Wisconsin which is now voting on a draconian Wolf killing management plan is overun with Deer..........By the State Game Commission's own yardstick, there are 796,000 Whitetail Deer in the state, 44% over Biologists target limits.............Can someone tell me why any Wolves, Bears and Coyotes should be killed in Wisconsin????????????

Deer population far exceeds goal

jsonline.com

Wisconsin had 1.14 million deer after the 2011 hunting seasons, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the Department of Natural Resources.The statewide herd is essentially unchanged from the same time last year. But it's still 44% higher than the state's overwinter deer population goal.

"In the broad stoke of it, we lost some ground in the farmland units and gained some ground in the north," said Kevin Wallenfang, DNR big game ecologist.

The agency is required to manage the deer herd to population goals spelled out in Wisconsin administrative code. The state is divided into about 120 deer management units; the sum of the units' population goals is 796,000 deer.

According to the department's estimate, 97 units are above and 22 units are below prescribed deer population goals."We'll be looking at each unit as we plan for the 2012 hunting seasons," Wallenfang said. "As usual, it will be a balancing act."

There is a marked contrast in deer densities in parts of the state and even within units.
All units in the southern half of the state are more than 30% over goal.And five units in northern Wisconsin and one in the central forest are more than 20% below goal. For the last three seasons, the DNR limited or prohibited antlerless deer harvest in northern Wisconsin units that are below deer population goals.

"Those units in the north remain a concern to us," said Ralph Fritsch, chairman of the wildlife committee of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. "We believe the number of antlerless permits needs to be kept very low, if not at zero, to allow the deer to come back."

The department issues an annual population estimate after it has finalized deer registration numbers from the fall and winter hunts, has run population models and conducted aerial deer counts. The DNR uses a variety of means to estimate deer numbers, including the Sex-Age-Kill model and an "accounting" method, said Robert Rolley, DNR research scientist.

Hunters registered 347,711 deer in the 2011-'12 Wisconsin seasons, including 193,954 antlerless, 150,839 bucks and 2,918 deer of unknown sex. Unknowns are the result of incomplete or improper deer registration forms.

Gun hunters killed 257,511 deer (149,215 antlerless, 106,396 bucks and 1,900 unknowns) while bowhunters took 90,200 deer (44,739 antlerless, 44,443 bucks and 1,018 unknowns).
Deer totals for the various seasons included 81,399 for early archery (Sept. 17 to Nov. 17), 4,958 for the youth hunt (Oct. 8 and 9), 228,629 for the 9-day gun hunt (Nov. 19 to 27), 7,126 for muzzleloader (Nov. 28 to Dec. 7), 4,111 for late CWD (Dec. 24 to Jan. 8), 10,656 for late antlerless-only (Dec. 8 to 11) and 8,801 for late archery (Nov. 28 to Jan. 8).

In contrast to Iowa and Minnesota, which saw declines in their 2011 deer harvests, Wisconsin's statewide deer kill increased 3%.But perhaps most concerning to state wildlife managers, the kill of antlerless deer declined 24% in the southern district, setting the stage for further herd increases there.
Legislators passed a 2011 law that eliminated the DNR's use of Earn-A-Buck regulations statewide. Hunters in the CWD management zones seized the opportunity and shot 30% more bucks in the southern district during the gun deer season.

But the DNR must search for ways to encourage antlerless deer harvest in units well over goal.
Wallenfang said the department has recommended reinstituting a four-day hunt for antlerless deer in early October in the CWD management zone for 2012. The governor's office has approved the scoping statement and the Natural Resources Board will review it later this month.
The 2012 deer hunting season structure and regulations are scheduled to be set in April.