Frederica Freyberg:
This week, the DNR released its report on Wisconsin’s nine-day gun deer season, where a total of 191,550 deer were harvested. That’s the lowest deer kill in 30 years. More than 90,000 bucks were shot. That’s down roughly 8%. And there was a 21% decline in the antlerless harvest. This coincided with a decrease in antlerless permits as the DNR plans to increase deer numbers in the northern zone. In its report the DNR says the deer decline in this hunt matches similar trends in Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. Those numbers were collected from some 600 deer registration stations across Wisconsin. Next year the DNR could have those numbers much faster because it will change the way hunters register their deer. But as Here and Now reporter, Zac Schultz, explained, not everyone is happy with the new plan.
Zac Schultz:
Wisconsin’s nine-day deer hunt is filled with traditions, one of which is about to undergo a major change. Starting next season, hunters will no longer have to register their deer with the DNR in person. That means they won’t have to take their trophy buck down to the rural gas station or corner bar, fill out the registration slip and wait for the bartender to put a metal tag on their deer.
Brian Blecker:
Ready to register one?
Zac Schultz:
That has Brian Blecker a little concerned.
Brian Blecker:
By taking that deer registration out of the local establishments, you’re removing that and taking some of that tourism out of the local establishments that have been doing it for years and years.
Zac Schultz:
Blecker owns the Bellinger Sportsman’s Club in Taylor County. He says being a registration station increases traffic at his country bar.
Brian Blecker:
Miller Lite coming right up.
As the bar owner, we get people coming in the door, and a lot of them will come in and have a soda or a drink, which helps to increase our sales.
Zac Schultz:
You don’t even have to be a hunter who bagged a deer to enjoy going to the bar and seeing what everyone else got.
Brian Blecker:
They come in and everybody wants to go outside and see what the deer is, especially if it’s a nice one. And it’s that whole environment of getting around your friends and sharing your deer stories.
Zac Schultz:
Under the new system established by the DNR, hunters will be able to register their deer over the phone or online. When done, hunters get a confirmation code they need to write on their tag. The DNR ran a pilot program this year with a small group of hunters. The online process only took a few minutes. And the deer never needed to go anywhere. That has Brian wondering how he can get hunters to still show up at the bar. Big buck contests and a photo on the wall may not be enough.
Brian Blecker:
What we’re going to be offering next year is come back in here, register your deer, I’ll have the computer set up, we’ll do everything online. We want to keep that touch and feel or, you know, the social part of it. We want to keep that part of it.
Search Episodes
News Stories from PBS Wisconsin
02/03/25
‘Here & Now’ Highlights: State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, Jane Graham Jennings, Chairman Tehassi Hill

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