Hunters and DNR meet to go over 2009 harvest

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) – Marathon County hunters packed into John Muir middle school's lecture hall last night looking for answers from the DNR in their annual deer management meetings.

Biologist Courtney Schaeffer told the crowd that harvest numbers were down across the state, but that was in line with what the DNR was looking for in population control. She said that the state has to walk a fine line each year in determining what sort of harvest the deer can sustain, as well as balancing the social goals of hunters in taking deer.

Schofield hunter Joe Wenzel said that wasn't really what hunters wanted to hear, and he thinks the population estimates of the past several years were too high. But he admits there might be other causes for a low harvest, including the baiting ban, and the reduction in the number of deer drives that are performed each year.

Schaeffer says the doe harvest was much lower than last year, but the average buck harvest across the state remained about the same, a good sign that deer numbers may be up next year.