DNR holds public forum on deer herd

Talk about it

BALDWIN – Wildlife managers with the state Department of Natural Resources invite anyone interested in the status of the deer herd in St. Croix and Pierce counties to attend an open house public meeting from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the county Agriculture Services and Educational Center, 1960 Eighth Ave., Baldwin.

An overview of the 2008 hunt and the preliminary 2009 season structure will be offered at 7 p.m. This info will be available throughout the entire open house.

The public forum is the first and best opportunity for hunters and other interested individuals to discuss the latest population estimates and a preliminary framework for the 2009 deer hunting seasons.

The meeting will specifically focus on Deer Management Units 60A, 60B and 60M, which encompass most of St. Croix and Pierce counties, south of Hwy. 64 and west of Hwy. 128. Information for DMUs 21, 22A, 59B and 61 will also be available.

Preliminary recommendations are for a herd control season framework for 60A, 60B, 21, 22A and 59B. Units 60M and 61 are proposed for earn-a-buck in 2009.

Also, as part of a three-year review, DNR staff will discuss DMU boundaries and deer population goals. Ideas have been developed by DNR wildlife biologists and by a DMU stakeholder panel. Individuals can comment on these and can offer their own suggestions on how population goals or unit boundaries might be adjusted. Comment forms will be available at the meeting.

The DMU stakeholder panel, a group representing several hunting and outdoor interest organizations, has created a Web site, www.widmu.org, which contains a great deal of background information on DMU boundary concepts, including charts and maps. The panel’s Web site is configured to accept public comments and includes a hunter survey.

Tags: outdoors, wisconsin, dnr, deer, hunting, meeting, northland