Friday, June 08, 2012

WISCONSIN NEWS: Deer Czar's Plan Scrutinized

Tim Van Deelen is not impressed by the the Deer Czar's findings. Tim is a life-long deer hunter, a former DNR researcher, and now a professor at the University of Wisconsin. He is an Upper Midwestern native, and deeply understands the deer management challenges and opportunities in Wisconsin. If I had my choice of a Deer Czar for Wisconsin, Tim Van Deelen would certainly be on the short list.
Van Deelen, who has worked closely with the state Department of Natural Resources on deer management issues, said in a letter to Kroll in early May that he found the initial findings “significantly lacking” in scientific content and objective analysis.
Tim's critique of the Czar's preliminary report highlights a few failures: - The Czar's method for gathering information from hunters was biased and did not represent scientific sampling. - Presenting unsubstantiated claims as facts (when in fact, empirical evidence suggests the opposite). - Selective "quote mining" of scientific studies to misrepresent their findings.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal

Update. You can read the full text of Dr. Tim Van Deelen's letter here.