Consider venison donation this hunting season

MADISON – The Wisconsin Venison Donation Program and its affiliates, Hunt for the Hungry and Target Hunger along with more than 140 participating meat processors, are ready to accept and distribute extra venison donated by hunters. A list of participating meat processors is available on the Department of Natural Resources website.

In this, the program’s 11th year, there are participating meat processors in 65 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. In 10 years, hunters have donated more than 73,000 deer providing 3.3 million pounds of venison to food pantries across the state.

“Hunters have been generous providers in this program,” said Laurie Fike, venison program coordinator, “but it has been the volunteers who have put a shoulder to the wheel and accomplished the huge job of distributing the product to the pantries, making it available to families needing some food assistance.”

In the southern Wisconsin CWD management zone, Target Hunger has taken on the task of making the program work smoothly. It involves a partnership of community action groups including Southwest Community Action Program (Dodgeville), Community Action, Inc., Janesville, Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Madison, and Central Wisconsin Community Action Coalition, Wisconsin Dells. Hunt for the Hungry operates the program in the Green Bay area.

Additionally, U.S. Department of Agriculture – Wildlife Services staff help administer the program in 49 counties.

How to donate

For hunters, the process for donating a deer hasn’t changed. There is no charge to the hunter except for transporting the deer. There only a few simple steps:

• Field dress the deer and register it at a Wisconsin DNR registration station prior to donating the deer.
• Call First! Contact one of the participating processors before dropping the deer off to verify the processor has space to accept your deer.
• Deer legally harvested outside the CWD management zone are registered with a silver metal tag. These deer can be dropped off at a participating processor by Jan. 10, 2011.
• Deer harvested in the CWD management zone are registered with a red metal tag. Red-tagged deer can only be donated to a processor participating in the Target Hunger program. Donated red-tagged deer are tested for CWD and only deer that test negative will go out to pantries.
• Donate the entire deer to receive the processing for free. (Head and/or antlers may be removed for mounting.)
• When dropping a deer off at a processor, sign the simple log sheet indicating your desire to donate the deer and the donated deer will be processed and the venison will be distributed to charitable organizations to help feed Wisconsin’s needy.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurie Fike – (608) 267-7974
Article Source: Wisconsin DNR
Article Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=248#art1

State repeals waiting period for deer bow hunters to purchase archery licenses

Weekly News Article Published: August 24, 2010 by the Central Office
MADISON – Archery deer hunters no longer have to wait three days after purchasing a license during the open season to begin hunting in Wisconsin. The State Legislature removed the three-day waiting period restriction during the recent legislative session at the request of the Department of Natural Resources.
“The law has outlived its usefulness,” said Tom Van Haren, DNR conservation warden. “The three-day waiting period is an obstacle for young hunters who celebrate their tenth birthday during the archery season and have to wait until then to purchase their license.”
The waiting period was originally enacted to discourage deer hunters from waiting until they killed a deer before purchasing a license and to discourage a person from buying a license for someone who had killed a deer but either did not have a tag, or did not want to use the tag on their deer.
“The waiting period is inconvenient for anyone who didn’t purchase a license prior to the season then realizes they have the coming weekend open with time to go hunting. If they do not think to purchase the license ahead of time they are unable to use the license that weekend. It has especially been a deterrent for non-residents who travel great distances to Wisconsin on a Thursday or Friday to spend the weekend with family or friends or for the primary purpose to archery hunt for deer.”
Van Haren said that before the law was changed the deer population was low and the number of deer a person could get tags for was limited.
“Basically, each archer was issued just a tag that was good for a buck or an antlerless deer. The fact is, abundant harvest tags are now available in most deer management units making it possible to harvest multiple deer legally,” he added.
The requirement that people wear a back tag while hunting reduces the incidence of hunting without a license. If a conservation warden suspects that something is wrong, the warden can find out instantly through the automated licensing system, when a license was purchased right down to the minute, which is also printed on the license or back tag. In 2009, bow hunters purchased 208, 022 licenses in Wisconsin.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Van Haren, Warden, (608) 266-3244
View all articles in this issue or check our previous Weekly News Issues.

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1507

Hunters with disabilities are reminded that it is up to them to contact a hunt sponsor

Sept. 1 is deadline to secure sponsor for disabled gun deer hunt


Weekly News Article Published: August 3, 2010 by the Central Office



MADISON – Qualified hunters with disabilities have until Sept. 1 to line up a sponsor so they can participate in a special gun deer hunt this October.
A sponsor list for the 2010 gun Deer Hunt for Hunters with Disabilities is now available. Hunters with disabilities must contact sponsors directly and get signed up by Sept. 1, 2010.
Hunters with a valid Class A permit, a long-term Class B permit that authorizes shooting from a vehicle, or a Class C Disabled Hunting permit are eligible to participate in this special hunt, which will take place Oct. 2-10.
The disabled hunt is the first gun deer hunt of the season and is scheduled to provide hunters with disabilities easier access and fewer weather-related difficulties. The only other deer hunters in the woods during the Oct. 2-8 time period are archery deer hunters. There will be a statewide youth gun deer hunt on Oct. 9-10.
Find more information on the 2010 gun Deer Hunt for Hunters with Disabilities web page.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Olver - (608) 261-7588
View all articles in this issue or check our previous Weekly News Issues.

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8756861334818625252

First week of deer observation survey brings in more than 800 reports

Weekly News Article Published: August 10, 2010 by the Central Office

MADISON – The first week of Operation Deer Watch, a program that asks citizens to report deer observations during the months of August and September, produced 818 observation reports, filed by 420 individuals, according to Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologists monitoring the program.

“This is a great response for the first week of a new program,” said Tom Hauge, director of the DNR Bureau of Wildlife Management. “We welcome the extra eyes in the woods and appreciate the intense interest folks have in their natural resources and especially in the wildlife around them.”

Reports have come in from all corners of the state,” said Brian Dhuey, DNR research scientist, “we’ve received reports from 111 of our 139 DMUs (deer management units). DMU 77M (Milwaukee, and parts of Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha, Sheboygan, Racine, Kenosha and Manitowoc counties) has the most reports at 45, followed by DMU 64 (parts of Manitowoc, Calumet, Brown and Outagamie counties) with 29 reports.”

“Operation Deer Watch is one of many volunteer efforts that can fit under the umbrella of citizen science,” says Hauge. “For decades deer hunters have contributed to a huge volume of deer harvest data every time they registered their deer. Wisconsin has what is probably the most extensive record of deer sex, age and condition reports of any state in the country thanks to their efforts.”

Each year, biologists use a formula to estimate deer populations. The formula includes the number of deer harvested from the hunting seasons, the percentage of yearling bucks and does harvested, the buck recovery rate, and a fawn-to-doe ratio to estimate the population in each deer management unit. Data from Operation Deer Watch will be used with DNR observations to help determine the fawn-to-doe ratio.

Another opportunity for deer hunters to contribute is by sending in a Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey. Started in 2009 the Deer Hunter Wildlife Observation Survey asks hunters to send in their observations of deer, raccoon, skunk, porcupine, red and gray fox, turkey, ruffed grouse, coyote, bear, otter, fisher, bobcat, house cat, badger, wolf, opossum, or other wildlife not normally seen in their area. Since deer hunters often spend many quiet observation hours in the woods, they can provide valuable information about species that are often very difficult to measure. In the first season, hunters filed reports covering approximately 20,000 hunting outings and 120,000 hours of observation. A summary of the 2009 season is available on the Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey page of the DNR website.

The 2010 version of the Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey starts Sept. 18, the first day of the 2010 archery deer season, ending Jan 23, 2011.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Dhuey – (608) 221-6342

View all articles in this issue or check our previous Weekly News Issues.

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1492

Bonus antlerless deer tags and state park deer hunting permits available August 21 and 22

MADISON - Antlerless deer (bonus) carcass tags for regular deer management units, and hunting access permits for state park deer management units go on sale starting Aug. 21.

Tags and permits will be sold at the rate of one per person per day. Tags and permits for odd numbered units will be available for sale on Saturday Aug. 21 from noon until midnight. Tags and permits for even numbered units will go on sale beginning Sunday Aug. 22 at noon.

Sales will continue Monday, August 23 for both odd and even numbered units for all remaining tags. Sales will continue until sold out or until the hunting season ends.

Tags and permits will be available for purchase at any DNR licensing sales location, through the DNR Online Licensing Center, or by phone toll free at 1 (877) 945-4236 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1 (877) 945-4236 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Deer hunters are encouraged to check the 2010 deer management unit designations map or in the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations booklet for the units they plan to hunt in this fall.

Forty seven regular units will require hunters to purchase antlerless (bonus) tags if they wish to tag antlerless deer in those units this fall. Nineteen regular deer management units will not have any antlerless tags available for sale this year to encourage herd growth. Every gun and archery deer hunting license will include an antlerless carcass tag valid for units designated as Herd Control or Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD units have unlimited earn-a-buck (EAB) rules.

If hunters are planning to hunt in any of the twelve state parks that require access permits for deer hunting, they should plan accordingly, as many units will sell out quickly. Those interested in hunting these properties should first check the 2010 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations or the Hunting Opportunities web page to learn about special weapon restrictions and season dates. Some state parks that allow deer hunting may not require access permits, but may have different season dates.

Purchasing a deer hunting license before Aug. 21 can speed up the permit purchasing process, suggest officials, since hunters must obtain a deer hunting license before they can purchase a bonus antlerless tag or state park access permit. Hunters can check for tag or access permit availability on the DNR website. Tag and permit availability are updated regularly. Units with relatively low numbers of available tags can be expected to sell out quickly. Units with a high number of tags available generally last longer or may not sell out.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Jason Fleener, Assistant Deer Ecologist – (608) 261-7589

For questions about tag sales and park access permits contact the DNR Call Center at 1-888-WDNRINFO

Source: Wisconsin DNR
Site: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_article_Lookup.asp?id=1493