Hunting season has always been one of our state's strongest traditions and a very exciting time in Wisconsin, so I wanted to send out some updates about Opening Day tomorrow. As always, safety first! Please exercise caution while driving on the roads and while out in the woods. For more on firearm safety, please visit the DNR website here.

 

2014 Opening Day

New seasons, licenses and tag options will offer new opportunities for hunters while improving the consistency of licensing and tagging across the state and between user groups; offer seasons that uphold the tradition of deer hunting while fulfilling biological management needs.

 

New methods for deer registration will provide additional convenience to hunters and efficient harvest data access to DNR scientists and law enforcement, while saving money, beginning in 2015. This year, please register deer as you have in the past.

 

New methods of setting quotas will give the public in each county (through County Deer Advisory Councils) an opportunity for hands-on deer management based on the issues that most affect local people and ecosystems.

 

New Opportunities in 2014:

• A crossbow deer hunting license is available for any qualified hunter to purchase – this will be the first time many Wisconsin deer hunters will have the opportunity to hunt with a crossbow. Previously, only holders of permits for hunters with disabilities and hunters age 65 or older could use a crossbow under the authority of an archer license.

• All hunters with an appropriate license can now hunt with a crossbow during the new crossbow season, which runs concurrently with the archery season.

• Electronic registration will be available for a group of randomly selected hunters in 2014 as a pilot program, and is expected to be available to all hunters starting in 2015.

Important changes in 2014:

• The Deer Management Unit (DMU) boundaries have been changed and are now based on county or tribal boundaries. Previously, they were delineated by road and river features – 130+ DMUs have been consolidated into 76 DMUs.

• Wisconsin is managing CWD to prevent its spread rather than to eradicate the disease. In the future, County Deer Advisory Councils (CDACs) will have a direct stake in deer herd management. Councils will make recommendations to the department regarding population objectives, quota-setting and management strategies in each county.

• The cost of bonus antlerless tags has been standardized across the state and there are no longer reduced price Herd Control and CWD Management Zone tags.

• Antlerless permit availability will differ between public and private lands. This is intended to reduce hunting pressure on public lands to provide a better experience for those who hunt public lands.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management:

• As of 2014, CWD has been detected in wild deer in 18 Wisconsin counties.

• DNR currently tests about 8,000 wild deer annually for CWD. The department intends to continue testing for CWD to monitor its spread.

• Restrictions on baiting and feeding remain confined to CWD-affected areas. Baiting and feeding are allowed in other non-affected counties.

• Similar hunting seasons will be offered in CWD-affected areas as elsewhere in the state, and additional antlerless-only seasons may be held in CWD-affected areas as needed to reduce the spread of CWD.  Future CWD research will focus on detecting and preventing spread of the disease.

For more information about hunting this year, please visit the DNR website here.