The only area that I found to be of real value was the 7.5% of respondents who said they would not hunt next year. I am assuming here, but these may be the people who are not the die-hards but mostly the weekend warriors who are out for sake of being out with friends and family. On the business side, these are exactly who we want to bring into our state to hunt. They are bringing money to buy tags, buy food and groceries. If we dont have a great herd, these are the types of hunters we will lose. I'm also assuming that of the 7.5% will calm down and hunt next year but its still an alarming number that is starting to grow if we dont have an excellent deer herd.
A lot of talk has been surrounding the reasons why the hunt was low, such as corn still standing, foggy conditions, higher than normal temperatures, and so on. So are all the deer in the corn? If they are, we should ask the land owners if we can do a little herd count on those lands. I am just thinking this may be a way to calm down a lot of hunters if we can actually prove that the deer are in the corn. Its true, deer slow down in warmer temps, and yes, fog is tough to see through but these two conditions cannot simply be the reason that deer sightings and harvest numbers are so low. Lets count the deer in the corn, they have to be in there right?
Finally, I recommend you read a column from Pat Durkin, Pat Durkin column: Deer alarmists react without facts. I get what he's saying, he does a great job of proving that we should all take a breath before reacting. However, his method of proving Rep Scott Gunderson wrong on why it will take generations for the herd to recover is a bit flawed. According to Pat Durkin and his column, he uses the study from George Reserve in Michigan: "Researchers at Michigan's George Reserve twice showed deer herds capable of 50 percent annual growth. Starting with six whitetails in 1928, the reserve's herd boomed to 222 in seven years. And in 1975, after reducing the herd to 10 deer, most of which were fawns, researchers reported the herd at 212 after six breeding seasons." What Durkin fails to mention is that the George Reserve is mostly fenced in. You can't compare generation growth from deer who live in a reserve. Not good Durkin. Try again.
Anyways...here are the survey results, enjoy and post your comments. I look forward to your feedback.
2009 Gun Deer Hunt Survey Responses
Office of State Senator Neal Kedzie
Wisconsin’s 11th Senate District
Overall
Total Number of Survey Respondents………………………8,432
Number of Deer Seen
Average Deer Seen……………………………………………...5.2
Percentage that did not see a deer…………………………….15%
Percentage that saw 1 deer………………………………….…12%
Percentage that saw 2 deer………………………………….11.5%
Percentage that saw 3 or fewer deer………………………..48.5%
Deer Harvested
Percentage that shot a buck…………………………………….17%
Percentage that shot a doe……………………………………...14%
Percentage that did not harvest a deer…………………………70%
Most significant factor contributing to low harvest number
DNR Herd Management Policies: 6,468….77% (Only response on 3,287 or 39%)
Predators depleting the herd: 3,045………36%
Weather Conditions: 1,233…………………15%
Lower fawn production: 929………………..11%
Bad luck: 85………………………………..0.01%
Other: 1,242………………………………….15%
Not Sure: 209………………………………0.02%
Will you deer hunt next year?
Yes………………………….50%
No…………………………..7.5%
Unsure…………………….40.5%
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