Legislators eliminate

earn-a-buck hunts, T-zone programs

When legislators convened in a special "jobs" session last week, one of the first measures they passed was one that deals with deer hunting rules. The Assembly passed Assembly Bill 99 that bans the practice of requiring hunters to bag an antlerless deer before they are able to hunt for a trophy buck - known by most as "earn-a-buck."

The bill, which passed on a bi-partisan vote of 64-33 in the Assembly, had earlier been passed in the state Senate. Quick signing was expected from Gov. Scott Walker, who had talked about his opposition to the earn-a-buck program during his gubernatorial campaign.

The bill also prohibits the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from scheduling hunting seasons in advance of the normal late-November gun deer season, although some exemptions were still allowed for youth, the disabled and those in areas where chronic wasting disease (CWD) is considered to be a problem.

Some hunters applauded the measure, while some in the natural resources community said the new rules will mean that deer will cause more damage on farms and in woodlands because wildlife managers won't have enough tools to manage deer populations. Hunters have said that DNR wildlife managers have overestimated the state's deer population for the last few years.

In several hearings, hunters have vented their outrage against DNR deer management practices and the earn-a-buck program specifically. Each year the Conservation Congress, a group of sportsmen, meets and votes on issues that it sees as important and forwards that advice to the DNR. In 2009, members of the Congress in all 72 counties voted to end the earn-a-buck program.

The Wisconsin Hunters Rights Coalition - which includes the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Wisconsin chapters of Safari Club International and Wisconsin Firearm Owners, Ranges, Clubs and Educators, Inc. - supported the bill and called the earn-a-buck program "embarrassing." That program, along with October T-zone hunts, the group said, has served only to turn hunters away from the sport. They referred to AB 99 as the "Deer Hunters Heritage Bill."

Statistics from the DNR show that fewer people are hunting and fewer deer are being harvested in recent years.

But the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, led by former DNR Secretary George Meyer, called passage of the bill "a sad chapter in the history of Wisconsin deer management." They called the earn-a-buck and T-zone hunts "two of the most effective deer management tools," adding that they are needed when deer populations become excessive and cause damage to farm fields and wood lots.

Many Wisconsin deer hunters don't support the DNR's past overuse of these deer management tools, said Ralph Fritsch of Townsend, who is chair of the federation's wildlife committee. The federation, which includes 173 hunting, fishing, trapping and forestry-related groups and is the state's largest conservation organization, had in fact supported a temporary suspension of the earn-a-buck program during the 2010 and 2011 hunting seasons, he said.

"But a permanent ban on the DNR's use of these tools is not responsible deer management," Fritsch said. "History shows that without these management options, in just two or three years, the deer population in certain deer management units will not be controllable with the remaining management options available to DNR."

Not a single wildlife profession in the state supported the move, he said.

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation president Chuck Matyska of Cecil said that farmers and woodland owners provide the great majority of deer habitat and land to hunt on in the state. "Hunters need to respect that the deer herd must be kept under control to reduce damage to Wisconsin's landowners," he said. "Within two or three years, agricultural and forestry damage will increase in certain deer management units, and there will be pressure on the legislature to reverse this ill-advised decision."

Arguing against the bill on the floor of the Assembly was Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha). "This bill will almost certainly hurt the forestry industry. It almost certainly will hurt agriculture."

He argued that the legislature could wait for repeal of earn-a-buck until the Walker's newly appointed "deer czar" gives his assessment on deer management in the state.

The DNR's wildlife managers use four-day hunts for antlerless deer in zones where they feel deer numbers are above their management goals. Those hunts are usually in October. Where deer numbers remain above population goals, DNR managers have imposed the earn-a-buck restrictions.

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst), who introduced the measure, said hunters hate the earn-a-buck program.

Casey Langan, a spokesman for Wisconsin Farm Bureau, said it has been the longstanding policy of his organization to want to see tools like earn-a-buck and T-zone hunts remain available to the DNR to control deer populations. The farm organization opposed AB 99 because deer populations can quickly overrun farmland and woodlands owned by farmers, he said.

"By and large though, what I've been hearing from our members is not talk about deer populations anymore, but they are talking about bear and wolves," Langan said. "It would appear the deer numbers are in check at this point, at least from what we're hearing anecdotally."

Farmers, he said, own 15.2 million acres of farmland in Wisconsin, based on 2009 figures, providing much of the habitat for the state's wildlife.

Groups opposing the measure also included Wisconsin Farmers Union, the Wisconsin Paper Council, Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters and the Nature Conservancy, along with several organizations representing paper companies, lumber companies and forestry groups.