Ive heard there is a citizen group that plays some role in natural resources management in Wisconsin. Is this true?

What part do they play?

Because I've seen the herd get wiped out for no reason. All the years we've dealt with it and no one has gotten sick. Because all the money the dnr wasted testing. It's still here and is not going away. From what I've seen and experienced, there is nothing to worry about.

We have the NRB which is the Natural Resources Board and what's called CDAC. County deer advisory committees.

NRB is stacked against Hunters. It has become a political arm is all.
I was genuinely excited about cdac's and the idea. Again most are totally stacked against hunters. Not good where this s t ate is now and going. Appointments are skewed to serve the dnr agenda. Truly sad. I belive we had made so much progress, but an extremely liberal governor and a more are liberalized dnr n all capacities is destroying our heri.

Agreed

Wisconsin guys,
That's a very sad deal ya'll got.

If I lived there I'd be making some enemies in the name of scientific wildlife management.

They'd get tired of me in short order as I wouldn't quit pushing....ever!

The biggest problem is people filling tags just because they have them. 3 for archery and 3 for gun is too much.

Deer population low?

Remember when CWD was first discovered in Wisconsin? There were dumpsters set everywhere for people to throw whole deer in. Unlimited tags with what seemed like and endless season. What a blackeye that created for hunters and what did it accomplish? Absolutely nothing. It was pure scare tactics and nothing more. The DNR came out and said we need to kill every deer in the CWD zone. Anyone with 2 brain cells knows that's impossible. The DNR in this state deserves a lot of scrutiny.

I know someone in the hunting industry that knows a warden and was told some thing he knew. All I'm gonna say

Wisconsin made some mistakes with CWD and lost public support.

I disagree that it was all "scare tactics."

CWD has caught most states off guard. Wildlife managers didn't know exactly what to do when it was detected in their state. Some states are still doing things that won't amount to anything and are bleeding public support.

CWD is here to stay. No stopping it. It can be slowed some but that will require a drop in deer numbers and most hunters dont want to hear that. Once a deer population reaches an estimated 10% to 15% CWD positive level...its doomed. Population will not be able to maintain itself and any hunting pressure.

States that do nothing about CWD will be criticized for "doing nothing." Its a no win situation for the deer, hunters, and wildlife agencies.

Please expand on your knowledge. Ain't no reason to keep secrets about this.

That issue isn't about knowledge or science per say . It's more about money and waste.

CWD has been around for 50+ years hasn’t it? If so it’s not very fast moving if it’ll wipe out an entire population. Think I’ve seen EHD wipe out more deer over the last 50yrs than CWD.

You and I may not live to see a CWD-caused detriment to our deer population as it is somewhat slow to progress, but our kids and grandkids might. Latest progression info I've seen is 1.5 miles per year average based on research from other states.

The Georgia CWD "outbreak" appears to be in a more advanced stage than first thought. Sad days are likely in the future for those of us that care about the whitetails.

It won't wipe out an entire population over a large area, but it can seriously decrease a local population (like large portions of counties) to where it cannot sustain losses from hunting, and other mortality causes. There will always (maybe) be deer ranging in from larger areas and attempting reproduction in low deer numbers areas so a total wipeout is unlikely and would have to be broad, but it won't be like we enjoy now. And, once CWD is well established in an area, as it seems to be in Lanier & Berrien counties, it is worrisome.

The doom and gloom scenario is not a joke and is a real possibility.

Denial of the potential threat to our state's deer by local hunters is surprising to me. Very few hunters here are participating in the free testing and head drop off locations. I guess human nature is not to worry about the house being on fire until your own hair is burning.

I disagree that it wipes out populations to the point it cant sustain hunting. Just look at the southern parts of WI where the prevalence rate is higher than anywhere in the state. Still thousands of deer harvested (and tested and positive) every year for the last 20 years. If it really wiped out populations there wouldn't be nearly as many deer harvested in those counties.

It's a real shame that it prevents hunters from baiting. Like it or not, baiting leads to more deer and other wildlife seen. Our deer camp dissolved because in the last 5 years that we couldn't bait, most guys haven't seen any deer. Not 1 single dang deer over 4 days hunting. This year between the 3 guys in our camp and 8 guys around us, 1 guy saw 1 fawn on opening day.

Thre aren't enough wardens to issue tickets for illegal baiting that those of us following the rules are at a severe disadvantage. Meanwhile any deer we do manage to shoot has a rumen full of corn when there isn't a corn field within 20 miles yet every gas station has pallets of corn, apples, beets and carrots for sale.

Your deer camp dissolved because you were not seeing any deer and you're blaming that on not being allowed to hunt over bait?

You contradicted yourself. You stated that CWD doesn’t have a detrimental effect on the population then said you have no deer in past 5 years.

Well...it sure appeared to have ended tlguy's deer camp.

Not believing what CWD may lead to won't make it go away. Agencies are searching for a proactive approach and there appears to not be one. It's basically a form of environmental contamination that isn't going away and can't be stopped/eradicated...whether folks believe it or not.

I don't have a dog in this fight Swamp, but I'm not real sure he did. When you picture deer camp you probably picture YOUR deer camp with acres of manicured food plots, bedding habitat, ect. Where I grew up, up north, deer camp consisted of MAYBE 100 acres shared between 6 guys... but often just 3-4 acres close to state land. In either event, whatever wasn't a "deer camp" was 60' tall evergreen trees on state land. But let's look at the first scenario. 3-4 100 acre deer camps in a section or 2... none with food plots or other natural improvements... two illegally baiting and 2 not... nothing but old growth pine all around you... where are the deer gonna be?