Legal Help for Hunters: It’s About Time:

Legal Help for Hunters: It’s About Time
Ben Halverson

According to an article in the Journal Sentinel (Smith 2009), “Wisconsin Hunters Rights' Coalition and the Wisconsin Chapters of Safari Club International have retained a law firm in their drive to eliminate Earn-A-Buck regulations and the October antlerless deer hunting season in the state.” All I have to say about this approach is…its about time.

Earn-a-buck regulations, which we all know is shooting a doe before we can harvest a buck. Some think this is simple or very basic tool to helping the DNR regulate the size of the herd. When is it time that we as hunters get a say on how we want to regulate the herd, well it sounds as though we have finally gotten the answer.

According to the article Michael Best & Friedrich is the firm brought on to help change current methods. What I know about Michael Best & Friedrich is that change is on the way. Thank you MB&F!

According to the Wisconsin DNR site “Changing season structure for areas where the population was substantially lower than in previous years by:

• Preliminarily recommending cutting back the number of Herd Control units (the October gun hunt) from 56 to 19, mostly in the northwest.
• Recommending reducing the number of Earn a Buck units from 29 in 2008 to 25 this year (outside of CWD units) in the Green Bay and Eau Claire areas.
• Asking hunters about the elimination of the antlerless hunt in some northeast units that are significantly below a healthy population goal.”

Hunters are great outdoor enthusiasts, passionate lovers of the sport, and yet, simply do not have enough say in how the management of the herd should be done. This is a great step in the right direction of bringing both sides together and coming up with a best fit solution for both the DNR and hunters of Wisconsin.

Source: Hunters' groups enlist legal help in deer review, by Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 8, 2009 http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/42699192.html

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, DNR announces up to date preliminary deer harvest figures, March 10, 009 http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Article_Lookup.asp?id=1008