Too many people applying for too few jobs is a valid point. I applied for a position recently that had 140 total applicants. I scored 26th put of 140 and wasn't offered an interview.

The way state jobs work in Wisconsin, your application is reviewed by a panel of folks in that same classification or something similar, usually consisting of 3 people. They go through each cover letter and resume and score them against the criteria set forth in the job posting. If your cover letter and resume hit on topics A through I, you get 9 points. If you don't have F or G, you get 7 points. Here's the kicker, if you're missing A, B or C, you're not even minimally qualified even if you have D through I. And the panel isn't supposed to assume you can do C even if they can infer it's one of your duties in a role they know has that responsibility. The 3 panelists only have to agree on which category you fall into, 1-3 points, 4-6 points or 7-9 points. Those scores are combined with some other factors to rank you against other applicants. Then the hiring supervisor can ask for a certain top percentage or just applicants with a certain total score or above. They don't even see the resume and cover letters until that list of top applicants is created, and sometimes they don't see resumes and cover letters at all! That just gets your foot in the door and you have to wow with the interview. Interviews are typically done by a panel of 2-4 folks in higher classifications in that program.

I'm not saying biases don't exist, because I have heard of certain gender supervisors who look to only hire those of the same gender, even going so far as to leak the interview questions to them so they have a leg up. But supervisors are out of the loop until the interview list is created.

I don't try to make a big deal of it on here for obvious reasons, but I am employed by the Wisconsin DNR. So I hear all the complaints, not just at work, but at bars and in groups of friends, especially when folks don't know or forget I work for the DNR. I also know a lot of people doing great work in our agency so I like to hope that most people talking trash about the DNR are referring to a select few folks they've had personal issues with in the past. But deep down I know some people just don't like the DNR because they're the DNR. Kinda like how some folks hate trappers just because we're trappers.

All there about now is money! That's why they still have a lottery just put kill tags up for sale. License has been going up now for years they do nothing right for the sportman. And the fishing regs change every years it seems like so do the bag limets.

Guss, license prices haven't gone up since 2005, except a bear application is now $4.50 instead of $3 and bobcat is $6 up from $3. Nonresident prices went up a little, but resident prices have been stagnant and downright cheap if you ask me.

Edit: waterfowl stamp also went from $7 to $12.

Not sure which tags you think that currently have a lottery the DNR could offer over the counter and not have a poop show on their hands when that sale happens. Anything with a lottery is done that way because there are fewer tags available than there are applicants.

Lots of the fishing reg changes come from the spring hearings, especially the bag limits. Imagine thinking 10,000 lakes could all be managed with the same season, length and bag limits.

Danged if you do, danged if you don't. Too much regulation or not enough conservation. Can't have it both ways.

I got a BS degree in Wildlife Ecology from UW Madison with thoughts of becoming a game biologist. Never did happen. Drafted and came home and hundreds of applications for positions in the early 70s was the norm. As stated above Doctor degree candidates and me with a BS. Glad I shifted to Agriculture and found a niche teaching farmers. Our DNR takes a lot of guff and some is warrented and much is not in my opinion. We disliked the administrative rule system so we went partisian with our politics and there is more complaining today than ever before. WI used to be the go to state for the highest quality researchers and they left in droves when the DNR got really political and other states could grab them. Wildlife management is not a "political or partisian" issue it is a science issue and we have decided that science does not really matter when it comes to deciding when, how or how many of our species should or should not be harvested or hunted. There is always politics in every aspect of life, private or public and years ago there were attempts to minimize the politics where today it is the model in WI have chosen to use.

Bryce

Back to complaining about our Department of No Results

Need a wolf season
Need more cat tags
Need daily check of body grip traps removed
Need a stop to deer baiting

Yes Nathan,

but in your case, you are an exception to the rule.

You weren't a draft dodging, pot smoking, hippie
from the 1960's and peta enthusiast .

You did good work when you were here in New York State,
but I suspect you got fed up with the Department Of ENCON
politics and upper level Bureau of Wildlife's management
of fur bearer population that were not based on science.

I'm not painting you with my broad brush !!!

Kentucky in my opinion has it good. I tend to look back decades on how it was and how it is instead of what I think a lot of younger people do, judge them over a couple years.. I remember when I was a boy there were basically zero deer, turkey, elk, bears, otters and very few bobcats. Now, mainly due to management decisions all are pretty plentiful. Like Alabama, emphasis tends to be on deer, elk, turkey and some fish. Those are mainly what pays the bills. Last few years several have wanted to declare year round seasons on furbearers due to turkey decline. I was against this and always said it’s mainly habitat and wet springs or poor hatches. Turkey hunters were going ballistic. Now last two turkey seasons we’ve had near record harvests and I’m hearing of poults everywhere this year. If we’d have jumped on that “ kill ‘em all nest predator” mentality we’d have been stuck with that. We had lots of coons, skunks and possums forever. It didn’t just start in the last five years. People have a tendency to want to make or complain about wildlife issues based only on what they see on their farm instead of statewide data and just think back two or three years.. I’d think animal populations naturally ebb and flow in different areas and their home area will roll back around.
We also have it good in that wildlife management decisions are not made by ignorant politicians. Those of you in states that have that, or ballot initiatives I feel for you.
I’ll add, small game requires a lot more landowner cooperation and land practices than the big game and we don’t have rats or fox anymore. I don’t think they could do much about that even if they wanted to. They did start collecting rat carcasses last year but it’s about a nationwide problem.
If you live and look around 50 plus years you’re bound to see positive and negative changes.

Walleyed

I know you were not talking about me. I completely agree there are serious issue sin higher education.

I loved my time in NY. Lots of great people there. The NYSTA was very welcoming to me, even though I am sure I did a few things that everyone didn't agree with. I miss NY in may ways.
Nathan

Does that include food plots. That's still baiting. What about urine scents or drip bags? Why is baiting bad?

To me the list of things that are posted regarding WI are political and that is one of the reasons we are where we are at as everyone feels their position is the only correct one. If we are going to continue to only campaign for our narrow views on very specific topics then to me the DNR is the only real agency or source that can slow the progress of the partisian and political shift we are making. Not all of that is good or what many would like but then better then even more politics. I can't believe we were so ignorant about political power and we wanted to get rid of administrative rule and that format and not being aware that once you got political it was not going natonwide. We are getting the wildlife management right now that we probably deserve. With budget constraints there will be even fewer boots on the ground staff to help move management forward.

Bryce

I see at least two folks complaining about no wolf tags as if thats the wisconsin DNR fault....really need to educate themselves on some topics.

IMO only dumping corn on the ground, sometimes year around should be banned. In the northern forest region it’s changing the deers behavior to where they don’t yard up anymore. The only people I would feel sorry for is the folks making money on selling corn. A food plot is no different that a farmers field imo.

Yeah. We know. It's a federal thing.

Why educate ourselves when the fine folks here will tell us how stupid we are, an without educating us with their knowledge

Ifin I was smarter I would say how bad the past seasons sucked and give the reason, it’s much easier being uneducated.