The Natural Resources Board is seeking the public's input on potential alternatives to Earn-a-Buck to control the deer population.
The Special Advisory Committee for Hunter and Landowner Support of Effective Alternative Deer Population Control Methods has launched a website, deerherd.editme.com . Interested parties can log on there right now to get information about the options, but, on Saturday, the committee will post a survey seeking opinions on alternatives ranging from adding a 4-day, October hunt to expanding the November hunt to 16 days.
The public can begin taking the survey this weekend, and there will be a tight timeline.
“This advisory committee will have to have a report to the Natural Resources Board by August,” explains the DNR's Jason Fleener, “so, there's kind of a tight time line as far as public comment.”
The unpopular Earn-a-Buck program has been nixed outside of the CWD zones, but wildlife officials still believe the herd is too big in some areas of the state.
“In some northern Wisconsin units, populations are currently at population goals, or even below. In much of the farmland regions in Wisconsin, populations are still above population goals,” Fleener says.