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Last spring the Black River Falls Area Hiking Club was formed and held their meeting-outing in Manchester Township.  Fallhall Glen hosted twenty adults and five children for a two-hour hike and tour of 'The Hill'.  The hike included walking and talking about the nature of the area. Several expressed pleasant surprise, during their first visit to the Township, at the beauty and variety of the forest and drama of Robinson Creek. The club asked to be allowed to return for more trail exploration and to be treated to an evening of stargazing. Our Township has many unique features to offer Jackson County residents and visitors.

Anti-Earn a Buck Campaign Goes to Madison

Two Wisconsin State Legislators, Senator Jim Holperin and Representative Ann Hraychuck, will hold a Joint Legislative Hearing to listen to the concerns of hunters on Wednesday, April 15th at 10:00 a.m. in Room 411 South of the State Capitol.  
The hearing is being called as a result of the state-wide outcry from hunters regarding the DNR's policies aimed at reducing the Wisconsin deer herd.  The policy that draws the most ire of hunters is Earn a Buck.  The rule requires that before a hunter can harvest an antlered deer he or she must shoot an antler less deer.  The intent of the rule is to increase the number of does killed and thereby to reduce the number of deer.  All of these rules are aimed to meet the DNR's goal of between sixteen and twenty-five deer per square mile of deer range.  That translates to one or one and one half deer per forty acres.  
A group of Jackson County hunters and landowners have been trying to convince the DNR to remove DMU 59C from the list of EAB Units.  According reports by hunters, the DNR's estimate of fifty two deer per square mile is significantly inflated.  Experienced hunters relate that the quality of deer hunting in Jackson County has declined dramatically in the last ten years.  Old time hunters tell of seeing herds of deer on the opening weekend.  Now, hunters talk about seeing few if any deer even when they hunt the entire season.

Small business owners in Jackson County are becoming increasingly concerned with the reduction in the number of deer hunters. Small stores, taverns, sport shops, restaurants, motels and gas stations have for years relied on the income generated by the large influx of hunters for all parts of the Midwest who were drawn by Jackson County's deer hunting.  Many wonder what will happen when the deer herd is reduced to such a level that deer hunters stop coming.  
Concerned hunters, small business owners and landowners are encouraged to contact their legislators and to attend the Joint Legislative Hearing on April 15th.  

Dear Editor,
A special thank you State Senator Jim Holperin and Representative Ann Hraychuck for their leadership on the Earn A Buck issue.  Senator Holperin and Representative Hraychuck have scheduled a Joint Legislative Hearing to gather input from hunters.  The Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15th at 10:00 a.m. in Room 411 South of the State Capital .
We have been trying to organize hunters and landowners in Jackson County to encourage the DNR to not include DMUs 55 and  59C in EAB this fall.  It seems DMU 55 will not be EAB but will be a Herd Control Unit.  I can only wonder what it was like in the old days when City Point was the center of deer hunting in Wisconsin and hunters saw herds of deer.  I have heard from a hunting camp of twelve experienced hunters who went the entire 2008 gun season without seeing a deer in DMU 55. There could be no more damning indictment of the DNR's policies.
It seems our efforts regarding 59C have fallen on deaf ears as the DNR continues to claim the deer herd in 59C is 106% above goal and therefore, EAB is necessary for 2009.  There are two problems with the DNR's statement regarding 59C.  One, the DNR's ability to accurately measure the deer herd is deemed to be acceptable only by the DNR itself.  I have talked to hundreds of hunters and none has told me that the deer herd is healthy in 59C.  Two, the DNR's goals are ludicrous.  According to our DNR Jackson County Wildlife Biologist, the DNR's goal would reduce the deer herd to as few as 16 deer per square mile.  That would be 1 deer per 40 acres.  For the small communities in our part of the state that rely on the income generated by deer hunters, the subsequent decline in the number of hunters that would be inevitable when the herd gets that small would be an economic disaster.
There is no other subject that unites deer hunters as much as Earn a Buck.  They hate it and think it has negatively affected deer hunting.  The level of frustration is sky high and climbing.   Hunters are placing great hope in this hearing.  It seems for the first time, someone is listening.  Whether even the legislature can affect DNR policy is yet to be seen.
If you would like to attend the Hearing, sign-up at Pearson's Sport Shop in Black River Falls.  We will try to coordinate transportation.
Alden J. "Buz" Hoefer Jackson County

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“Bow hunting under attack in WI ” 3/21/09

There is a question on the Conservation Congress Spring hearing that asks that bow hunting be an antler less only season and that bow hunting for bucks only be allowed on opening weekend and during 2 weeks of the rut. It is being labeled as an EAB alternative that is "More Fair" to gun hunters.

Please spread the word to all your members and beyond that they need to turn out for the CC spring hearing. Turn out and be heard!!!

QUESTION 57 – An EAB Alternative

The use of the Earn-a-Buck deer season in Wisconsin has been controversial, unpopular, and seemingly unfair to many hunters since its inception. Yet, EAB has proven to be effective at reducing high deer populations. It accomplishes this by tying the ability, opportunity, and desire for harvesting a buck with the biological necessity of harvesting antler less deer. Sadly, EAB does this on an individual hunter basis where one hunter may be able to hunt bucks for over 100 days, while another hunter may never have even one day’s chance.

Another way of utilizing the same “ability, opportunity, and desire for harvesting a buck” would be to implement a full-length antler less season with a shortened buck harvest period. Season opening weekends (and perhaps a two or three week rutting period) would always be open for buck harvest so everyone in the DMU has the same chance at that time for a buck every year that the program is in effect. Antler less harvest would be spurred on during the rest of the season by the desire to return to a full-season buck hunting opportunity again. Specific time periods and trigger points for the implementation of such a management tool could be developed cooperatively with the DNR. All hunters under this system would   and should  be treated equally.

In areas or DMUs of high over-goal deer populations  and  in an effort to provide   equal buck-hunting opportunity  to all hunters in those units, would you prefer the concept of shortening buck hunting opportunity by limiting the buck harvest equally for all hunters on a seasonal basis instead of limiting individual opportunity through the use of EAB?

Be sure to attend the hearing that will be held on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the (follow link for Map to:) Black River Falls Middle School , LGI Room, 1202 Pierce Street , Black River Falls

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"Earn a Buck in 55 & 59C" 3/12/09

A group of Jackson county deer hunters are circulating a petition to express their
displeasure with the earn a buck policy of the Wisconsin DNR. The purpose of the this
petition is to inform the DNR that we want the earn a buck provision eliminated from 
the deer management units 55 and 59C. If the DNR approves the earn a buck policy for 
these units in 2009 these petitioners will not be purchasing a 2009 gun deer license.
In addition to that they will close their land to all gun hunting for the 2009 season.

"The issue is not only the DNR's over estimating the size of the deer heard, witch any
serious hunter knows is incorrect, but it also is their goal for the desired size of
the heard. If the DNR is successful, through the earn a buck provisions, to reduce the
herd to these levels, it doesn't tale much imagination to discern what would happen
to deer hunting in Jackson County. Deer hunting as we have known it would disappear
and the impact to the economy of Jackson County would be catastrophic. It is our
conclusion that the only way to get the attention of the DNR is to affect their budget. 
That is why we are circulating this petition." (quote from: Buz Hoefer)

If you would like to support this petition you can sign it at Pearson's sport shop,
D&T rentals, and the Sunset tavern. You may also attend the DNR annual
deer herd status meeting held in Hixton on March 19th
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