WI Suspends Earn-A-Buck Deer Program

State Suspends Earn-A-Buck Hunting Regulations Board Suspends Program Indefinitely

April 22, 2009

WEST BEND, Wis. -- Wisconsin wildfire officials have indefinitely suspended the state's contentious earn-a-buck program outside chronic wasting disease areas.

The Natural Resources Board initially approved a one-year moratorium Wednesday, but then board member Jane Wiley introduced a resolution to go further.

She said hunters are so upset over the program it would be only a matter of time until state lawmakers stepped in and began managing deer hunting with legislation. She said the board needs to send the Legislature a strong message that it is serious about halting the program.

Earn-a-buck is designed to control burgeoning deer herds. Hunters in areas with earn-a-buck must kill an antlerless deer before they can take a buck.

The regulations were in effect in 35 deer management zones in 2008.

The Department of Natural Resources proposed suspending the requirements after hunters killed about 165,000 fewer deer last fall than in 2007 and the agency scaled back its post-hunt population estimates.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Well  it seems like a good idea the earn a buck program. It would help make some bigger bucks and thin out the does.

my family is my life
Willie

I always thought it was a law that promoted violating. A hunter sitting on his stand opening morn and a 160 class buck walks out in front of him. He can't shoot it cuz he hasn't shot a doe yet. I've heard of too many guys that shot that buck and then had to hunt thier butt off to get a doe. You don't get the doe and the buck is stashed away. Wis. is not afraid to give out doe tags, at $12 each so there is no problem with shooting the does. Plus they have the Tzone hunt which is an early hunt just for does in certain areas. They have the eradication zones where they have found CWD. Wis. has alot of different rules for different areas that I don't agree with. Most of them are just wipeing out the heard. I know of 3 people that aren't even going to hunt Wis. this year because they haven't seen a deer in years. Myself, after moveing to Mt. I don't care if I ever hunt deer in Wis. again.

Seems to me I would kill more does if I had the chance and only kill one buck a season. Let the bucks get bigger but still have deer to eat. It does seem like to kill a buck you have to kill a doe first is pretty stupid.

"It is better to rule than serve"

Maybe I'm not comprehending this but we'll see, it reads to me that the zone that has been an earn-a-buck zone due to the overpopulation of does is not going to be anymore. If that's right then it should be because the herd numbers have been reduced enough to have a healthy herd. Is everyone mad because they can't shoot a doe and a buck now? Maybe I just don't have all the info on this one but seems to me that the hunters should be happier now with a healthier heard. An overpopulated heard is at a huge risk for any disease not just CWD. Plus I think the quality of bucks left in the herd would also be improved. I see the point about havnig to let the big one walk, but that is an ethics topic and has nothing to do with any law passed. You either hunt legally or illegally no matter what the restrictions are. It all depends on what kind of hunter you are, ethical or non-ethical.

Kraig Osborne
Hunter since birth, NAHCLM, USN

Thats the way I understood it as well Kraig.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Earn a buck wasn't started because of over population. It was started because of CWD. There are already very nice bucks in the areas. They want the deer irradicated so that CWD is irradicated. It's not just a healthy herd thing. Some areas such as the one I hunted in Northern Wis. You can buy 2 doe tags a day for a certain amount of time {can't remember how long but you can get over 20 tags easy} The problem is there are no deer anymore. Between over kill and wolves deer are few and far between. With all the tags, earn abuck never made any sence to me.

A year or so ago, there wuz some talk among hunters and the G&F about some sort of earn-a-buck system in areas where the population wuz too high ... a remark I recall wuz sumthin' to the nature of "We've heard that some other states have had some problems with it ... "

No specific state wuz mentioned, and the logic wuz shaky in the first place, so nobuddy really pushed the idea ...

Still seems to me to be a little off, in the overall reasoning of a huntin' season ... yeah, mebbe try to encourage the takin' of does to reduce the herd (Nodak is still CWD-free ... so far), but don't try to use a system that will likely encourage cheatin' to make it werk ... (I go along with y'all others who say it does that ... we ALL know that when we make a choice of which/whut kind of deer (or other game) to shoot (at), the opposite is whut will make the first of many appearances and they'll stand around merely to frustrate our sense of sporting ethics and rational thots ... so, if I say I'd take a forkhorn (for better eatin') becuz I'm not worried about a wall-hanger this year, all I'm gonna see is 130-plus racks ... if I say I'd take any doe, the bucks will all come out of the brush and laff @ me ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

AWWWW.......Now it makes a little more sense to me. Hunters aren't mad about the program being done away with, they are  mad that it existed to begin with and it seems the Fish and Game or DNR are trying to erraticate the herd and the threat of CWD.  Maine has an expanded archery hunt that allows you to kill as many does as you want for $12 a piece and one buck. They use it to manage the herds around the populated areas, areas that don't normally get hunted with rifles. I misunderstood the original post thinking it was used for similar reasons. Thanks for shedding some light on the subject, Deadeye.

Kraig Osborne
Hunter since birth, NAHCLM, USN

As the story reads in the first sentence, the elimination of the WI Earn-A-Buck program was "outside" of the CWD zones. I do not know what they are doing inside of the CWD zones.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

The Wisconsin DNR has always been influenced by public opinion when the almighty dollar is in the cards.....Deadeyerik is right on track that it started with CWD problem state where they were trying to eradicate all the deer in the major CWD zones (incidently the populations have increased in those zones).
 
  Up north in the Chequamegen National Forest, including parts of Bayfield County, they were trying to create a "trophy buck" area with the Earn-a-buck system in order to draw more non-resident and down state hunters....The threat of earn-a-buck has prevailed for several years in Douglas Cty where I hunt...The introduction of Timber wolves in the early and mid 70s affected me very hard because I lived just a couple of miles from the original pack....Deer numbers were initially low in these areas and the wolves did a number on them.....As the deer became educated about wolves, logging flourished as large acreages of county land became mature at the same time....Hence significant increases in deer populations...We call them the glory days......The area still rugged and wild with wolf smart deer was very hard to hunt.....For some dumb reason the DNR published articles about trophys in Douglas County in oder to draw some hunting pressure from the southern part of the state.....The hunting remained good but the leagalization of baiting in the 80s virtually ruined the once quality hunt.....One group moved in on our stands and traditional areas and killed 21 yearling bucks their first year there....That did a number on our harvest 2 years later...
 
   Obviously the Earn-a-buck program has failed because of the DNRs own mistakes including the continuation of baiting and the early T-zone seasons....Continued mismanagement like this is leading to lower deer harvests even when populations remain stable in most cases......
 
   Their efforts to kill more deer have at best educated the deer to be more alert to human presense....Furthermore the DNRs population models have been sent askew by recent kills which have shown more older bucks being taken....Hunter attitudes and practices are the only reason for these increased older buck kills (not an increased population as indicated by the population modeling).....
  
   I firmly believe that if they keep the earn-a-buck programs off and do not have any early or extended seasons for at least a couple of years, in addition to the elimination of baiting the whole deer hunting experience will be reborn with hunters seeing more deer and an overall quality experience........One more thing we must educate ourselves to stay out of our deer woods for the several months before we plan to hunt them.....
 
   Having spent many years working in the forest industry it allowed me to work with Wisconsin game managers on numerous occasions....My advice to them that in order to do their jobs effectively they would have to understand the biology of the whitetail......Part of understanding that biology is understanding the predators involved including man......
 
   In my humble opinion I am glad that they suspended the earn-a-buck program and the t-zone.......They should spend more effort in promoting quality and ethical hunting.....True hunters must not let populations get out of hand but also true hunters must realize that it is not necessary to see deer every day nor that it is imperative to kill something....Remember, Hunting is an individual sport and not a competition.....
 
Randy

Hunt safe and courteous for a rewarding hunt.
Hunter Education Instructor since 1984

Randy,

Thank you for your insightful response to the Earn-A-Buck program thread. This is exactly the type of insight that is needed to assist all the members who have an interest in hunting whitetail in Wisconsin.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Here in Missouri, they have started a 4 point rule. In order to be a shooter a buck has to have 4 points on one side, it has a lot of hunters ticked off, but I supported it myself. I want to shoot bigger bucks and if I need meat, I'll shoot a doe. I didn't think that many people would be opposed to this ruling, most of the hunters I talk to say they don't want to shoot bucks, but in reality, the vast majority hate to let one walk regardless of size. I'm not sure how it has impacetd  illegal deer kills, due to lack of making sure of the rack before shooting, but my gut feeling is there are a few out there shooting regardless. I hunt private property and can't wait to see the difference in the size of bucks in the next couple of years, with teh quality of deer on the property already I think we'll be seeing a lot more good bucks. I really feel that people are going to like the rule in a couple of years, after it has shown a difference in the quality of bucks being taken on an average.

The first year they put in the forked antler restriction here I found 6 spikes shot illegally and left since they were not legal. I hate to say it but they were all found within fifty yards of a road. Since the rule has been in place the number of illegal kills has gone down but there are hunters who still shoot first and count points later. I have not seen the size of racks go up since everybody still shoots forks. I am not sure on how they did on the elk restrictions of 6 on one side but I am not sure they still have it in place.

"It is better to rule than serve"

ORIGINAL: Stevealb1948 Here in Missouri, they have started a 4 point rule. In order to be a shooter a buck has to have 4 points on one side, it has a lot of hunters ticked off, but I supported it myself. I want to shoot bigger bucks and if I need meat, I'll shoot a doe.

A very good decision on your part. I have lived in a state with the rule and it all ended with nicer bucks after a couple of years

ORIGINAL: Stevealb1948 most of the hunters I talk to say they don't want to shoot bucks, but in reality, the vast majority hate to let one walk regardless of size.

They will quickly see that patience pays if they follow the new rules.

ORIGINAL: Stevealb1948 I'm not sure how it has impacted illegal deer kills, due to lack of making sure of the rack before shooting, but my gut feeling is there are a few out there shooting regardless.

Unfortunately, you are going to have hunters that do not believe the rules follow them, if the majority of hunters follow this rule it will benefit everybody.

ORIGINAL: Stevealb1948 I really feel that people are going to like the rule in a couple of years, after it has shown a difference in the quality of bucks being taken on an average.

It will. People just need to get on board regarding the new rules and with your help it will happen.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

I have relatives that live in the CWD zones and have to deal with the EAB every yr. It just makse no sense. Outside the zones they should go to a doe only and let the bucks grow a bit and do away with the bonus/eradicate extra tags. I have seen so many littles ones in the last few yrs that the quality of the herd has gone down. When I order my license for Wi every yr, I get a free doe tag. Why?  I remember seeing that these added tags at one time only cost 2 bucks ea. For 20 bucks, you could fill everybodies freezer. Now they wonder why there are no deer.  What they want is to eradicate the deer period. The DNR has no clue anymore on how to manage their herds and will not listen to the people that pay for their salaries and most of their revenue. They are more worried now about the ground foliage than the herd.  My relatives one yr when they first started this crap, had a p/u truck load of deer. It had me so mad that I was shaking. They said they were told they could shoot anything. Well there goes the herd. Big ones,little ones, does, nubbin bucks whatever. Man I was ****ed.  Have not hunted with them since. Don't ever plan to in the future either.  MPO

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

MNbogboy, as a resident, has given a great explanation of the general thoughts/reasons of the E-a-B program. I have a good friend from there, just west of Madison, that hunts each year and basically complains of  abuse, as mneptune stated. There are so many, in that cold weather, that just kills a buck and hangs it in the barn until they can get a doe...if the opportunity presents itself. Otherwise, they will shoot the does if they see them first, they just aren't following the program rules. He hates it. He doesn't hunt that way himself, but he knows of plenty that do. I agree that the initial thought in an area with disease, would be to encourage more kills. The law only ended up encouraging more law-breakers.

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson

NAHC-L, NRA

Lessee if I can figger out how to link/post this foto ... this is the kind of White(tail?) deer we have around here in Nodak ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

Got them like that all around Wi now days also "O". Lots of the youtube vid's are from Wi. My uncle actually got 2 of them on video last sat when he was coming back from fishing. He had been seeing them in the same field now for several weeks and decided to take his vid. cam with him this time. The ones on youtube from Ft Atkinson are the ones he has on video.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

I'm actually glad to hear about this because now if a monster buck steps out in Buffalo County, Wisconsin when I'm hunting there this fall I won't have to worry about killing a doe first. 
 
It can be quite difficult to kill a doe first if you only have a week or so to hunt.  Now, if a guy has the whole season to chase deer then killing a doe shouldn't be all that hard, but it still can be difficult, especially if a monster buck steps out first and there's nothing between you and him except 20 yards of cool, crisp air!  Passing up a monster buck for no other reason than not killing a doe first is a lot to ask of anyone. 
 
On the other side of the equation, managing a deer herd the size that inhabits Wisconsin and trying to keep all of the rifle hunters, muzzle loader hunters, bowhunters and crossbow hunters happy has to be a daunting task.  I know I wouldn't want that job for all the money in the world.
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve