season in any unit statewide.

• u.s. armed Forces members, who are Wis-consin residents or were residents when they went into active service, and are currently on furlough or leave from active service, may harvest a deer of either sex using their one “Gun Buck Deer carcass tag” during any gun deer season in any unit statewide.

• Farmers who have agricultural damage shooting permits may distribute special tags to hunters, which authorize them to shoot antlerless deer only on the farmer’s property.

• chippewa treaty rights allow certain tribes to harvest antlerless deer under a declared quota on a unit by unit basis within the ceded territory.

Regular Units

14 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 15Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Herd control units are designated when deer population estimates are 20% or more above established overwinter goals. the 2010 Wisconsin gun and archery deer hunt-ing licenses will each include one free ant-lerless Deer carcass tag that may be used in Herd control or cWD units. archery licens-es will include a second antlerless tag which is also valid in Herd control units. there is no limit to how many additional antler-

Deer Management Units in 2010Herd Control Units

Metro UnitsMetro units 59M, 60M, 64M, 1M and 77M will be Herd control units in 2010. these metro units have an extended regular gun season which will take place from Nov. 20 – Dec. 8. these metro units will also have an extended late archery season which will end on Jan. 31, 2011. other season dates that apply to Herd control units will be in effect.

Metro unit 76M around Madison is a cWD Management unit and all cWD gun and archery deer seasons will apply to this unit. shotgun restrictions will apply to all of unit 76M.

All metro units in 2010 will have shotgun restrictions, except unit 1M which will allow rifle hunting. check local ordinances to see if other weapon restrictions apply to local areas within metro units.

state Park units 23a, 52a, 57D, 59e, 61a, 64a, 69c, 72a, 73a, 77D, 77e and 80c allow deer hunting during one or more deer hunting seasons. Hunters wishing to hunt in these state parks must purchase a $3 state Park access Permit online or at any DNr license location for the state park of their choice. archery hunters may hunt in unit 77D (Loew Lake unit – Kettle Moraine state Forest) without a $3 access permit, however, an access permit is required for muzzleloader hunting in this unit from Nov. 20 – Dec. 8. special weapon restrictions or hunting season dates may apply to other parks. check the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting regulations for details be-fore purchasing your permit.

State Park Access Permits will be sold on the following schedule:• saturday, august 21 (noon - midnight): odd numbered units• sunday, august 22 (noon - midnight): even numbered units • Monday, august 23: any remaining permits that are available for all units until sold out or

until the hunting season ends. check the DNr website for permit availability.

less Deer carcass tags can be purchased at $2 each for use in Herd control units. tags can be purchased at any DNr license sales location or at the Wisconsin Department of Natural re-sources online Licensing center.

Hunters are encouraged to take advantage of antlerless deer harvest opportunities in Herd control units to continue moving populations toward sustainable deer population goals.

those who purchase a state park access permit early will have the park’s special deer hunting regulations mailed to them before the season or they may find the regulations online. a state park sticker or is required for all vehicles in a state park.

access permits are also required to deer hunt in state parks that allow deer hunting within the cWD Management Zone, but are free of charge and are not limited in quantity. access permits for cWD state parks can be obtained at DNr service centers within the cWD Management Zone, at the state park’s office, or the DNR website.

check the “state Parks and trails Hunting opportunities” web page for more information on hunting within state parks, trails, and recreation area properties.

State Park Units

thousands of Wisconsin residents already subscribe to GovDelivery, an email-based alert service that lets the subscriber know when something of interest happens in dozens of user-selected topics.

Chose from hunting, fishing and trapping to environment, air and water quality, solid waste, boating, snowmobiling and forestry, just to list a few.

First offered early in 2010, new topic areas are still being added. one of the most recent new topics are alerts of new dog or pet depredations by wolves. this new topic logged over 3,400 new subscribers in just a few weeks.

sign up is simple and only takes a few minutes. Go to the DNr web page at www.dnr.wi.gov and click the “subscribe to DNr updates” button under “online services.” Follow the simple instructions for subscribing to the alerts. It is possible to unsubscribe at any time.

the alert will be sent to a subscriber’s e-mail and/or wireless addresses of choice with a link to the item of interest.

New Email Alert Service

16 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 17Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Chronic Wasting Disease Management ZoneChronic Wasting Disease (CWD) continues to pose a significant risk to deer and deer hunting across Wisconsin. this disease has the potential to drastically reduce the size and health of our deer herd. the DNr remains committed to working with hunters and landowners to control spread of cWD to healthy deer.

CWD Management Zone Season Dates

• Archery season: Sept. 18 to Jan. 9 (earn-a-buck)

• Youth Season: Oct. 9-10 (exempt from earn-a-buck)

• Early firearm season: Oct. 14-17 (antlerless-only)

• Traditional 9-day fire-arm season: Nov. 20-28 (earn-a-buck)

• 10-day muzzleloader-only season: Nov. 29 to Dec. 8 (earn-a-buck)

• Late firearm season: Dec. 9-12 (antlerless-only)

• Holiday firearm sea-son: Dec. 24- Jan. 9, 2011

Deer Population in the CWD Management Zonethanks to the efforts of con-cerned and motivated deer hunters from across the cWD management zone (cWD-MZ), the deer herd in this part of the state has declined slightly over the past few years. However, this decline has not been even across the cWD-MZ. In some places, the deer population has de-clined rapidly, with hunters reporting fewer deer than in previous years; in other ar-eas the population remains alarmingly high. With hunt-ing pressure often determined by property lines, areas with many deer can be adjacent to areas with low populations. aerial surveys conducted each winter in the cWD-MZ have shown how much popula-tions can vary, even from one woodlot to the next.

CWD Prevalenceestimates show an overall increasing trend in prevalence. In most of the cWD-MZ, less than one tenth of a percent of the deer herd is infected. every year, however, ad-ditional cWD-positive deer

are discovered along what is thought to be the lead-ing edge of the outbreak. also, in the areas of high-est prevalence, estimates showed prevalence to be slightly increasing from 2002 through 2008. In the areas of highest prevalence, infection rates in adult bucks are over 12% and in adult females are around 6%.

cWD is always fatal and, as prevalence climbs, more deer will die from the dis-ease. currently, deaths from cWD, combined with all other sources of mortality (hunting, predation, other diseases, etc.) can be com-pensated by reproduction. at some point, however, higher prevalence could increase the number of deaths from cWD and push the mortality rate beyond what can be made up by reproduction, causing the population to decline.

Fortunately, significant geo-graphic spread of the dis-ease has not been detected. Management efforts have not yet been able to signifi-cantly reduce the area of the

outbreak and prevalence has not decreased, indicating that CWD is very difficult to re-move from an area once it is established. However, the lack of significant spread, a result of management efforts, the nature of the disease, deer behavior, or a combination of these fac-

2010 CWD SURVEILLANCEcWD surveillance this fall will focus on the areas with the highest infection rates in southeast and southwest Wisconsin and around the cluster of cWD-positive deer found in and around Devil’s Lake state Park. Portions of these areas will have mandatory testing, as they have in the past. additionally, more samples are going to be col-lected this fall along the periphery of the current-known cWD geographic distribution in the northeast portions of the cWD-MZ.

tors, means there is a chance the rest of Wisconsin can be protected from cWD.

Managing CWDthe DNr; with input from other agencies, collaborators, and constituents has been developing a new cWD man-agement plan. a draft of this plan is available on the DNr’s website and we hope to have it finalized and in place this year. this plan acknowledges that cWD has become endemic in southern Wisconsin and eradication of the disease in the short term is no longer part of its goal. Instead, efforts are aimed at preventing or mini-mizing the geographic spread of cWD and the number of new deer infected within the cWD-MZ.

although several researchers are working on it, there are still no cures or treatments available for deer infected with cWD. the only manage-

ment option available where the disease is established remains herd reduction. this is effective on two fronts: reducing the number of in-fected deer able to infect other deer, and reducing the num-ber of deer at risk of becom-ing infected from living near infected deer. to be effective for cWD management, deer populations need to be reduced to very low levels, well below population goals that would normally be set for purely rec-reational hunting.

to achieve herd reduction, there are more hunting seasons within the cWD-MZ and the new management plan allows for more days of hunting to be added if necessary. Most of these seasons have earn-a-buck regulations, which are explained below. also, the plan calls for offering deer removal permits to individual landowners who are concerned about cWD and have large

numbers of deer on their property.

taking steps to prevent the introduction of cWD is much more effective than trying to manage or eradi-cate the disease once it is established. In response to research showing that car-casses of cWD-positive deer pose a risk of infection, Wis-consin began regulating the movement of deer carcasses from the cWD-MZ to other parts of the state and from other states where cWD is known to occur into Wiscon-sin. there is more informa-tion about these rules in the 2010 Deer Hunting regula-tions Packet and the Wiscon-sin DNr’s website.

there is also concern over the risks posed by infected wild deer to captive deer and elk farms and risks posed by infected captive animals to the wild populations. the DNr and DatcP (Depart-ment of agriculture, trade and consumer Protection) work together to regulate and monitor captive cervid opera-tions to minimize these risks.

ResearchWhen hunters submit tissues from their deer for cWD testing, there is usually some tissue left over. these tissues are shared with researchers

18 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 19Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

working to unravel the myster-ies of cWD and other prion diseases. other researchers are looking at sur-veillance data and working with the DNr to develop bet-ter ways to monitor the disease. If you’re interested in learning about what’s hap-pening in the world of cWD research, a good source of information is the cWD alli-ance website.

Earn-a-Buckunlimited earn-a-buck rules will still be in place for all cWD units as they were last year. Hunters may harvest as many bucks as they wish as long as they meet the require-ments of harvesting one ant-lerless deer prior to harvesting a buck. Hunters must have valid carcass tags and valid buck authorization stickers before tagging a buck.

a hunter does not need a buck authorization sticker to tag a buck if they tagged an antler-less deer first. In this instance, both deer must be tagged by the same hunter, kept together, and registered at the same time.

Hunters in the cWD-MZ who have not earned a buck authorization going into the

2010 deer season may obtain a buck authoriza-tion sticker by tagging and registering an antlerless deer during any season includ-ing antlerless

deer registered under an agri-cultural damage permit within a cWD unit. only the hunters who tag antlerless deer will receive a buck authorization sticker.

Buck authorization stickers will not be mailed to hunters in 2010 if they register ant-lerless deer during the 2009 season. Hunters who obtain blue “2010-2011” buck autho-rization stickers this year may use them to tag bucks during the remainder of the season, or may save them for the 2011 season. Buck authorization stickers are non-transferrable to other hunters. Buck autho-rization stickers expire, and only orange “2009-2010” and blue “2010-2011” buck autho-rization stickers will be valid for the 2010 hunting season.

Hunters who registered an antlerless deer in a cWD unit in 2009, but did not receive a buck authorization sticker,

or lost it, may receive one replacement sticker any time at a DNr service center during business hours. Deer registration records will be checked to verify that the hunter is qualified to receive a buck authorization sticker. Hunters will also be required to fill out and sign a sworn affidavit in person before receiving their replacement sticker. other questions about earn-a-buck rules may be answered by visiting the earn-a-Buck Frequently asked Questions Web page, or contact the DNr toll free at 1-888-WDNrINFo.

If you hunt within the cWD-MZ, don’t forget that all deer harvested within the cWD Management Zone must be registered at a station within the cWD Management Zone by 5:00 pm the day after the deer was killed.

For More INForMa-tIoN, coNtact: Davin Lopez, cWD coordinator, at (608) 267-2948.

Discovery of tiny fragments of lead in hunter harvested venison has turned up the volume on discussions in hunting, wildlife health and human health circles over al-ternatives to lead ammo and safer venison processing. Lead shot is already banned for waterfowl hunting and is banned for dove hunting on state owned lands in Wisconsin.

While no evidence documents human lead poisoning from venison consumption, health officials agree that the risk is not low enough to ignore.

Lead’s effect on wildlife is well document-ed. a study in Wisconsin of mortality in trumpeter swans (1991 – 2007) found that 36 of 143 (25%) swan deaths were due to

lead poisoning. a similar study of bald eagle mortality (2000 – 2007) found that 91 of 583 (16%) bald eagle deaths were attributed to lead exposure.

Furthermore, a noticeable increase in the percent of bald eagle fatalities attributed to lead toxicity began in october and peaked in December. this pattern overlaps with the hunting seasons in Wisconsin suggesting lead ammunition could be a major source of lead exposure in eagles.

there are many alternatives to lead ammo these days say wildlife officials. In addition, hunters can take extra precautions in butch-ering their venison which may reduce their family’s exposure to lead at the dinner table.

LowdownLead

on

Deer Impacts on MotoristsHigh deer numbers in some areas of the Wisconsin have other impacts. Based on reports re-quired from state-paid contractors who pick up car-killed-deer (cKD), there are at least 35,000

deer carcasses picked up from Wisconsin roadways every year.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation also collects figures on deer-vehicle collisions. DOT figures only include collisions resulting in reportable damage to vehicles.

474: Number of people injured in vehicle-deer collisions in 2009

7: Number of people killed in vehicle-deer collisions in 2009

Photo courtesy of www.deercrash.com

20 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 21Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Overall, this last Wiscon-sin winter was classified as a “mild winter” with a few exceptions and was a good one from the white-tailed deer per-spective. We had a fair amount of cold days, but the really deep snowfalls were lacking. our quota recommendations reflect these conditions. The mild winter and zero quotas in many of the eastern units will allow re-building of the herd in these areas. In those few units with severe winters (DMus 2, 3, 4, 6) herd growth rates were adjusted according-ly and quota recommendations were lowered in these units due to winter.

We also had a very mild and early spring. this was due to warm temperatures and gener-ally shallow frost levels and not much snow. this allowed for an early green-up, which is absolutely critical for deer coming off the winter. this past spring was almost a com-plete opposite of the 2007-08 spring that was considered

detrimental for deer because spring green-up occurred late.

Status of the HerdWe are seeing the results of the reduced recruitment from the 2007-08 spring in a smaller 2 year old age-class. the 2010 age class will be an entirely different story. We started to see fawns dropped early this year. these fawns are really getting a head-start to get ready for the next win-ter. this will help with over winter survival and future production. this will give a real boost in DMus where we are rebuilding the herd. It also gives us caution to make sure the herd does not exceed the natural carrying capacity of the land in many other DMus in the north. this is why we have a real mix of season structures and antlerless deer quotas in northern Wisconsin for the 2010 deer season.

2010 Seasonthere are 15 DMus in the Northern region (Nor) where the gun quota recom-mendation will be zero. this recommendation was formed

based on input we received in the March herd status meet-ings. In many of these zero-quota DMus, we could have had a small quota that would still allow herd growth. How-ever, those in attendance at these meetings supported a zero quota. Zero-quota units in Nor include DMus 7, 13, 28, 29a, 29B, 34-39, 42-44 and 52.

there are 24 DMus that have a range of quotas from 100-2600. Based on long-term harvest history, we can trim the antlerless portion of the herd with a traditional season structure in these DMus.

there are 7 DMus that will be in the Herd control season structure (DMus 1M,8,11,12,15,16,21). this season recommendation will allow increased downward pressure on the herd especially considering the mild winter and early spring where we should see increased recruit-ment. the traditional bucks plus quota season structure would not exert sufficient pressure in these units based on past unit history. In addi-

tion, many of these DMus are productive units where they have the potential for rapid population increase. this may be easier “said than done”, but gun-deer hunters who had an unpleasant experi-ence during the nine-day gun

season need to look forward not backwards. We had many factors that contributed to not seeing deer during the 2010 season. In some parts of the north it is apparent that deer were simply not there in num-bers we were all accustomed

to. Hopefully we will have more normal hunting condi-tions ahead of us. our quota and season recommendations combined with really good spring recruitment will only give us all much to look for-ward to.

A majority of units in the West central region are near goals, with ten units having a population high enough to require herd control. With the milder winter and the early spring, fawn production should be good. this past winter the overwinter goals were raised in 15 units (22a, 27, 33, 57, 57a, 59a, 59B, 59D, 59M, 60a, 60B, 60M, 61, 62a, 74a) in the region al-lowing for a larger deer popu-lation in these units.

those units that are near or be-low population goals, result in a “regular” deer season frame-work of one buck each per archery and deer license and a limited num-ber of tags available for antler-less deer. these units include 22a, 27, 33, 46, 53, 54a, 55, 56, 57a, 57B, 57c, 58, 59a, 59B, 60a, 60B, 62a, 65a

and 74a. some of these units have a very limited number of antlerless tags available, so remember to purchase your antlerless tags early. regular units will not have the 4-day october antlerless only season.

In the remaining West central region units (54B, 54c, 57, 59c, 59D, 59M, 60M, 61, 72, and 74B), deer populations remain higher than population goals, so these units will fol-low the Herd control frame-

work. the free antler-less tag that comes with gun and archery licenses is good in these units and there are an unlimited number of antlerless permits available for purchase for $2.00 each for these units.

these units will par-ticipate in the antlerless only gun hunt from oct. 14-17.

Many of the units in the West central region are highly pro-ductive farmland units where

the deer herd can bounce back quickly, so hunters should plan to harvest an ant-lerless deer or two while they are buck hunting this fall to keep the unit at a more man-ageable and healthier level.

While the deer numbers in some deer management units continue to be high, it is im-portant to recognize that deer numbers can vary dramatical-ly within the unit. a variety of factors, including level of antlerless harvest in previous years, habitat changes over time and food availability, can increase or decrease the number of deer found in any particular local area.

all units in the region will have a December antlerless only gun hunt from Dec. 9 -12.

Regional Deer Season Forecasts

Photo byPat Durkin

By Greg Dahl, Wisconsin rapids area Wildlife Biologist

Northern RegionBy Mike Zeckmeister, regional Wildlife Biologist

West Central Region

22 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 23Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Deer Populations in the southeast region remain relatively high compared to established population goals in all units except Deer Man-agement unit 69, which is a “Regular Unit”. All firearm deer hunters will need to pur-chase a $12 antlerless carcass tag in order to harvest an ant-lerless deer in unit 69. the remaining units are in Herd control season frameworks, with units in the cWD Man-agement Zone continuing under earn-a-Buck (eaB) regulations. While hunting under eaB regulations has been effective in reducing deer populations in the cWD units, there are still good deer numbers and harvest opportu-nities. Helicopter and fixed-wing deer surveys conducted in the cWD zone revealed significant, but unevenly distributed deer numbers. scouting is more important than ever because of the lowered deer populations and uneven distribution

Good opportunities for deer hunting exist throughout the

region but deer distribution varies greatly, depending on habitat and hunting pressure. some of the bigger blocks of deer habitat are found on the Kettle Moraine state For-est and state Wildlife areas. Hunting pressure is usually high on public lands. scouting to find several hunting spots in advance of the hunting season will provide alternatives on opening day.

although this region has large blocks of urban area much is still quite rural with some good deer habitat. Hunters in-terested in hunting on private lands are advised to get out well in advance of deer sea-son to meet with landowners and seek permission to hunt. Hunters should always check with local municipalities to determine if there are prohi-bitions regarding the use of firearms or archery equipment. some municipalities, includ-ing Mequon and Germantown, require discharge permits for guns or bows in order to hunt. other municipalities such as eagle and Mukwonago, pro-hibit the use of rifles for deer hunting in the cWD Zone. again, hunters are encouraged to check well in advance to assure time to process permits

ahead of hunting seasons.

Hunters are urged to partici-pate in the special antlerless hunts during october and December to help bring deer populations closer to goals in the Herd control units. see the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting regulations for more information. Donating extra venison at participat-ing deer processors for food pantries is once again an op-tion for hunters to consider. check the DNr website in early fall for a list of proces-sors.

Baiting for deer hunting is only allowed in two counties – Washington and ozaukee counties – and is not allowed in the remainder of the re-gion. see the 2010 Wiscon-sin Deer Hunting regulations for more details.

Hunters need to read the regulations and prepare in advance of the hunting seasons. a variety of chal-lenging and rewarding deer hunting opportunities exist in southeastern Wisconsin. If you have questions, please contact our DNr call center at 1-800-WDNr-INFo, 7am-10pm, 7 days a week.

Deer populations in the 16 county Northeast region continue to be the tale of two stories. the northern forest deer herd has not yet shown indications of improved pro-ductivity, while the farmland herds remain above goals despite long-running liberal harvest regulations for antler-less deer. Most of the region south of state Highway 64 and Deer Management unit 51a to the north remain in Herd control status. summer deer surveys in august and septem-ber will be watched for signs of improved fawn numbers in the north due to the milder past winter.

the six Northern Forest DMus in our region remain below population goals and four of them (41, 44, 45, and 49a) will have a buck only season framework for both archers and gun hunters in 2010 to give them the great-est chance for herd growth. although multiple factors are influencing deer productivity in the north, hunters need to keep an important principle in

mind: as forests grow older, deer productivity declines. Hunters should assess their traditional hunting spots with an eye toward general forest age and consider position-ing themselves near younger forests if they have not found satisfactory experiences in recent years. However, lower deer densities do not automati-cally equate to poor hunting experiences. time spent in the woods exploring expansive landscapes is an enjoyable experience and scouting is par-ticularly important up north, as natural food sources vary from year to year and influence deer activity.

With the absence of earn-a-Buck requirements during the 2009 season in northeast farm-land units; antlerless harvests dropped dramatically and deer herds grew slightly in most units as a result. Fawn pro-ductivity is anticipated to be strong this year, and although some hunters will remain understandably conserva-tive with antlerless harvest in pockets of low deer numbers, farmland unit hunters gener-ally need to be comfortable harvesting antlerless deer in

order to avoid another spike in the herd that will require more aggressive harvest regulations in the future. as in the north-ern forest, hunting lower deer density landscapes doesn’t automatically equate to a poorer hunting experience. Hunters are crucial to manage-ment of deer populations and can demonstrate their value to all Wisconsin citizens and future generations of hunters by maintaining deer popula-tions at goal. remember to take every opportunity to pass on your hunting heritage to new hunters by teaching the value of each aspect of the hunt; including the physical, emotional, and social joys that come with being outdoors.

By Jeff Pritzl, regional Wildlife Biologist

Photos by todd Naas

Northeastern RegionSoutheast Region By Dale Katsma, acting regional Wildlife supervisor

24 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 25Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Bear Season Forecast

2010 Season Dates• Zone C where dogs are not permitted:

- September 8 - October 12• Zones A, B, and D where dogs are permitted:

- September 8 - 14 (with aid of bait and with other methods not utilizing dogs)

- September 15 - October 5 (with aid of dogs, bait, and other methods)

- October 6 - 12 (with aid of dogs only)

The Department of Natural resources man-ages the black bear population size through regulated hunting. For 2010, the number of hunting permits has been increased 22% to 8,910 following studies showing higher num-bers of bears. the 2010 harvest quota is set at 5,235 bears. over the next year, opportunities will be provided to the public to comment on desired numbers of bears in each of the state’s bear management regions as the DNr pre-pares a new bear management plan.

this year we are again asking successful hunters to submit a tooth sample from their bear for aging. Letters with tooth collection instructions and registration materials were mailed in July to all hunters eligible to receive a class a Permit. If you harvest a bear this season, please follow the directions carefully, collect the tooth prior to registering your bear, and leave the samples with the bear registra-tion station. When the aging results return from the laboratory, we will notify hunters by mail of the age of their bear. the information obtained from the tooth helps us to determine the age structure of the population, the age

when females produce their first litter and the years in which they produced litters.

Hunters are also asked to turn in any ear tags found on their bear at the time it is registered. the ear tags indicate the bear has been previ-ously captured and released. the most likely reason for capture was the bear was causing a nuisance but bears are also tagged during winter den surveys and with other research projects.

Hunters harvested 4,009 black bears dur-ing the 2009 season, with a statewide hunter success rate of 54.8%. Price, Bayfield, and sawyer counties recorded the highest har-vests. Bear Management Zone a led the state with 1,541 bears harvested, followed by B with 885, D with 881, and c with 695 (7 from unrecorded bear zone).

Detailed information on bear hunting in Wis-consin is available on DNr’s Wisconsin Bear Hunting web site. For more information con-tact: Linda olver – (608) 261-7588.

By Linda olver, assistant Big Game Biologist

Photos by scott Kuharske, tami ryan, and tim Babros

The deadline to apply for 2011 bear hunt-ing permits is December 10, 2010.

South Central Region By Doug Fendry, area supervisor

Deer populations are doing well in the south central re-gion and hunters should have a great 2010, with a caveat. Hunters should be prepared to scout their hunting areas before the season, and also be prepared to move to areas where deer are found. While all the deer management units in the scr are above deer populations goals deer are unequally distributed in the region. this situation leads to hunters seeing plenty of deer in one area, and only saw a few deer in others.

With the exception of north-ern Dodge and western Grant counties, all of the scr deer management units will be under a chronic Wasting Dis-ease (cWD) season frame-work that has not changed since 2008 and includes earn-a-Buck and extended gun hunting seasons to increase antlerless harvest. reducing deer densities to limit spread of the always fatal cWD is the primary objective. Hunters will again be able

to have their deer tested for cWD at both DNr and private registration stations throughout the cWD man-agement zone. Increased testing will take place in Jefferson, southern Dodge, and in southwestern sauk and eastern richland counties to improve monitoring of the disease. testing locations will be posted on the DNr web and press releases will be issued prior to the hunting seasons alerting hunters as to where they can get their deer tested. For more informa-tion specific to CWD and its management, see the chronic Wasting Disease section of this publication.

In most of the south cen-tral region the sex-age kill (saK) population model is not used to determine deer numbers. Biologists get in helicopters and planes and physically count the deer.

From the air the unequal distribution of deer is easily

seen. In the helicopter surveys, we survey one square mile blocks. In some blocks biolo-gists see fewer than 10 deer, while just a few miles away, they may see 60 deer. the deer season framework is based on managing deer at a certain density, recognizing that deer numbers are high in some ar-eas and low in others.

If you’re hunting in a block that had fewer than 10 deer last winter, game managers suggest pre-season scouting to find where the deer are mov-ing, find their feeding patterns and the better used trails. It might be necessary to consider abandoning or moving deer stands to new locations where there is better opportunity. this can be a tough choice for hunters who bought land for deer hunting and now find few deer on their land.

the good news though is with pre-season scouting and hunt-ing where the deer are, hunters should do well this fall.

26 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 27Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

With more bears and more tags available in the northern region, the stage is set for

a strong harvest in 2010. other factors also play into the season outlook. Due to an early, spring the berry crop will be largely finished making hunter-placed baits more attractive to bears which bodes well for a successful bear hunt. this could change however, if there is a bumper crop of early acorns which will

tend to compete with hunter-placed baits. Bear permits were increased again in 2010 reflect-ing results of the department’s traditional bear population survey methods and a first round of a tetracycline population study. the tetra-cycline study is due to be repeated in order to provide additional information on populations that will guide future management planning.

early summer rainfall contributed to the devel-opment of excellent soft mast crops and should

help the hard mast. In other words, nuts and berries are in good supply and bears should have plentiful food sources available to them this fall. this may affect bait visitation. Northeast region has parts of Bear Manage-ment units B and c. Permit levels are high in both zones and these higher permit levels may lead to greater competition for hunting areas this year. Nuisance complaints dropped slightly in 2009 and early indications in 2010 are that the trend is continuing. sightings of bear are common.

In Zone B, hunters without dogs can start hunting bears on september 8. Zone B hunt-ers who want to hunt with hounds can start on september 15. In Zone c, the use of dogs is not allowed and the season runs from septem-

ber 8 to october 12.In the Northeast region, Zone B is where the majority of bears are taken. Public land is plentiful and the mix of forest types creates excellent bear habitat. Bears are abundant in the zone and hunters often report multiple bears visiting baits.

Bear populations in Zone c are expanding in both numbers and area. Bears have been re-ported in areas south of where they have been commonly found. though there may not be high densities of bears in these fringe areas, there may be local hunting opportunities. Most bear hunting in Zone c takes place on private land so hunters should make contact with landowners early to determine their best opportunity for a successful hunt.

For hunters using hounds, the Department has a website showing areas where dogs have been lost to wolves. this can be viewed by clicking here.

Northern Region Bear Forecast

Northeastern Region Bear Forecast

the bear population in the west central region is thriving. Increased sightings in the south-ern part of the region are coming in as bears continue to expand their range into areas where people are still getting used to their exciting new neighbors.

In 2009, there were 2,200 permits available in Zone c, and hunters harvested 695 bear for a 32% success rate. of these, 358 bear were harvested in the west central region. Most of the region’s harvest occurred in chippewa, clark and Marathon counties, but several bear were harvested farther west and south, includ-ing some as far south as Juneau county.

For 2010, the number of Zone c harvest permits has been increased to 2,430 as we work to manage the expanding population at a healthy, sustainable level that will mini-

mize bear damage and nuisance concerns. as the number of permits increases, the waiting time for a kill tag will decrease. there also will be more hunters sharing the woods.

While traditional hunting grounds in the northern parts of the region still hold plenty of bear, increased numbers throughout the region offer hunters the opportunity to spread out and perhaps hunt closer to home.

Please be aware the DNr and the uni-versity of Wisconsin will be repeating the tetracycline-method study of bear numbers in 2011. With improvements based on what was learned the first time around, this second study will further refine our estimate of the state’s bear population. Watch for informa-

tion on how you can help with this impor-tant research.

West Central Region Bear Forecast

Photo by Jeff roth

28 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 29Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Upland Game ForecastRing-Necked Pheasant

2010 Season DatesStatewide:

Oct. 16(noon)-Dec. 31

Visitors to the DNr’s pheas-ant website this fall will find the 2010 Pheasant stocking Information sheet, which iden-tifies public hunting grounds slated for pheasant stocking. this fall the DNr plans to stock around 71 public hunting grounds with approximately 45,000 game farm pheas-ants. this is a slight (increase/decrease) from 2009 when 41,500 game farm pheasants were stocked on 71 public hunting grounds. Please note that the 2010 stocking numbers are preliminary and that final numbers will not be known until late september or early october.

Hunters heading out to Wis-consin’s fields in search of ring-necked pheasants will find this year’s pheasant hunt-ing regulations included in the 2010 Wisconsin small Game Hunting regulations booklet. Hunters will need to purchase a 2010 Pheasant stamp and small Game license and care-

(0.88). results received thus far for the spring crowing count survey corroborate the results of the rMc survey, indicating a 36% decrease in statewide pheasant numbers for 2010.

this is the third year in a row of declining pheasant numbers. Long and snowy winters in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, along with a wet and cool spring in 2008, and below average summer temps in 2009 have set pheasant numbers back statewide. In addition to recent weather events, changes in pheasant populations have also coin-cided with changing agricul-

fully verify which public hunting grounds have a 2:00 p.m. closure and/or allow hen pheasant hunting.

results from the 2010 rural Mail carrier (rMc) pheas-ant survey indicate a 14% decrease (from 0.44 in 2009 to 0.38 in 2010) in the num-ber of pheasants observed by rural mail carriers per 100 miles driven. these results are 37% below the long-term mean of 0.60 pheasants per 100 miles. counties with the highest number of pheasants seen per 100 miles driven were Lafayette (1.81), Polk (1.65), Fond du Lac (1.12), Pierce (0.97), and Jefferson

Despite yet another decrease in the current pheasant population, hunters can likely still ex-pect a moderate to good fall pheasant season.

Photo by Dave Herr

tural and land-use patterns. enrollment in the conserva-tion reserve Program (crP), a u.s. Department of agri-culture program which pays landowners to retire their cropland for a 10- or 15-year period by planting it to per-manent cover (grass or trees), has declined significantly in Wisconsin. crP enrollment peaked in the mid-1990s with over 700,000 acres. cur-rent enrollment is less than 425,000 acres and is expected to decline even further. the crP has been shown to provide important habitat for pheasants and other grassland wildlife and the loss of habi-tat in recent years is likely impacting pheasant popula-tions statewide.

Looking Ahead to Fall 2010Despite a decrease in the current pheasant popula-tion, hunters can likely still expect a moderate to good fall pheasant season. Brood survey information for 2010 will become available later in the summer.

areas that contain adequate winter cover (cattail and shrub-carr marshes and thick switchgrass fields which have more than 15% of the landscape in idle grassland) will have the highest pheas-ant densities. In addition, research has shown that

wetlands are one of the most important year-round cover types for pheasants. It will be important for hunters to iden-tify areas with high quality habitat and concentrate hunt-ing efforts in that area.

During the 2009-2010 pheas-ant hunting season, over 57,400 hunters went out in search of pheasants and reported harvesting 241,800 (±37,900) birds. the top counties for harvest included Dane, Fond du Lac, and Waukesha.

the 2010 pheasant hunting opens statewide on october 16 at noon and closes on December 31. From october 16-17, the daily bag limit is 1 cock and the possession limit is 2.

For the remainder of the season the daily bag limit is 2 cocks and the possession limit is 4. some public hunt-ing grounds have both hen

and cock pheasant hunting (which requires leg tags) and/or 2:00 p.m. closure times.

Properties with 2:00 p.m. closures are enforced from october 18 - November 3.

read pheasant survey reports on the Wildlife reports page of the DNr website.

Best Areas to Hunt • areas that contain adequate winter cover such as cattail

and shrub-carr marshes• Thick switchgrass fields which have more than 15 percent

of the landscape in idle grassland• Wetlands are also one of the most important year-round

cover types for pheasants• It will be important for hunters to identify areas with high

quality habitat and concentrate hunting efforts in that area

30 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 31Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Turkey

This fall, 95,700 wild turkey permits will be available to hunters. this is the same number of permits when compared to 2009’s fall season. this is the third fall season un-der the new 7-zone system. allowing permit levels to remain at fairly similar levels while still meeting demand has allowed for a good comparison of how the new consolidated zone system is working compared to the old 46-zone system. overall satisfaction with the Wisconsin Wild turkey Program remains high.

Using Dogs during the Fall Seasonstarting with the Fall 2010 season, hunters may use dogs to hunt wild turkeys state-WIDe. this change is the result of a pilot program, initiated in 2007, that allowed the use of dogs to hunt turkeys in a limited 9-county area. Following review, the deci-sion was made to extend this opportunity statewide and make it permanent.

Permits and Extended Season Following the august 2, 2010 Fall turkey permit drawing, any remaining permits will go on sale beginning at noon on saturday, august 28. the fall 2010 season will run

from september 18 through November 18 for all permit holders. an additional extended season for Zones 1-5 oNLY will take place from November 29 through December 31. check the 2010 Fall turkey Hunting regula-tions (now combined with small game and spring turkey hunting regulations in the 2010 Wisconsin small Game Hunting regulations booklet) for more information. Hunters are encouraged to check the DNr website for updates.

Bag Limitthe 2010 fall bag limit is one turkey of any age or sex per fall turkey permit (also referred to as a carcass tag). Hunters should remem-ber that they must bring their tagged turkeys to a designated registration station no later than 5:00 p.m. the day after it is harvested. as an additional reminder, most turkey hunt-ing occurs on private land, so it is important to keep landowner relationships a high prior-ity. Landowners in Wisconsin are usually willing to allow hunters to use their land as long as they ask politely for permission to do so.

Season DatesSpring Period a april 13-17 Period B april 20-24 Period c april 27-May 1 Period D May 4-8 Period e May 11-15 Period F May 18-22

Fall sept. 18-Nov. 18* Nov. 29-Dec. 31 (Zones 1-5)

Photo by ryan Brady

Turkey Tactics Historically, wild turkeys occupied much of southern Wisconsin with the northern bound-ary of distribution fluctuating in response to severe winters. Following reintroduction efforts throughout the state, coupled with several years of mild winter weather and expanded habitat development and improvement, the Wisconsin wild turkey population now extends well into the northern part of the state.

come fall, there is gener-ally a slight shift in habi-tat use by which turkeys move from more open field habitats to forested habitats. Flocks make ex-tensive use of areas domi-nated by oak and hickory. this habitat shift coincides with food avail-ability as succulent vegetation and insects be-

60,862: total number of turkeys harvested in all sea-sons in 2009

321,691: total number of turkey permits available for all seasons in 2009

286,929: total number of turkey permits issued for all seasons in 2009

24%: overall success rate 2009 spring turkey season

12%: overall success rate 2009 fall turkey season

Hunting By the Numbers

come less available and mast becomes more available. Mast crops, such as acorns, can influence hunting success. In years of poor mast production, turkey flocks are drawn to localized areas where food can be found; this often results in turkeys frequenting farmland

and open fields where they become more visible and vul-nerable. turkey hunters should monitor the mast crop in the area they hunt in order to de-termine where turkeys will be feeding.

additional information on wild turkey is available on the DNr’s Wild turkey website. Brood counts will be completed in august and will provide additional in-formation on brood survival.

And as always, remember to focus on safety during the fall hunt!

Photo by Loree Kilian

Photo by scott Bowe

32 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 33Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Each spring, biologists, wardens, foresters, members of the ruffed Grouse society, and other volun-teers travel survey routes in order to record ruffed grouse drumming activity. Drumming is the sound produced by a male grouse during the spring breeding season. the male will display on a drumming log, followed by rapidly beating his wings, producing a drumming sound with the intention of at-tracting a female. ruffed grouse drumming surveys have been used since 1964 as an indicator of ruffed grouse population trends. Brood data will not be available until later in the summer, after eggs have hatched and the young birds are a month or two old.

statewide, the ruffed grouse population decreased about 5%, from 0.94 drums per stop in 2009 to 0.89 in 2010. the south-west region of the state showed the greatest decrease in drumming activity over the last year with a 21% decrease. the central and northern regions showed a slight decrease of 4% and 6%, respectively, whereas the southeast region experienced a large in-crease of 60% more drums than in 2009. the southeast region contains the least amount of grouse cover in the state, and mi-nor increases in grouse drumming numbers can have a large influence on the drumming index.

For reasons not well understood by biologists, grouse populations cycle up and down over an 8- to 10-year period. the previous high was in 1999, and it would appear that Wisconsin has already reached the peak of the current grouse cycle. However, biologists note that while the 5% statewide decrease from last year’s drum-ming survey results supports the idea that the ruffed grouse population may be on the down-swing, the change is not statistically significant and may be due to random chance or smaller sample sizes representing a given area. also, brood production in the summer of 2009 was 17% lower than in 2008, which may have set

Season DatesZone A: sept. 18 - Jan. 31, 2011; Daily Bag: 5Zone B: oct. 16 - Dec. 8; Daily Bag: 2

Ruffed Grouse

Phot

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Jake

W. D

inge

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hoto

Despite the slight decrease in ruffed grouse numbers, hunters can remain optimistic for another great

grouse season in 2010.

possession limit is twice the daily bag limit (i.e., 10 birds for Zone a and 4 birds for Zone B).

overall, the message for the 2010 ruffed grouse season is this: Despite the slight decrease in ruffed grouse numbers, the sur-vey results indicate that hunters can remain optimistic for another great grouse season in 2010.

additional information in ruffed grouse can be found on the DNr’s ruffed Grouse web-site and by reading the 2009-2010 Drumming survey report.

the stage for the decrease in breeding grouse in 2010.

Hunters can likely expect ruffed grouse num-bers to decrease over the next several years, and as always, hunters may not find uniform numbers of grouse across any given land-scape; thus, they will need to seek good habi-tat for ruffed grouse hunting and may have to scout different sites in order to find the pockets where good numbers of birds can be found. ruffed grouse use a variety of habitat types, but young, early successional forest types are most important when trying to find a good grouse hunting location.

the population level of grouse generally influences both the number of hunting days spent in the field and hunter success rates, say wildlife managers. “During the 2009-2010 grouse season, about 97,100 hunters reported spending 892,000 days in the field hunting grouse. Hunters reported harvesting roughly 389,000 grouse in 2009,” said sharon Fandel, DNr upland game biologist. “at the time of the last population peak, back in 1999, they reported taking about 768,000.”

Hunters are reminded that there are two grouse hunting zones – Zone a and Zone B. the Zone a (which occupies the north-western portion of the state) ruffed grouse hunting season opens september 18th, 2010 and closes January 31st, 2011. the Zone B (which occupies the southeastern portion of the state) season runs from october 16th to December 8th, 2010. the daily bag limit is 5 birds for Zone a and 2 birds for Zone B. the

388,849: estimated grouse harvest in 2009-10 season

97,245: the number of people hunting grouse in 2009

37%: the percentage of small game hunters pursuing ruffed grouse

892,458: estimated total number of grouse hunting days hunters

Hunting By the Numbers

34 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 35Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Sharp-tailed grouse popula-tions are monitored each year using dancing ground sur-veys, which are a cooperative effort between the Depart-ment of Natural resources, the u.s. Forest service, the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife commission, North-land college, members of the Wisconsin sharp-tailed Grouse society, and volun-teers. a complete census of these displaying grounds is attempted on those properties designated as sharptail man-agement tracts. sharp-tailed grouse surveys on unman-aged lands are concentrated within a portion of northwest-ern Wisconsin (primarily in deer management units 2 and 9), often on private lands.

Dancing Grounds Surveys Dancing grounds found within suitable habitat blocks are approached and birds are counted. this year’s danc-ing ground surveys indicate

that populations of sharp-tails were low again this spring. sharp-tailed grouse numbers remain quite low and birds can often be challenging to locate. Because of this, hunters are encouraged to anticipate this challenge and allow themselves to enjoy the outdoors and the experience of the hunt, rather than go-ing just for the opportunity to harvest a bird.

2010 Season Last fall, 348 applicants ap-plied for 635 permits. Hunt-ers harvested 27 birds during the 2009 season. a total of 330 permits will be available for the Fall 2010 sharp-tailed grouse hunting season, which will run from october 16th through November 7th. this fall, two units (which share the same boundaries and designations as deer manage-

ment units, or DMus) will share the available permits. those units with sharp-tail permits available for Fall 2010 are DMu 2 with 295 permits and DMu 8 with 35 permits. two other units (DMu 9 and DMu 10) open to sharp-tailed grouse hunt-ing in previous seasons will again be temporarily closed this season due to low survey numbers.

Permit Availability the number of permits of-fered this year is a decrease from 2009 when 635 permits were available. While on some properties there was either no change or a slight increase in observations of sharp-tailed grouse, survey numbers as a whole were down from 2009. this de-crease is likely a combination of continued habitat loss or

Season DatesOctober 16 - November 7

Daily Bag: Determined by permits. application deadline for sharp-tailed grouse permits is august 1.

Photo by Wade oehmichen

Click here to read the most recent harvest and survey reports for the Sharp-tailed Grouse sharp-tailed grouse resemble its close relative, the greater prairie chicken, and are also some-

times mistaken for the female ring-necked pheasant. sharp-tails have a distinctive pointed tail edged with white, and produce a “chuck, chuck, chuck” call when flushed. They are largely

known for their spring courtship display on clearings called “danc-ing grounds.” During this display, the male uses a stiff-bodied step-ping motion, with tail and head feathers pointed up, wings spread, and head held low. this is fol-lowed by a vigorous “dance” (feet stamping) in small circles. While

dancing, the male vibrates his tail feathers, which produces a clicking or rattling noise. Males also inflate and deflate lavender-colored air sacs in their breasts, creating soft cooing sounds.

conversion, increasingly iso-lated populations, and cycli-cal grouse population dynam-ics. the decision to have two of the DMus previously open to sharp-tailed grouse hunt-ing remain closed was not easy. although there were a few more birds observed this spring in some areas, some of the more traditional sharp-tailed grouse dancing grounds have become less stable in recent years, warranting the continued closure of two DMus and a much more conservative approach in the harvest framework. Permit-level decisions are made on an annual basis and incorpo-rate sharp-tailed grouse sur-vey data, past permit levels, and hunter success. the sharp-tailed grouse is native to Wisconsin and

historically occupied suit-able habitat throughout the state. Long-term popula-tion declines across North america, including Wiscon-sin, have occurred since the early 1900s. sharp-tailed grouse management began in northern Wisconsin dur-ing the late 1940s and early 1950s in response to concerns of habitat loss. sharp-tailed grouse require specific habitat for courtship, nesting, brood-rearing, and wintering sites. However, suitable habitat currently exists only in rela-tively small patches separated by large tracts of unsuitable habitat. today, sharp-tailed grouse in Wisconsin are primarily found in the early successional pine barrens and savannas of the northwestern portion of the state. some of

the larger state-owned areas that focus on sharp-tailed grouse management include crex Meadows and Name-kagon Barrens Wildlife areas in Burnett county.

all hunters interested in hunting sharp-tailed grouse must go through the applica-tion process. In 2010 aug. 2 is the applications deadline. Hunters are encouraged to carefully review the zone map and apply only for units that are open. applying for closed units will result in an invalid application.

additional information in ruffed grouse can be found on the DNr’s sharp-tailed Grouse website.

The Sharp-tailed Grouse’s Cousin - the prairie chicken

Greater Prairie chicken, Photo by Lesa Kardash sharp-tailed Grouse, Photo by Wade oehmichen

36 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 37Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Bobwhite Quail

Data on male bobwhite quail densities have been collected biennially since 1991 us-ing roadside surveys along predetermined transects in the 15 counties which comprise the species’ primary range. annual surveys initially began in 1949, and have been run biennially since 1991. the number of whis-tling males heard during a two-minute period is recorded. Populations showed a significant decrease in 2009, with the overall trend a sig-nificant decline as well. The mean number of whistling males heard at each stop decreased 74%, from 0.05 in 2007 to 0.013 in 2009. this is on top of a 26% decrease between 2005 and 2007 (0.07 to 0.05) and a 30% de-crease between 2003 and 2005 (0.10 to 0.07). this remains well below the long-term aver-age (0.60).

Bobwhite quail populations have been de-clining across North america for the past 20 years. these declines have been even more dramatic in states like Wisconsin that are on the northern edge of the birds’ range. Habitat loss and fragmentation are the top two prima-ry causes for population declines in many bird species. Bobwhite quail populations have been declining across the Midwest and Great Plains states primarily due to a loss of critical nesting and brood-rearing habitat.

current research information has shown that hunting mortality has contributed little to this overall decline. the annual lifespan of quail is about 1.5 years, and 60-80% of the quail population does not survive longer than a year. In addition, studies have shown that hunting mortality is largely compensatory, meaning that the quail harvested by hunters are birds that would have likely died by an-other, natural reason. The result is a difficult

management challenge for wildlife manag-ers. efforts to “stockpile” quail by temporar-ily closing hunting seasons or by tinkering with the hunting regulations, would not curb the decline or increase population numbers. among the Midwestern states, Wisconsin al-ready has the second most conservative quail hunting season; only ohio has a more conser-vative season.

In order to help bobwhite quail, the Wisconsin DNr is actively engaged in habitat programs for quail and other upland and grassland nest-ing species. Wisconsin is part of the Northern Bobwhite conservation Initiative, which aims to restore quail populations across the country through habitat restoration. In addition, the DNr has been partnering for decades with the united state Department of agriculture in or-der to restore habitat on private lands through the Farm Bill.

However, there are still good local quail hunting opportunities on both public and private lands, especially in the west-central and south-central regions of the state. Green, Iowa, Lafayette and rock counties have some of the better quail hunting opportunities with-in the state. During the 2009-2010 season 994 hunters reported harvesting 912 (±1042) bobwhite and the top three counties included sauk, outagamie, and Fond du Lac. Habitat programs such as the conservation reserve Program and the upland Buffers for Wildlife Program have been extremely beneficial for upland game birds like bobwhite quail and should continue to provide good local hunting opportunities.

Season Dates:oct. 16 (noon) – Dec 9

Daily Bag: 5; Possession Limit: 10

Cottontail Rabbit

Gray & Fox Squirrel

Snowshoe Hare

cottontail rabbits are a very popular small game animal and typically provide for great recreational opportunities across the state. Rabbits are extremely prolific and their an-nual reproduction is usually dependent upon local weather conditions during the breeding seasons. Portions of the state with adequate rainfall resulting in plenty of green, succulent vegetation should see good rabbit production and good hunting opportunities this fall.

surveys for cottontail rabbits are conducted in unison with the biennial bobwhite quail sur-veys. all cottontail rabbits seen on the bob-

squirrels are a popular game species and can provide some great early season hunting oppor-tunities, especially for beginning hunters. squir-rel production and resulting hunting opportuni-ties are strongly tied to the previous year’s mast production, so hunters should key into these locations when choosing a site to hunt squirrels.

During the 2009-2010 hunting season, the results of a mail-in survey indicated that hunt-ers harvested approximately 375,200 (±50,060) squirrels, with the top counties being Pierce, Grant, and Polk.

Season Dates for Squirrel:sept. 18 – January 31, 2011

Daily Bag: 5; Possession Limit: 10

Season Dates:North Zone: sept. 18 – Feb. 28, 2011

south Zone: oct. 16 (noon) - Feb. 28, 2011

Daily Bag: 3; Possession Limit: 6

For additional information on bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbit, squirrels, and snowshoe hare please see: the 2009-2010 small Game Harvest report on the Wisconsin Wildlife reports page and the 2010 small Game Hunting regulations.

During the 2009-2010 hunting season, the results of a mail-in survey indicated that hunters harvested approximately 15,100 (±6,770) snowshoe hares, with the top coun-ties being Lincoln, Vilas, and oneida.

the snowshoe hare season is open statewide year-round with an unlimited bag limit.

white quail survey route are recorded. the numbers of cottontail rabbits seen per transect decreased 43% in 2009, from 0.28 in 2007 to 0.16 in 2009. During the 2009-2010 hunting season, the results of a mail-in survey indi-cated that hunters harvested approximately 126,000 (±25,034) cottontail rabbits, with the top counties being Washington, Kewaunee, and Pierce.

38 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 39Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Furbearer Season Forecast

Wisconsin is blessed with a wonderful diversity of common and unique members of this interesting group of wildlife. Beaver, coyote, raccoon, and muskrat are good examples of the more abundant and common species across our large state. In contrast, the more secre-tive bobcat, fisher and otter are present in the north, and slowly expanding southward. And then there’s the american marten, our only state endangered furbearer and barely holding its own in two small regions of the north.

usually, by mid-summer, folks begin to ask in anticipation: “How are things going out there?” or, “What can I expect to see this upcoming fall and winter?” From paddlers, to ber-ry pickers, trekkers to trappers, folks are excited about what’s out there this fall and winter.

By John olson, Furbearer specialist

Photo by Dave HerrWhat’s New in 2010 • In 2009, recommendations were made to run the non-resident and resident raccoon seasons

concurrently. the proposed rule change would allow non-residents the opportunity to hunt or trap raccoons with resident family and friends during the entire season. the rule change has received department support, and the non-resident season dates will likely change for the 2011-12 season. Currently in the legislature, final approval of the rule change will be made by august 16, with an effective date of February 1, 2011. concerns over non-resident competition were considered minimal as an average of five non-resident trapping licenses are sold annually.

• the bobcat trapping season is split between two time periods and permits are valid for only one of the seasons. applicants must request either the early season (oct 16 – Dec 25, 2010) or the late season (Dec 26 – Jan. 31, 2011). cable restraints may be used for bobcat dur-ing the December portion of the early season and the entire late season , or until the bobcat season closes, whichever occurs first. “Since this is the first year of the new framework, the bobcat harvest quota has been split equally between the two time periods,” says ol-son. “Permit levels will be lower for the later season until we know what impact the new, extended season will have on success rates. Generally, snow cover will increase harvest success as hound hunters can tree bobcats easier and quicker compared to non-snow con-ditions. We want to take a conservative approach until we understand what impacts this extended season, through periods of greater snow cover, will have on the overall harvest.

• In addition to registering bobcat harvest with a conservation warden, successful hunters and trappers are required to register bobcat using a call-in registration system. Within 24 hours of a kill, successful permit holders need to call 1-800-994-6673. the automated system will ask the caller to provide several details regarding the harvest. call-in reporting will allow DNR officials to close the season early if harvest levels exceed the established quota.

In a progressive effort to improve the sci-ence of furbearer management, the state of Wisconsin, Wisconsin trappers association, Wisconsin conservation congress and indi-vidual trappers have been actively involved in an international effort to develop BMPs for trapping. this is one of the largest collective trap research efforts ever undertaken, with the final product being information and sug-gestions that each state and their trappers can use to improve on animal welfare, trapping in general, but specifically, in their trapper education programs.

“Advances in trapping through scientific study are the future of resource management in Wisconsin and in the united states, where our natural resources belong to all citizens,” says tom Hauge, director of the Bureau of Wildlife Management. “regulated harvests, combined with science-based knowledge, a caring public, and highly trained conservation officers will provide us with reasonable tools with which we can continue to manage wild-life populations while enjoying the immense pleasure and knowledge of having intact, natural systems.”

according to Virgil schroeder, president of the Wisconsin trappers association, “If you would like to learn about furbearers, trap-ping history, responsibilities and ethics of the modern-day trapper, consider taking the trapper education course offered by the de-partment and taught by dedicated volunteer instructors of the Wisconsin trappers asso-ciation.” If you are interested in becoming a trapper, completion of the 12-hour, $12.00 course is mandatory. to locate a current class near you, contact your local DNR office or check the DNr Internet.

For further information please contact John olson, Furbearer specialist, (715) 685-2934, or shawn rossler, assistant Furbearer spe-cialist, (608) 261-6452. there are now 17 BMP studies completed and available here.

Additional Responsibilities

Incidental catchestrappers are required to turn in incidentally trapped animals to local conservation war-dens. they can use the 1-800-tIP-WDNr hotline (1-800-847-9367) to report inciden-tals. these specimens are used in furbearer research, and training classes and if pelts are sold, the proceeds are used in our growing trapper education program.

Local ordinancessome villages, cities, and towns throughout the state, primarily in urban areas, require special permits and/or have ordinances that restrict trapping, or the discharge of firearms or bows. check with local town or village offices before you hunt or trap to see if spe-cial rules apply! a quality hunting or trap-ping experience can be found on public or private lands, but pre-season scouting and permission from landowners is critical.

Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Trapping

40 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 41Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Season DatesZone A: Nov. 6 - apr. 30, 2011Zone B: Nov. 6 - apr. 30, 2011Zone C: Nov. 6 - Mar. 31, 2011Zone D (Mississippi River): Day after duck season closes to March 15, 2011

Daily Bag Limit: None

Improved late winter fur prices at the inter-national auctions may have boosted trapper interest in the difficult process of chopping through inches of ice in search of beaver. Longer seasons, initiated in the 1980s, have helped to reduce beaver populations as planned, especially in northeastern Wisconsin.

statewide, the beaver population estimate is around 66,800 animals, based on helicopter surveys of Beaver Zones a & B in 2008. this is the lowest population estimate since these surveys began in 1992, and is approximately half of the 1995 estimate. concerns over this decline are being addressed by fish and wildlife biologists, fishermen, trappers, user groups and interested citizens. regionally, beaver numbers in southeastern and extreme west-central Wisconsin appear to be stable or increasing, but decreasing else-where according to Mike Worland, wildlife researcher from rhinelander. Mike coordi-

nates the in-tensive aerial surveys, con-ducted every three to four years in the northern por-tions of the state.

the fall surveys of 2008 indi-cate beaver populations of approximately 28,800 beaver in northwestern Wisconsin, known as Zone a, down from 41,000 in 2005, and around 17,500 beavers in northeastern Wisconsin, known as Zone B, down from 29,000 in 2005.

In Zones a & B, where more intensive man-agement programs exist, the beaver popula-tion has declined and is now at a level where damage to trout streams and town roads are manageable. Because beaver populations are now at or below acceptable levels, the trap-ping season in Wisconsin opens in early No-vember, rather than mid-october, and Zone c closes the end of March rather than the end of april. Discussions regarding overall beaver management are being addressed at this time.

Beaver

Photo by thomas Provost

Photo by Jake Dingel

Raccoons are found in a wide variety of both rural and urban habitats. those areas close to a wetland or farm-land mosaic have the highest populations. even the north-ern forests are now home to raccoons.

“We have large populations of raccoons with the high-est densities in southern and western portions of the state,” reports shawn rossler, as-sistant furbearer specialist for the Department of Natu-ral resources. “raccoons are still very abundant in all counties in a wide variety of habitats, often to nuisance levels. Populations extend

northward into portions of southern canada where the ancient language of Native americans doesn’t even in-clude the word ‘raccoon’!”

on the western front, Kris Johansen, wildlife biologist for Buffalo and trempealeau counties reports, “raccoon numbers remain abundant, though not quite as high as the past couple of years. Despite high numbers, they seem to be healthy, as we’ve not experienced any major disease outbreaks in our

counties. raccoons are doing well, making this species a great opportunity to gain ac-cess to private lands, as farm-ers and landowners experi-ence nuisance and damage problems. Hopefully trappers and hunters will take advan-tage of this resource while their numbers are high and healthy, and help to maintain this population in a healthy condition.”

Canine Distemper Virus In northeastern Wisconsin, wildlife biologist aaron Bu-chholz, received reports from trappers and citizens last fall, finding numerous dead rac-coon, especially young of

the year. the likely cause of death was canine distemper virus. He expects the popu-lations to rebound quickly, as raccoon remain plentiful throughout this portion of the state, providing trappers and hunters with plenty of harvest opportunities.

Julie Langenberg, depart-ment wildlife veterinarian, notes that: “High popula-tions of raccoons can produce localized effects or pockets of canine Distemper Virus (cDV) infection. In the past,

there have been widespread problems with cDV causing raccoon deaths.

“this disease acts as a popu-lation regulating factor that controls high raccoon num-bers and once it’s in the environment, can spread to other mammals,” according to Langenberg. “Infections were found in less commonly affected furbearers including badger, opossum, and mink in recent years. everyone should take special care with rac-coons acting abnormally as the clinical signs of distem-per mimic those of the rabies virus. rabies is a fatal viral disease for humans and other warm blooded mammals, and cannot be differentiated from canine distemper without laboratory testing.”

Wisconsin has a large population of raccoons with the highest densities in southern and western portions of the state.

Photo by Jake DingelRaccoon

Resident Gun/Trapping:oct. 16 - Feb. 15, 2011

Non-Resident Gun/Trapping:oct. 30 - Feb. 15, 2011

Except: in the Mississippi river Zone where the sea-son opens with the muskrat and mink season.

Daily Bag Limit: None

42 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 43Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

“Factors that impact beaver populations have similar effects on otter,” says shawn rossler, DNr assistant furbearer specialist. “Beaver are herbivores that prefer the inner bark of aspen, willow and cottonwood for food, and their branches for construction of dams and lodges, while otter prefer other ani-mals for food, mainly small fish, crayfish, and amphibians.”

current statewide otter populations are slight-ly below management goals of approximately 13,000 animals. although a majority of the population is found in the north, otter num-bers in central and southern Wisconsin appear to be increasing. they are now present in many of our major river systems of the south-west, namely the Kickapoo, Black, Missis-sippi and Wisconsin rivers and tributaries.

otter, like many of our furbearers, are associ-ated with and depend on clean rivers, lakes and streams. as Dale Katsma, area wildlife

supervisor from Plymouth in southeastern Wisconsin suggests, “People interested in river otters should thank those who have worked so hard to improve the water resourc-es of southern Wisconsin – farmers, landown-ers, DNr, Natural resources conservation service, Land & Water conservation Dis-tricts, and trout unlimited to name a few.” Most people are thrilled when they see otters, while a few trout farmers are not. If damage occurs, permits are issued, and I only issue one or two permits a year.”

“the otter harvest is highly regulated, which helps to control harvest pressure at a time when recent fur prices have fluctuated strong-ly,” says todd Naas, wildlife biologist for ashland county.

“Permits are issued based on estimated fall populations and expected success rates,” ex-plains Naas. “the harvest quota will remain similar to last year, but permit levels fluctu-ate, based on success rates.”

North Zone: Nov. 6 - april 30, 2011Central Zone: Nov. 6 - Mar. 31, 2011South Zone: Nov. 6 - Mar. 31, 2011

Otter permit applications due Aug. 2

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Dog TrainingWildlife managers from around the state sug-gest that 2010 will be a good year to train that young dog or ask permission to trap or hunt furbearers on new lands. raccoons are a spe-cies where landowner permission to hunt or trap is normally not a problem, but ask for per-mission now, don’t wait until the week prior to the season opener.

Mike Zeckmeister, northern region wildlife supervisor from spooner urges trappers and hunters to, “make sure to do your homework with pre-season scouting, and make sure to obtain permission from landowners well in advance. through pre-season planning we can make our lines more efficient, which reduces fuel consumption. this saves money for the trapper and reduces our carbon foot-print.”

Strong interest in fisher harvest has resulted in more applicants than permits, es-pecially in Fisher Manage-ment Zone a, in northwestern Wisconsin, and in Fisher Management Zones e & F, in west-central and southern Wisconsin. Permit numbers are similar to last year, but the number of applications received for each zone will determine whether a trapper receives a permit in their zone of choice or is awarded a preference point.

There are six fisher manage-ment zones in Wisconsin. Fisher Zones a through D have the highest fisher popu-lations, with low fisher num-bers in northern portions of these zones, and high popula-tions in the southern portions of these zones. Zone e is in west-central Wisconsin and has a growing fisher popu-lation. In Zone e, the best opportunities will be in the northern portions, namely chippewa, clark, eau claire and Marathon counties, ac-cording to Kris Belling, west-ern regional wildlife super-visor at eau claire. Zone F

includes the remainder of the state and will be open for harvest in 2010 for the seventh consecutive year. In this zone good opportunities exist in southern Marathon, shawano and oconto coun-ties

as cortney schaefer, wild-life biologist at Wausua observes: “Marathon coun-ty trappers have the best opportunity with four dif-ferent zones and high fisher populations, but be sure you have landowner permission prior to applying for harvest permits.”

Areas where fishers have flourished for over four decades are experiencing localized declines, while adjacent areas have strong numbers. Jess carstens, wildlife biologist for Dunn and Pepin counties and Har-vey Halvorsen wildlife bi-ologist in st. croix county observes a growing popula-tion in this part of the state.

“Fisher numbers remain spotty in Price and southern ashland and Iron counties,” said Pat Beringer, wildlife

biologist from Park Falls. “although localized areas may still have considerable fisher, many trappers reported low numbers of fisher during the last five years.” Yet in other areas local wildlife managers are reporting an increase in fisher presence.

FisherSeason Dates

All zones: october 16 - December 31, 2010

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44 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 45Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Season DatesNorth of Highway 64 Only:

oct 16 – Dec 25, 2010Dec 26 – Jan. 31, 2011

Bag Limit: one per permit

The northern forest bobcat population increased through the early 2000s, stabilized, and has now declined some-what.

“even though we’re on the northern edge of bobcat range, we do have relatively good habitat and milder winters compared to regions north of Lake superior,” states robert rolley, wild-life researcher who studied bobcats as his doctoral the-sis. “the population appar-ently peaked at over 3,000 animals but is now likely closer to the population goal of 2,500 bobcats. some of this decline appears to be due to poor production of kit-tens in 2008, likely a result of reduced prey availability. Given normal production, a population of this level should yield a sustainable harvest of 350-400 bobcats. Final permit numbers will be determined in late summer when success rates and quo-tas are calculated.”

a preference system allows the continuous applicant a bobcat tag about every five to six years. Wildlife biologists and wardens in central portions of the state report an increase in bobcat

sightings. sara Keh-rli, wildlife biologist in columbia county, actu-ally retrieved a road-killed bobcat with Iowa state ear tags from one of their research proj-ects! several citizens, wildlife biologists and state universities are interested in or are conducting additional research on southern Wiscon-sin bobcats.

“Beginning this year, a $3.00 fee increase at the time of application will earmark funds specifically for ad-ditional bobcat research in Wisconsin,” according to Dave MacFarland, furbearer researcher out of rhineland-er.” the money generated from this fee increase is be-ing combined with Pittman-robertson funds to develop a bobcat population estimate south of highway 64. DNr researchers are cooperating with professors and stu-dents at uW-stevens Point to design a study using ge-netic samples collected from across the southern zone to estimate population size.”

As with fisher and otter, bobcat must be tagged at the point of harvest and registered with the depart-

ment. Hunters and trappers keep the pelt, but bobcat carcasses, and in some years otter and fisher carcasses, are collected from the trapper or hunter. During the 2010 – 2011 season, carcasses will be required from all bobcat, and fishers from all fisher zones.

“registration and carcass collections allow biologists to gather important manage-ment information such as harvest pressure, overall age structure of the population, reproductive age, and previ-ous litter sizes,” explains Bruce Bacon, wildlife bi-ologist from Mercer and an active member of the depart-ment’s furbearer committee.

Bobcat

Photo by Don Virgovic

North zone: oct. 16 – Feb. 28, 2011South zone: oct. 30 – Feb. 28, 2011Winnebago zone: oct. 30 – March 15, 2011

Bag Limit: None

Mississippi River Zone: begins the day after duck season closes or the second Monday in November, whichever occurs first, and closes Feb. 28, 2011

Mink & Muskratflooding this year” He further reminds trap-pers that, “…on us Fish & Wildlife refuge systems on the Mississippi, you need to have a usFWs trapping permit and tags, as well as the Wisconsin license in order to trap.”

Aaron Buchholz says, “I field numerous calls from property owners and municipalities regarding muskrat damage caused by their ex-cavating activity. I always strongly encourage these folks to reach out to a local trapper for help and remind them that big muskrats make little muskrats every year....consider having someone trap muskrat every year as annual maintenance not as a one time treatment for effectively mitigating damage from muskrats.”

Mink and muskrat populations appear to be doing relatively well in most of the state, with pockets of good numbers, and other spots with low numbers.

on a statewide basis, opportunities to trap these species are quite good, as they exist in most areas where permanent water can be found. Brian Glenzinski, wildlife manager in Walworth and Waukesha counties observes that, “Muskrats are doing really well and it should be a great year for them.” Mark an-dersen, wildlife biologist for the Mississippi river suggests muskrat populations on the Big river “appear to be good. First litters were not impacted as much, as usual, by spring

Season Dates for Mink & Muskrat

"Fox, the smallest of our three native canids, prefers a more rural setting," says acting southeast regional wildlife biologist, Dale Katsma, who also reports that, “coyote numbers are stable and steadily increasing in the southeast portion of the state, where they’ve been known to cause quite a stir

around some communities."

red fox numbers have in-creased across many areas of the north. Mange and coyote competition have

impacted populations in western

and southern portions of the state. a density dependent disease, sarcoptic mange, was ob-served across Wisconsin in susceptible canid species including red fox, coyote, and gray wolf in 2003, but has diminished significantly. Gray fox have fewer cases of mange and ap-pear to be doing well in southern and central Wisconsin.

Fox

Season Dates for FoxNorthern Zone: oct. 16 - Feb. 15, 2011Southern Zone: oct. 30 - Feb. 15, 2011

Bag Limit: None

46 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 47Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Coyotes, the second largest of Wisconsin’s native canids, have expanded their range throughout southern and western Wisconsin. In the remainder of the state they continue to do well with the greatest challenge being in established gray wolf territories, where coy-otes have bounced back, having learned to be less vocal and avoid their larger cousin. an adaptable animal, coyotes seem to fair equally well in rural, urban and suburban settings. Wildlife managers and conservation officers across much of Wisconsin are reporting a marked increase in coyotes. the same is be-ing observed for both gray and red fox, with “reds” closer to human dwellings and grays in the brush land and woods. Kris Johansen reports high coyote and fox numbers in west-central Wisconsin.

“cable restraints are proving more effective for coyotes every year as folks are learning to use this relatively new tool,” says Johansen. “this year would be a great year to try out this technique as a way to extend trapping opportunities into the winter. cable restraint trapping also gets trappers out and about dur-ing snow cover, a great time to read sign and learn about animal behavior.”

“this tool was thoroughly tested during three years of science-

based research, and was remark-

able in its ability to restrain without

injury, any wild or domestic canine,” said

steve Hoffman, wildlife

Season Dates for CoyoteHUNTING: continuous open season ex-cept closed in the northern Wisconsin wolf management zone during the regular gun deer and muzzleloader deer season as well as the october and December antlerless only deer hunts.

Bag Limit: None

TRAPPING:

Northern Zone (North of US Highway 64):oct 16, 2010 – Feb. 15, 2011

Southern Zone (South of Highway 64):oct 30, 2010 – Feb. 15, 2011

Bag Limit: None

Coyote

biologist from Grantsburg. “after six years of use by licensed trappers, things are going well.”

For additional information on cable restraints, request DNr Publication WM-443-2004, Cable Restraints in Wisconsin, A Guide to Responsible Use.

Gray WolvesCurrently, gray wolves are classified as endangered species in Wisconsin. the us Fish and Wildlife service has attempted to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list in Wisconsin but court challenges have nullified all attempts to date. the DNR has filed a petition with the usFWs request-ing de-listing and the Midwest association of Fish and Wildlife agencies recently delivered a resolu-tion with a similar request to usFWs. the depart-ment continues to work with the u.s. Fish and Wildlife service to de-list wolves, but at present, depreda-tion control work and landowner shooting permits have been curtailed as we wait for special approval allowing the possible dispatch of captured depredators. the gradual increase in numbers and ex-pansion of the gray wolf across northern and west-central portions of the state offer a unique opportunity for hunters and trap-pers to observe these wild and wonderful canines. Doug Fendry, wildlife biologist from Fitchburg also observes that, “occa-sionally wolves are observed in southern Wisconsin.”all sightings of wolves should be reported according to adrian Wydeven, DNr mam-malian ecologist and wolf expert.

“We encourage the public to report their observations, especially hunters and trap-

DNr Photo

pers who are intimately familiar with their area of the state. this kind of information is valuable in our efforts in monitoring

populations. every observation counts and we welcome the help. “

He also urges trappers who have incidentally captured a wolf in a coyote trap, to check the local DNR office to see if a wildlife biologist is available nearby to help release the wolf and place a radio collar on it. Wydeven states that “every ad-ditional collared wolf on the air helps us do a better job keeping

track of wolves in the state.”

48 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 49Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

The American (Pine) Marten

American martens, also known as “pine martens”, are a state protected mammal and currently the only mammal on Wisconsin’s endangered species list. reintroduced into the chequamegon and Nicolet National For-ests in northwest and northeast Wisconsin decades ago, their numbers remain very low.

Jim Woodford, endangered resources conser-vation biologist reminds folks that, “Martens are a rare and unique member of our northern forest ecosystems that will require additional efforts to retain in Wisconsin for our future generations. to improve their chances, DNr, chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife commission are continuing to stock addi-tional wild martens into the chequamegon National Forest this fall. Dave MacFarland adds, “approximately half of the marten released into the state have been fitted with radio collars. The data gener-ated from these animals are being analyzed to determine causes of mortality and to improve

our understanding of the habitats best suited to their survival. this information will help direct and inform our future recovery ef-forts.”

although they have not ventured far from the original release sites biologists have discovered ad-ditional martens in northern Iron county. Bruce Bacon, wildlife biologist for Iron county says local trappers helped determine where these rare martens have been living for the last ten years,

and through their help we may learn of their connection with martens in our neighboring state of Michigan.

Bacon also has a number of martens radio-collared and the animals are being tracked as part of the Woods and Waters program in the Hurley and Mercer High schools. He also adds that fisher depredation may be an im-portant factor in the success or failure of the marten re-introduction efforts, and with fisher numbers down at this time it may be a fac-tor in the success of martens in Iron county. trappers are urged to consider using live trap-ping techniques such as cage traps, or foot-hold traps in areas occupied by martens.

the more restrictive trapping regulations remain in effect within the two Marten Protec-tion areas. Maintenance of the restrictions in these areas is critically important to retaining martens in Wisconsin.

Anyone with marten observations please forward this information to their local wildlife biologist or Jim Woodford at 715-365-8856, or Adrian Wydeven at 715-762-1363.

Photo by chad Hood

Migratory Game Bird/Waterfowl Season Forecast

Severe drought conditions across northern Wisconsin and below average wetland numbers in southern Wisconsin have had the expected impact on lower than average 2010 breeding duck numbers, according to migratory game bird ecologist, Kent Van Horn. Preliminary continent-scale in-formation shows areas ranging from very good wetland condi-tions to very dry.

three primary sources of in-formation on yearly waterfowl breeding conditions are used to determine the fall season structure for Wisconsin.

Canada - Waterfowl breeding areas in canada this spring had mostly fair to good conditions with smaller areas of excellent and poor habitat. Waterfowl breeding is ex-pected to be good overall in canada.

U.S. Prairies – Precipitation and wetland habitats in the u.s. prairies for 2010 were mostly good overall. Breeding duck num-bers in North Dakota were up across the board. However, biologists continue to be concerned over the continued risk of habitat loss due to grasslands being taken out of the crP program.

Wisconsin - In Wisconsin, wetland condi-tions ranged from poor to marginal. Wetland numbers observed during the spring survey were down around 50% across the north, and 26%-37% throughout the south. How-ever, brood rearing habitat should be much improved since much needed rainfall finally came after the survey date.

Wetland Conditions

the Wisconsin Breeding Waterfowl survey was completed in May, and is very important since a large pro-portion of the ducks harvested in Wisconsin are raised in Wisconsin.

the second source of informa-tion is a cooperative survey of canada geese, the Missis-sippi Valley Population (MVP)

Breeding survey, organized by the ontario Ministry of Natural

resources.

The final piece is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service breeding waterfowl survey for the north-ern u.s., canada, and alaska, which was released in early July.

all photos on this page by ryan Brady

by Kent Van Horn, Waterfowl Biologist

50 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 51Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

the four most abundant ducks in Wisconsin’s fall hunting harvest are mallards, wood ducks, green-winged teal and blue-winged teal. Van Horn notes that many of the ducks harvested in Wisconsin come from birds that breed in Wisconsin, in contrast to other states in the flyway that rely more heavily on birds raised in the prairies or boreal forests of canada.

the 2010 total Wisconsin breeding duck population estimate of 386,501 is down 23% from 2009 and 12% be-low the long-term mean (37 years). the decline in total ducks from 2008 to 2009 was mostly a result of low blue-

winged teal counts. overall, breeding duck survey results indicate a healthy, relatively stable population of breeding ducks in Wisconsin respond-ing to normal annual fluctua-tions in wetland conditions. this is a positive indication that hunting regulations and habitat management and pro-tection are working, accord-ing to Van Horn.

“these are population esti-mates – not exact counts – so changes of near 20 percent up or down in the estimates each year may not reflect

any real change in the actual population,” says Van Horn.“In addition to the science of the survey, experience plays a role. there are many things that can impact the results of a single year’s survey results. For instance, early spring leaf-out this year may have impacted observers’ visibility of teal. that’s why it’s im-portant to look at the long-term and recent trends in populations rather than focus only on year to year varia-tions in order to get a real feel for how populations are doing in the long haul”.

Ducks - Wisconsin

across North america mallard numbers was similar to 2009 and 12% above the long-term (55 year) average in the traditional survey area of the us and canada. combining the traditional survey area number with the breed-ing mallard numbers from the Great Lakes states (MN, MI, WI), a total of 8.6 million breeding mallards were counted compared to 8.5 million in 2009. Green-winged teal num-bers (3.5 million) in 2010 were similar to the 2009 population and are 78 percent above the long term average. Green-winged teal are generally the 3rd or 4th most abundant duck in Wisconsin’s fall harvest and many of these teal breed in northern ontario. continental blue-winged teal breeding numbers (6.3 mil-lion) were down 14 percent from 2009 but

still 36 percent above the long term average. an overall duck season of 60 days will be available for 2010.

the picture for several other species of ducks that breed outside of Wisconsin but of inter-est to Wisconsin hunters is relatively good as well. scaup (4.2 million) and pintail (3.5 mil-lion) numbers are both similar to 2009 and are only somewhat below the long-term average. canvasback (0.6 million) estimates are similar to both last year and the long-term average.

Ducks - Continentally

Overall, breeding duck survey results indicate a healthy, relatively stable population of breeding ducks in Wisconsin

In 2010, the population estimate for wood ducks is 106,785 which is 6% below 2009 but 41% above the long-term mean. the 2010 estimate for wood ducks is at a level similar to the recent 10 year average. this will likely be the third year of a 3 duck bag limit on wood ducks, and this increase has provided some great opportunity for hunters targeting wood ducks when hunting other species was slow.

the 2010 blue-winged teal breeding popula-tion estimate of 50,188 is a 56% decrease from 2009 and is 57% below the long term mean that excludes the “migrant years” of 1981, 2004 and 2005 when blue-winged teal still passing through Wisconsin were count-ed. This is the first year of blue-winged teal breeding estimates under 100,000 in the past 7 years. additional years of data will be needed to reveal whether this is part of the decline from historic populations that has been witnessed here in Wisconsin.

“We continue to have a concern for sustain-able breeding habitat for both mallards and breeding blue-winged teal in Wisconsin,” Van Horn said. We continue to be concerned over the lack of secure grassland nesting cover important to this duck species, particularly in the light of the loss of nearly 200,000 acres of crP grassland set aside in Wisconsin since 2007.

Wood Ducks

Mallardsthe 2009 total mallard population estimate of 198,242 is a 1% decrease from 2009 and 9% above the long-term mean (37 year mean). With moderate overall wetland habitat across the state this year biologists expect average mallard production. Mallards contribute nearly 40% of the overall state duck harvest in Wis-consin. overall the breeding population of mallards in Wiscon-sin appears to have leveled off between 200,000-250,000 mallards in recent years.

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Migratory Bird Hunters: Don’t forget to be HIP...that is HIP as in Harvest Information Program

For more information about the HIP program, click here ** *

52 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 53Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

Canada Geese“although it may vary de-pending on to fall weather conditions and bird move-ments, hunters should have the opportunity for a good goose season,” Van Horn says.“there are two different populations of canada geese that are present in Wisconsin during the regular fall hunting season,” says Van Horn. one population, called resident giant canada geese, nests in Wisconsin. the statewide breeding canada goose popu-lation estimate of 165,853 is up 12% from 2009 and double the long-term (24-year) mean. another population of slightly smaller birds nests in north-ern ontario along the coast of Hudson Bay and then migrates through Wisconsin and other Midwestern states. these geese are referred to as the Mississippi Valley Population (MVP). results from the most current banding data indicate that about 40% of Wisconsin’s regular goose season harvest comes from the MVP.

after a couple years of harsh weather, the nesting grounds in northern ontario experi-enced a very early spring and ice-out in 2010. this made for good nesting conditions, but nest predation was unusually high, resulting in only aver-age production. the estimated

2010 breeding population of MVP canada geese was 339,310, up 42% from 239,631 in 2009 and 6% below the 1989-2009 average. Lower num-bers of younger and other non-breeding adults were observed, partially be-cause the early nesting date would have minimized the potential to count groups of molt migrants.

the harvest of MVP geese is shared by several other states and provinces. For many years, quotas had been set to protect the breeding population and distribute harvest among several states. In 2007, a new management strategy in the Mississippi Flyway replaced the quota system with a 5-year stable season trial. Because there are many more giant geese in the flyway, it is thought that the impact of hunter

harvest on MVP geese will be buffered by that of the resident giants. In the end, the hope is that this will better control the increasing numbers of resident geese, while still providing for ample hunting opportu-nity. the most recent harvest derivations from banding data suggest that we are meeting our management goal of main-taining harvest pressure on our resident nesting geese while not increasing the harvest on the MVP birds. MVP popula-tions will continue to be moni-tored during this fourth year of the five-year trial.

Exterior Zone: 85 days Horicon Zone: 92 days (with 6 harvest tags per hunter). Horicon will be divided into 2 permit periods:

Period 1: sept. 16 - oct. 31Period 2: Nov. 1 - Dec. 16

Collins Zone: 67 days (with 6 harvest tags per hunter)

Daily Bag Limit for all zones: 2 birds

Photo by Joe Kosack, PGc

Early Canada Goose Season

Woodcock

the early canada goose hunt-ing period specifically targets local breeding giant canada geese and is held before mi-gratory geese begin to move into Wisconsin.

a new record high of 24,276 geese were harvested during

this early season in 2008, but the 2009 harvest was low throughout the state, mostly as a result of warm condi-tions and late crop harvest. “this has become a popular early hunting season and an important part of our resident canada goose population

the early canada goose season will run statewide from Sept. 1-15, with a daily bag of five geese. Burnett county subzone: closed

over the last 30-plus years, the woodcock population across its range in the Mid-west and northeast u.s. has shown a steady decline which bi-ologists believe is pri-marily related to changes in forest habitat. However, in Wis-consin, this decline appears to have leveled off with no significant change over the last 12 years except for a minimal decline this year.

management,” Van Horn says. Hunters should note that this season requires a special per-mit and $3 fee.

the early canada goose sea-son will run statewide from sept. 1-15, with a daily bag of five geese.

*Burnett county subzone: closed

Interest in pursuing the “tim-berdoodle” throughout the forests of Wisconsin remains high with about 20,000

wood-cock hunters partici-pating in 2009. Wis-consin ranks second in the

nation for woodcock harvest, with 30,000 birds harvested last year. overall, hunters should expect to see wood-cock numbers similar to the last few years and depending on the weather, should enjoy a good fall.

Woodcock season: sept. 25 to Nov. 8Daily bag of three birds.

Hunters are reminded that they must be HIP certified while hunting woodcock.

Photo by Jake Dingel, PGc

54 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast 55Questions? call the DNr call center at 1-888-WDNr-INFo, 7 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week Back to top

band. Hunters who harvest a banded dove are asked to report them to the Bird Band-ing Lab online or by phone at 1-800-327-Band (2263).

In recent years, the spring call count surveys, coordinated by the u.s. Fish and Wild-life service, estimated that the continental population of mourning doves was about 350 million, making it one of the most abundant birds in North america. the 10-year population trend for Wiscon-sin has held stable, showing a 1.7 % increase. Hunters should expect to see numbers of doves similar to the last couple of years.

“regulations and license requirements for dove hunt-ing are contained in the 2010 small Game Hunting regulations pamphlet, which is available at any location that sells hunting licenses or

Note: Hunters must use non-toxic shot when hunt-ing doves on DNr managed lands.

Wisconsin’s eighth dove hunting season will again run from sept. 1 to Nov. 9 this year. approximately 10,000 to 15,000 dove hunt-ers are expected to take to the field at some point dur-ing the season.

Hunters are again being asked to examine harvested doves closely for any leg bands. For the fifth consecu-tive year, Wisconsin is par-ticipating in a national plan to monitor mourning dove populations for harvest man-agement. Biologists set a goal of capturing and band-ing 750 doves at several lo-cations in south, central and eastern area of the state with a small aluminum us Fish and Wildlife service leg

Mourning Doveon the hunting and trapping regulations page of the DNr Web site.

Hunters are reminded that mourning doves are migra-tory game birds so hunters must be HIP certified and hunt with a plugged shotgun that only holds 3 shells. they must also use non-toxic shot when hunting on federal or department managed lands, and if they choose to use lead shot elsewhere, be mindful that possession of lead shot would prohibit them from hunting waterfowl.

Doves use a wide range of habitats but fields with an abundance of weed seeds or grain, open gravel areas and water sources are all good locations to find doves. Suc-cessful hunting is usually a product of good location scouting.

this special hunt aims to recruit new hunters in Wisconsin. In recent years, about 2,500 youth have taken advantage of this opportunity and harvested almost 9,000 ducks and about 250 geese. the dates for this year’s youth hunt are sept. 18 -19. the daily bag for ducks is the same as the regular season. In the exterior zone a youth must purchase and possess an exte-rior goose permit. In the Horicon and collins zones, a youth possessing a valid tag for any time period within that zone may hunt geese within the zone where the tag is valid.

Youth Waterfowl Hunt - Sept. 18 -19

“Those who don’t practice firearm safety are walking threats to themselves, their friends and families and others enjoying the outdoors,” conservation Warden tim Lawhern said. “the four rules of firearm safety are logical, easy-to-remember and critical to a successful and fun outing.” Lawhern, who heads the Department of Natural resources hunter education program, said all firearms owners must know these four rules and practice them without fail every time guns are handled.

They are:

-Treat every firearm as if loaded. “Never assume a firearm is unloaded,” Lawhern said. “and still treat it as if it is loaded if you know upon checking it is not. Habits are formed with repetition.”

-Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. “about one third of all hunting incidents are self inflicted injuries,” he said, adding that means the muzzle was pointed at the hunter’s body or someone else. “There are no accidental discharges with firearms -- only unwanted discharges.

-Be certain of your target and what is beyond it. “Positive target identification is a must. to shoot at something you only think is a legal target is gambling with a human life and reckless,” Lawhern said. “equal to making sure you know your target is being sure what is behind that target. We don’t always hit our targets. You must make certain the bullet that travels beyond or through the target will do no harm as it comes to rest.”

-Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot. “If a hunter stumbles with the finger inside the trigger guard, that hand is likely going to close around the pistol grip of the gun and fire the gun,” Lawhern said. “The consequences of this stupidity could be deadly.”

click here to learn more, enroll or complete online hunter education courses

“Every hunting incident involving a firearm can be traced back to a violation of one or more of these four simple rules,” Lawhern said. “Be smart and learn them, then be a good friend and demand the same of your friends.”

Hunters who practice firearm safety live to tell the tale

TAB-K

56 Wisconsin DNr 2010 Fall Hunting Forecast

Questions about anything in this fall hunting forecast?Call the DNR Call Center toll-free at:

1-888-WDNR INFO (1-888-936-7463) • local 608-266-2621.

Staff are available 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.

Hmong and Spanish speaking representatives available

You may also find assistance at DNR Service Centers, but with limited hours and days open for counter services. When open, hours of op-eration are 9:00 to 12:30 and 1:30 to 4:00. See chart.

Support Ethical, Responsible Hunting and Trapping • Report Violations

CALL: 1-800-tIP-WDNr (1-800-847-9367; toll free) or #367 from your cell phone (free for u.s. cellular customers). Note: this is Not an information number.

TEXT: text a tip to 847411 (only available from 7 am - 10 pm). standard text rates apply. EMAIL: le.hotline@wisconsin.gov.

General mailing address: Department of Natural resources, P.o. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707

dnr.wi.gov

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