They’ll be counting the deer in Wisconsin for the next two months. For decades the survey of the state’s whitetail herd was a task for Department of Natural Resources staff. But since 2009, the public has been in invited to participate.
“We have them report the number of bucks, does and does with fawns that they see during this time, and the location of their sightings,” said Brian Dhuey, the DNR surveys coordinator. “It just helps us get a feel for what kind of reproduction we had that past year.”
This year, 14,000 deer hunters were selected at random and sent a letter inviting them to participate in Operation Deer Watch. But you don’t need an invitation to participate. Anyone is welcome to participate. Daily observations can be tracked using a tally sheet that is available at dnr.wi.gov, search keywords “deer watch.”
Operation Deer Watch begins today and runs through the end of September.
