DATE: December 16, 2002 FILE REF: 4100

TO: Darrell Bazzell

FROM: Randy Stark

SUBJECT: 2002 Deer Gun Season Report

Conditions and Pressure - Hunting pressure was lower than past years nearly statewide throughout the season. Wardens in the Woodruff area were the exception, commenting that it appeared that an increased number of hunters were in that area of northern Wisconsin. Both wardens and hunters reported an obvious decrease in hunting pressure on both public and private property. The trend continued throughout the week, and pressure dropped to very little in certain areas by the end of the season.

Opening weekend conditions were near ideal for the morning as the temperatures were cool and clear. During the week weather remained cool with high temperatures in the 20's and 30's. Thursday saw a dip in the temperatures followed by a cold and windy closing weekend with winds in the 10-20 mph range. Cold blustery weather on the final weekend kept many home watching the Packers/Bears game. In the CWD zones, hunter's attitudes were that they still have plenty of time to hunt in the zone so why be miserable.

Snow cover in the state during the nine day season ranged from zero in the southern portions of the state to 12" in the Lake Superior Snow Belt.

Access to private lands continues to become an increasingly difficult issue. It appears that as it becomes more difficult for hunters to get permission to hunt private lands, they purchase land themselves for hunting. They, in turn, do not give permission either. In Buffalo County, it has progressed to the state where some landowners are being extremely unreasonable about allowing someone to enter their land for a few yards to retrieve dead deer. This is a cycle that is going to continue to become worse. We need to work with the deer hunting organizations to develop a program to increase access to private land.

CWD - Most hunters contacted were not overly concerned with CWD. Many said those that did not buy a license were "fence sitters" and were just looking for an excuse to quit. Even with all the public relations and information available, some hunters are still uninformed about CWD. Wardens fielded many questions and inquiries regarding CWD. Wardens reported that CWD was frequently discussed but did not seem to be of much concern to the hunters in the field. A majority of hunters did not feel that CWD has made it to other areas of Wisconsin, and those who did feel CWD was in other parts of the state were not overly concerned because of the fact that it has been in Colorado for so many years and it has not caused health problems there. Interestingly there was one exception to this general rule. In the West Central Region the number of Hmong hunters in western Wisconsin appeared to be down substantially this year. When talking to Hmong hunters, they advised wardens that their fellow Hmong hunters are scared of CWD. This could perhaps indicate the need for more targeted information dissemination specifically tailored to the Hmong Commuity is Wisconsin regarding CWD.

Some hunters did not want their deer sampled since it looked healthy and the sample sites were a few miles further away than different registration stations. Even when wardens explained that the whole sampling effort was being done to ensure that CWD was not present in the area, some hunters still were reluctant to get their deer sampled.

Many hunters believe CWD may have been around longer than the DNR realizes. Most hunters agreed that there was less of a "before the hunt excitement" than in past hunts. Some felt that this may have been caused because their significant others/spouses had CWD concerns and were unwilling to consume venison. Overall though, it seemed that once people got beyond the psychological hurdles that CWD created, once out in the field they enjoyed themselves and were glad they continued to hunt.

Baiting was the issue which wardens prepared to hear the most about from hunters in the field. Surprisingly, based on warden field contacts, the vast majority of hunters in the field indicated they like the baiting ban and hoped it would remain in place in the future. That is not to say that there were not hunters and specific groups who were very upset that they were not able to bait and complained that it negatively impacted their ability to see and shoot deer. However, in the final analysis the overwhelming majority of hunters contacted by wardens in the field where the topic was discussed favored the ban. Many of the discussions that took place between hunters and wardens had themes similar to the following comments by a hunter in northern Wisconsin:

"..In the past 10 years deer have been found where the most baiting and feeding was taking place. This year deer were found in the best deer habitat and their movements were natural, being driven by that habitat and the desire to feed and rest as opposed to where they could find the biggest pile of corn and apples. No baiting leveled the playing field for all hunters rather than tipping the scales in favor of those who own larger tracts of land and place huge quantities of feed/bait on the landscape."

Hunters confused by tagging options - A majority of hunters were complaining about the confusing tagging options, and this appeared to be the predominate and reoccurring complaint.

Unfortunately, a different outcome - Wardens Windt and Pfeiffer responded to a call from the Iron County Sheriff's Department to assist them in looking for an ice fisherman who had not returned from fishing on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage. Both wardens met with the Iron County Sheriff's Department on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage early Saturday morning. The Sawyer County airboat had been called, and Wardens Windt, Pfeiffer, and Iron County Recreation Officer Voyer, as well as the two-man crew from the Sawyer County airboat crew looked all day Saturday for the lost fisherman. They started looking again on Sunday and around noon found the over-turned ATV frozen in a major east-west ice crack. The victim's body was located near the ATV.

Hunt for the Hungry - There were a number of hunters who indicated a desire to donate deer to this program. In one case a Milwaukee area man hunting in Northern Door County found a trophy 10-point buck dead on the property he and his family hunt. The man donated the rack to Whitefish Dunes State Park for educational purposes. The meat from the carcass was donated to "Feed My People" food shelter in Sturgeon Bay.

Family Affair - There are many Wisconsin families that recognize the benefits of a hunting heritage. Wardens on the Wautoma team reported that there were several families, including wives and daughters, out hunting and they all were having a good time just being together.

Warden Mike Green (Sauk County) talked with several hunters who had brought their kids out for their first hunt and had bagged deer. Several adults commented they didn't even care if they harvested deer themselves as long as the kids got one.

Helping Hand: Warden Hochhausen reported contacting an older gentleman out hunting. This hunter explained of how he had harvested a deer the day before. He was having trouble trying to load the deer into his truck. Another hunter he did not know stopped and helped him load the deer into the truck. This clearly helped make the experience a better one for the hunter.

A couple of incidents did occur that warrant special mention. We did have a hunter fall from a treestand and die from head injuries. We also had a situation with a couple of hunters shooting at a pheasant and an injury occurred and another situation where a hunter was hit by a shotgun slug with a bruise as the result. While these are not totaled within our 9-day deer season accident totals the public needs to know they did happen.

In all, this year was fairly normal with regard to hunting incidents. During the opening weekend we recorded nine incidents. Those two days usually account for half of all the incidents for the season. By the season's end we recorded 19 incidents and one of them may be removed after the investigation is complete.

I'd like to congratulate all the safe hunters that were out this season and also say thanks to those 4,000-plus volunteer hunter education instructors who continue to assist us in providing the necessary information and training to our hunters in order to be safe and responsible.

There were 1240 arrests during the deer gun season, a decrease (7.5%) from 2001, when 1340 arrests were made. This year was the lowest number of arrests since 1976 (see Graph # 2 below). This year continued the downward trend in juvenile citations with only 28 issued. It is felt that this is a direct result of the hunter education program and the work of over 4000 plus volunteer instructors.

Overall, arrests are down, consistent with the drop in hunting pressure. Some trends appear in examination of individual arrest categories. Arrests for hunting over illegal bait dropped this year, reflecting the baiting ban. It must be remembered that the arrests from 2001 reflect arrests for too much bait and other violations when baiting was legal. This year, the arrests reflect any use of bait. In reality, this low number of baiting arrests indicates good compliance with the baiting ban. The increase in arrests for hunting with improper license are largely the result of earn a buck violations encountered. The most common citations continue to be transporting loaded or uncased firearms, with 229 citations issued, down from 249 in 2001.

Of particular interest is the fact that since 1976 the number of juvenile citations have generally declined. Juveniles accounted for 13 percent of the total arrests in 1976 and for only 2.2 percent in 2002. It is felt that the hunter education program is responsible for most of this decline.

SEIZURES: Illegal deer seizures numbered 172 this year, up from 150 last year .

Where Do You Really Live..MDC says I don't think so - Warden Ben Nadolski (Waupun) and Deputy Chief Tom Thoresen (Madison) contacted two hunters hanging up a deer in front of a house. Both hunters had Wisconsin identification cards and displayed Wisconsin resident hunting licenses but were driving a truck with Illinois plates. A records check run on the Mobile Data Computer uncovered an outstanding warrant from Pennsylvania for one of the hunters. Investigation further revealed that one of the hunters was a resident of Illinois and had purchased resident deer licenses this year and last. The hunter was cited for license fraud and posted $435.00 in cash and was released.

Reason Not To Be Seen? - Warden Dave Allen (Kewaunee) responded to a complaint of 2 persons hunting on state land in Kewaunee County without wearing any blaze orange. Warden Allen made contact with the hunters and found only one of the hunters in possession of a license. Through further investigation, one of the shotguns was listed as stolen out of Los Angeles.

When it Rains, It Pours - Warden Mike Neal (Sister Bay) initiated an investigation that began in Peninsula State Park. One of the Rangers there had contacted Warden Neal regarding someone that had possibly shot at a deer from the road in Peninsula Park. Initially a loaded (with buckshot) shotgun was found inside the van of the suspect vehicle. After conducting interviews, it was found that the five individuals had previously been hunting in Newport State Park and only one individual had a hunting license, and nobody had a permit to hunt in Peninsula State Park. Charges pending for hunting deer without a license, hunting after hours, transporting a loaded uncased firearm in a vehicle, hunting from the roadway, and hunting deer with buckshot .

You got me . . . - Last winter Warden Todd Wippermann (Clintonville) received a tip of an individual who hunts illegally with a rifle in a shotgun area in NW Waupaca County. The information indicated that this suspect even constructed a hidden compartment in his permanent stand for his rifle and would show his shotgun to wardens if checked in the field. WardensWade Romberg (Madison) and Wippermann contacted the suspect who was hunting with a Browning shotgun (which he displayed) and of course a loaded, uncased .270 Remington rifle which he had hidden. Even the violator complimented the wardens on his arrest!

Couldn't Buy a License - Wardens Dave Algrem (Wautoma) and Byron Goetsch (Regional Warden) observed a hunter in a stand on property that Warden Algrem had been to on a number of prior occasions (i.e. felons with firearms, untagged deer, deer shot and tagged with improper unit tags etc.) As contacts were made with a couple of hunters on stands, about 6 others were found to be driving deer to these 2 men. Upon finishing the drive one of the drivers spotted Warden Goetsch at a distance and headed quickly back into the pines, which had just been driven. Warden Goetsch pursued him and eventually contacted him as the driver of a pickup truck. This hunter originally claimed he was not hunting but after further investigation admitted he was using the backtag and rifle of another and had hidden them in the pines. He was behind on child support and was as he put it, was "red flagged" and was unable to purchase a license. This hunter was also had 2 body only warrants for his arrest from Portage County. Charged criminally with hunting deer without a license.

Cabin Baiter Caught - A landowner called Warden Eric Grudzinski (Wausaukee) to report finding a deer lying in the woods near his home that appeared to have been shot and left lay. Upon locating the deer, Warden Grudzinski saw a bait pile behind a cabin through the woods that had a light shining on the bait pile. Warden Grudzinski with the assistance of Deputy Warden Tom Bahti (Green Bay) eventually established through investigation that the cabin owner killed four deer with a .22 magnum as the deer fed at the bait pile. All four deer were killed with the aid of artificial light during the closed season.

Some people just don't get it...Warden Nathan Kroeplin received a phone call from a property owner stating that a hunter had discarded a buck with broken off antlers on his land. The landowner also stated that he observed the same individual hunting on his property without permission. Kroeplin went and talked with the individual who dumped the deer and found that it was a car killed deer that the hunter had picked up and attempted to take to a registration station so he could receive his buck tag. After talking with the hunter it was found that the individual was a convicted felon and could not be in possession of a firearm. Wardens Kroeplin and John Glennon also found that the individual's driving privileges were revoked. The individual admitted to Kroeplin and Glennon that he had been driving on several occasions over the last couple of days. The individual was issued one citation for littering, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and operating after revocation violations were referred to the Dane County Sheriff's Office.

Headlight hunters.Warden Mike Cross and Deputy Warden Greg Stacey (land version) were patrolling the area east of Jefferson at about 7:00 PM on Tuesday when a suspicious vehicle was observed in the field. For approximately 15 minutes the wardens watched as the vehicle slowly drove around the field edges with the headlights on. As the vehicle exited the field the wardens contacted the vehicle. Two males occupants were found to have an uncased and loaded .22 rifle inside the vehicle.

More headlighters...Wardens Joe Frost and Chuck Horn observed a vehicle shining a field with its headlights. The vehicle was contacted when it stopped in a different field and a loaded gun was found in the vehicle.

What else could be wrong...Wardens Mike Nice and Gervis Myles contacted four hunters in the CWD Management zone coming back to the farm after dark. Upon contact, all the hunters had loaded un-cased firearms in the vehicles. An untagged anterless deer was found in one truck. The individuals were also shining along the ridge road as they were coming back from hunting. Charges pending.

Dangerous work..Warden Jill Schartner (Green County) investigated a call of shots being fired near Brodhead on Airport Road at 5AM. The suspect vehicle was a white Cadillac. Schartner located the vehicle and upon investigation determined there were 3 uncased guns in it: a 9mm, a 22 revolver and an AK47. Three of the subjects were charged for felons in possession of a firearm, transporting uncased firearms, and discharging a firearm within 50' of the road center.

Persistence pays off..Warden Dave Youngquist (Iowa County) received a complaint in eastern Iowa County of a hunter in a box type stand in a field who shot at a deer 15-20 minutes after the close of the season on opening day. Youngquist worked the complaint the next day and got up to the stand undetected and found the hunter in the stand 21 minutes after the close of season with his 30-06 loaded. The hunter claimed he was not hunting.

Oooops....Warden Casey Krueger contacted an individual along a County Road who was wearing only half of his blaze orange suit. Upon contact it was discovered that he had blood on his hands and after further questioning, stated he had shot two deer. Krueger and Deputy Warden Brett Noordhof entered the woods and discovered both deer were untagged.

I only had two Martinis... A hunter checked on the opening morning in the Vernon Marsh was initially observed by Warden Zeihn walking into the marsh with no backtag displayed. Investigation revealed the subject had been drinking. The subject stated he had only two martinis the night before. Subsequent arrest and testing yielded a .21 BAC on the intoxilyzer.

Slow learner...An individual was cited by Wardens Disher and Bucklew for hunting off the road after shooting the decoy at approx. 10:30 am. Sealander cited the same subject at 2:00 the same afternoon for transporting an uncased gun.

Wrong color..Warden Martin from Webster and Recreational Safety Warden Mike Smith apprehended an individual who had shot an albino 6-point buck.

Who else is coming back to camp....Wardens Peery and Rivers were working in the Blue Hills area just South of Sawyer County in deer management unit 18. While working the area, they contacted five men dragging 3 untagged deer (a buck and 2 does) and a doe with a T-Zone tag attached (18 is not a T-Zone) back to camp. Charges pending.

Should'nt have baiting in first place.Upon investigating an illegal baiting complaint, Warden's Burns (Gordon) and Vogelsang (Ashland) determined the suspect shined and shot a large buck over illegal bait pile and tagged it with his wife's tag.

If You Want to Get Caught, Return to the Scene of the Crime - On Thanksgiving Day, at dusk, a man watched from his kitchen window as a pickup truck was operated back and forth on the County Highway near his home. The road hunter was apparently watching for deer to enter the roadside fields. Suddenly, brake lights appeared with the arrival of about eight antlerless deer. The homeowner opened his kitchen window in time to hear the single rifle shot. The truck sped away. Later, at about 9:00 p.m., the homeowner, taking a break from viewing a movie with his family, watched from his bathroom window as the suspect truck was driven onto the roadside field. The beam of a flashlight danced on the field as the suspect shooter located the illegal deer he had shot at dusk. The homeowner and his son ran for the family car as his wife dialed the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. Before the truck disappeared into the night, the homeowner was able to record two numbers from a rear license plate obscured by two ball hitch covers. On Saturday morning, Warden Scott Thiede (Osseo) viewed registration stubs at a deer registration station near the shooting. The name of a local man (a suspect) appeared on two stubs for antlerless deer reportedly killed on Friday. Thiede left the registration station and immediately located the truck with the obscured license plate at the suspect's residence. With the help of the concerned homeowner and good interviewing skills, a written statement was received from the shooter.

This is Going to Cost How Much? - After receiving numerous complaints of various deer hunting violations over the past several years about a deer camp in the Town of Summit, Wardens Tom Jodarski (Mauston) and Tim Lawhern (Bureau) set up a surveillance of the area. Jodarski dropped Lawhern off on foot to watch some tree stands on one area of the property while Jodarski set up near the buildings. Lawhern observed a hunter exit a tree stand, go into the woods and moments later came out dragging a deer. The hunter then left the deer by the tree stand and went to get his vehicle. Upon returning with his vehicle, he was shocked to see Lawhern standing next to his untagged deer. The hunter was not too upset when Lawhern informed him that he was going to receive a citation for failure to tag his deer. The hunter responded that he had received a citation from the Wardens several years ago for not wearing orange and the fine was $72. He asked Lawhern if this fine was also $72. When Lawhern informed him that the fine was $499, the hunter gasped in disbelief and was speechless. Meanwhile Jodarski had also contacted a hunter who had shot a deer that was not tagged. When Jodarski informed the hunter that he was going to receive a citation and that the fine was $499, the hunter became very worried about breaking the news to his wife. He was supposed to be in Illinois at a wedding. He also told Jodarski that those European women were not too understanding about their husbands spending large sums of money on fines instead of on their wives.

We just scouting.. Warden Matt Weber (Necedah) was working an area when he observed a vehicle being driven slowly down the road after the closing of hunting hours. The operator positioned the vehicle completely sideways in the roadway to illuminate two fields with the headlights. Weber stopped the vehicle and found two rifles positioned between the driver and passenger. The passenger was holding onto an open box of 30-06 shells. The passenger stated they were patterning deer for the upcoming late bow season.

The Gift - Warden Steve Dewald (La Crosse) rounded a bend a half mile from his home one afternoon and observed an 8 point buck with a 19 inch spread crossing the road with a crippled hindquarters. Dewald went to the landowner's home and advised him "I have a golden opportunity for you." The retired landowner had not shot a deer yet and was anxious for his chance at the buck, which had bedded down in some high grass. The warden took the landowner to the deer and pointed out the buck's location. The landowner fired 7 shots at the deer all at a distance of less than 40 yards, without touching a hair. An hour later the landowner had a friend come out to help him hunt down the buck. After another 4 shots, the landowner's friend finally got the deer, which they took to the warden's home to register.

You're Going Where You Can't Endanger Someone-Jail! - Warden Brian Knepper (Greenwood) reported a very serious incident concerning a subject shooting off the road and nearly striking a family washing dishes inside a house after Thanksgiving dinner. The witnesses were upset because the hunter had shot at two deer in their back yard near their swing-set. The witnesses pointed to a dirt mound in the back yard and stated that two deer had been standing right in front of the dirt mound when the hunter shot. The estimated distance from the house to the dirt mound is approximately 12-15 yards. The witnesses stated that they heard the round come whistling by the house and they feared for their safety. Knepper had caught the shooter last year poaching a deer on private property. The subject had shot off the road, failed to wear blaze orange and back-tag, and failed to immediately tag the deer. You could say the subject is a repeat customer this year. Knepper arrested the subject and he was booked into the Clark County Jail for endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon. Knepper seized the rifle and another deer the subject shot off the road earlier in the day.

Technology in Action.. Wardens Scott Bowe (Cornell) and Deputy Warden Jason Prahl were suspicious of a vehicle with Minnesota plates. Bowe used his mobile data computer (MDC) to find the registered owner of the vehicle and then to find that the owner of the vehicle had purchased a resident deer hunting license. Bowe then used the MDC to check the suspect for Wisconsin and Minnesota driver's licenses. Bowe found the suspect had moved out of state and now held a valid Minnesota driver's license. Bowe called the Automated License Issuance System and checked to see if the individual had purchased any licenses in Minnesota. Bowe found the man had purchased a Minnesota resident small game license in 2002. When Bowe and Prahl contacted the hunter in the woods, the hunter admitted being a Minnesota resident for about two years.

Wardens reported a high level of voluntary compliance with the new baiting regulations by hunter. Many wardens also expressed that the high monetary penalty associated with baiting violations likely helped hold baiting to a minimum. Eighteen hotline complaints were received during the week regarding baiting violations. In total, 87 baiting citations and 28 feeding citations were issued statewide. Nearly all people contacted in violation of the baiting ban knew the law and chose to bait anyway. As would be expected, some went to extremes to conceal the fact they were baiting. The case below illustrates this point:

On Sunday of the nine-day season, Warden John Krull (Superior) got a complaint regarding illegal baiting. The caller said the people had dumped shelled corn near each of the stands on their property. Krull checked the property on Monday and found no hunters, but sampled and photographed the corn. Approaching the property on Tuesday, he could see that hunters occupied three of the stands. As these hunters saw the warden vehicle, people began exiting the stands. One person was observed to jump from about 12 feet and run. Krull apprehended one person during the foot pursuit and that person provided the others' names. Eventually, all five of the hunters were cited.

Registration Issues - More time needs to be spent with the registration stations on registration procedures. Wardens received calls of stations registering car-kill deer and issuing earn-a-buck tags, advising hunters they could buy licenses during the regular gun season, registering bucks with doe tags on them, and issuing buck tags to individuals who brought in a buck and a doe each with a doe tag on them.

Numerous complaints came in about CWD Management Zone registration stations not marking does with the required ear marking to prevent one doe from being registered multiple times to earn buck tags including stations being operated by DNR staff. There were also complaints of registration stations just giving out buck tags without first registering a doe.

Tag Confusion - Once again there is widespread confusion among our deer hunters regarding tagging issues. Most wardens continue to comment that hunters are confused with the wording on the tags. Many wardens reported finding deer tagged with inappropriate tags. The word 'ANTLERLESS" should be removed from the regular kill tag. Providing T-zone tags to all hunters also confused hunters who put T-zone tags on antlerless deer outside of T-zones. Many hunters advised that if the DNR wants people to harvest multiple deer they need to simplify the tagging options. The size and similar appearance of carcass tags was noted as an enforcement problem. The small tags are difficult to read and check for validation once they are applied to a string and attached to a deer. Bonus tags issued at terminals resembled regular tags and Zone T tags. Perhaps the bonus or antlerless tags could be printed with a larger font to better differentiate them. Deer carcass tags also seemed to be confusing for many hunters. Many hunters still had problems figuring out which tag they could use, even with the new chart in the regulations.

Miscellaneous - A wolf was found shot in Juneau County near the Necedah area during the deer gun season. This is the 4^th wolf found shot in the Necedah area during the last 3 deer seasons.

Media Contacts - Wardens throughout the state made hundreds of contacts with the media during the deer gun season. These contacts included, TV, radio and print media.

Computer Technology and Information Management Systems - The recent updates made to the Mobile Data Computer system have improved warden investigative ability and officer safety. Several good cases are being made, and wardens are safer while doing their jobs due to this technology. It is important the warden service keep pace with this technology in the future.

In closing, the traditional nine-day deer season once again provided outdoor recreation to thousands of Wisconsin residents and nonresidents from many other states. The hunting heritage continues in Wisconsin, despite the challenges presented by CWD.

I am extremely proud of the deer hunters in Wisconsin, the warden service, and all Department staff who joined together to make this a successful and historical deer season.