MINNESOTA NEWS: Hunting Areas Becoming "Overbuilt" on Public Lands

The presence of tree stands for deer hunting on public lands is not a new phenomenon.  However, the size and extent of these tree stands is growing out of control.

First, let's look at a trend in tree stands:

It’s not just a couple of boards slapped into a tree, but tree houses with stairways, decks, shingled roofs, commercial windows, insulation, propane heaters, carpeting, lounge chairs, tables and “even some with generators so they have electricity,” Krepps said.

One deer “stand” discovered on county land was a cabin 18 feet wide and 20 feet long. And, increasingly, some hunters are buying elaborate manufactured stands and leaving them in the woods all year.

When a stand is abandoned, much of it is left to rot in the forest. But plastic, metal, shingles and other materials aren’t biodegradable “and really leave a mess in the woods,” said Jason Meyer, who manages forests in the southern half of St. Louis County.

It crosses the line on what is appropriate for public lands.  These stands often have locks on the door. 

Next, let's look at the evolution of shooting lanes.  This used to entail cutting some branches or the occasional sapling to provide an unobstructed (and thus safer) area for shooting.  And now?

Some of those shooting lanes are more than 30 feet wide and up to 700 feet long. In one area of county land near state land, it’s estimated that a group of hunters had cleared more than six acres of forest combined for their 47 shooting lanes. “They are taking public land out of timber production and it’s adding up across the county,” Kailanen said. “The real impact of this may not be realized until 40 or 50 or 60 years from now, when those trees would have been harvested.”

Without all of that tree cover, what is to be done? Why not plant food plots to entice the deer to be closer to the tree stand?

In some areas, hunters have taken to clearing the forestland and planting clover and other farm crops to attract deer. While the ethics of food plots is hotly debated in the hunting community — some say it’s akin to baiting deer, which is illegal in Minnesota — county foresters say the plots are taking even more forestland out of production. Moreover, the seeds planted may not be just one crop, but may bring in invasive, non-native species that could damage the native forest and spread.

This all adds up to a pseudo-privatization of wildlife.  It involves constructing buildings and landscaping on lands people do not privately own to manipulate deer that are not "theirs" for the sole purpose of increasing their chances of having a successful hunt.  This is contentious enough within the community of deer hunters.  It amounts to another self-inflicted black eye in society at large.

Source: Duluth Tribune

MICHIGAN NEWS: Anger Over Deer Baiting Ban

FRANKENMUTH - Farmers say the state is stealing their livelihoods with a deer-baiting ban to battle a killer disease.

Hunters are up in arms complaining that the state is adding unfair rules for pursuing their game.

More than 70 hunters and farmers gathered in Frankenmuth during a heated presentation Monday from state officials on chronic wasting disease.

Economists estimate that deer bait sales bring in $50 million annually in the state.

Department of Natural Resources officials presented information on the disease and how to prevent its spread during the two-hour meeting at the Wallace and Irene Bronner and Family Performing Arts Center.

An hour-long question-and-answer session aimed heated dialogue from audience members toward the four-person panel.

"You're taking away people's livelihoods," said Roy E. Stolz, a 51-year-old Saginaw County resident. "You're killing a mosquito with a sledgehammer."

Stolz said he raises 25 to 30 acres of sugar beets for deer bait and stands to lose around $25,000 because of the permanent ban.

"They really have no sound scientific evidence," he said.

Stolz said takes umbrage with the ban's timing.

"They could have told us in the spring," he said. "The way they took it away ... it's a little unsettling with me."

Scientists first confirmed the disease Aug. 25, when a 3-year-old doe at a privately operated cervid facility in Kent County tested positive. The state killed the doe and 50 other deer at the facility.

Chronic wasting disease is fatal in white-tail deer, elk, moose and mule deer and spreads through contaminated food, water, feces and saliva.

"There is no cure," said Michael E. Bailey, wildlife management supervisor for the DNR. "It's a death sentence once they get it."

It does not cross to humans.

The DNR implemented a response plan, drawn up in 2002 after a deer in Wisconsin tested positive for the disease, following the state's first, and only, positive test.

Steps include a deer bait ban, quarantine on all private facilities, prohibiting deer rehabilitation and widespread testing.

A surveillance zone also is in place around Kent County. Officials will test 300 deer in Kent County, nine townships in Kent County, and the seven counties surrounding Kent County. In the remainder of the Lower Peninsula, scientists will test 50 deer in each county.

"From that sampling, we should be able to determine with some certainty if the disease has spread," Bailey said. The state's game and fish protection fund provide testing, which costs around $50 a deer. General fund money will supplement the cost.

The DNR ordered the baiting ban to extend for six months starting in August and extended it indefinitely on Oct. 9 after an Ingham County judge upheld the DNR's authority to make the decision.

"We all knew what the outcome would be," said Kevin Kirk, special assistant to the state veterinarian, of people's complaints about the ban. "We are trying to find some avenues for your product."

William R. Adams, a hunter for 52 years, agrees with the ban and preventative measures the state has taken.

"They should have never accelerated it like they did," the 68-year-old Birch Run resident said of baiting. "I've seen people with pick-up loads of apples dump them in a hunting area. I think it's something that needs to be addressed."

Cass City resident Garry F. Gamet said he can understand the anger from farmers who are losing money from deer bait sales.

He does, however, disagree with using bait as a hunting technique.

"Shooting deer in a bait pile is like going to the zoo and shooting animals," he said.

Gamet said a power point slide Monday evening, showing a precipitous dip in the deer population during the next 50 years if the disease is not brought under control, impressed him.

"If we allow baiting, and it (wasting disease) gets into our wild herd, our kids and grandkids will suffer for it," Gamet said.

Source: MI Live

MICHIGAN NEWS: Deer Baiting Ban Upheld

A judge Thursday let stand a ban on feeding and baiting deer in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, ruling the state had authority to issue the emergency rule after its first case of chronic wasting disease was detected.

The decision was a blow for farmers and store owners who sued because they're being hurt financially by the ban. Hunters place piles of bait -- beets, carrots, corn, apples and other produce -- in areas to attract deer.

After hearing arguments, Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk acknowledged that a number of people earn a living by growing and selling the bait. But she said the Michigan Department of Natural Resources based its decision on "sound scientific management principles."

"It did it for the purpose of preserving deer and elk herd so that those who make their living from it may continue to do so in the future," Draganchuk said of the ban imposed Aug. 26. It's effective for six months and could be extended.

State attorneys defended the policy as a necessary precaution to prevent the spread of the disease.

It wasn't immediately known if the plaintiffs would file an appeal. Their attorney, Ed McNeely argued the ban was arbitrary and said arguments that it would stop the disease from spreading were "vastly overblown." A number of farmers and store owners watched the arguments in a Lansing courtroom.

Mike Kinzel, part owner of Highland Fuel in Hartland, which sells $40,000 to $50,000 worth of deer feed, said afterward that he's concerned the ban could be in effect "forever" if the state doesn't start taking into consideration the overall financial hit to the hunting industry.

The infected deer was discovered at a captive deer operation near Grand Rapids. It's unknown if the disease exists in the wild deer population. Chronic wasting disease attacks the brains of infected deer and elk and produces small lesions that result in death.

It has never been shown to cause illness in humans.

"We are very pleased and felt all along we were doing the necessary and right thing," DNR spokeswoman Mary Dettloff said.

The state adopted a policy in 2002 that called for an immediate prohibition on feeding if chronic wasting disease were detected in either peninsula or within 50 miles of the state line.

Another part of the lawsuit pertaining to whether wildlife rehabilitation facilities can have fawns or not wasn't addressed Thursday.

Source: MLive

MICHIGAN NEWS: Bait Ban Legal Challenge Fast-tracked

A judge has agreed to fast-track consideration of a lawsuit filed by opponents of a ban on baiting and feeding deer in the Lower Peninsula.

The complaint was filed earlier this week in Ingham County Circuit Court. It says the ban could be financially devastating for farmers who grow vegetables and fruits used as bait for deer.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources ordered the ban on baiting and feeding last month after the state’s first case of chronic wasting disease was detected in Kent County.

Judge Joyce Draganchuk on Wednesday approved a request for an expedited hearing. It was scheduled for Oct. 9.

Before the ban was imposed, hunters could have placed bait in woods and fields beginning Oct. 1.

Source: Detroit Free Press

MICHIGAN NEWS: State Lawmakers To Reverse Deer Baiting Ban

I think I've seen this movie before. It has a bad ending. -TR

A trio of state lawmakers called on DNR Director Rebecca Humphries to rescind a ban on deer baiting in the Lower Peninsula that was enacted in response to an outbreak of Chronic Wasting Disease on a game farm in Kent County.

State Reps. Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, and Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, along with state Sen. James Barcia, D-Bay City, said the economic impact on the growers of bait crops could be devastating, and that reductions in the deer harvest by hunters who stay home rather than go into the field without bait could actually contribute to the spread of the disease (as larger herds congregate).

The Natural Resources Commission put the ban in place last month, citing the danger of the disease spreading among animals gathering over bait piles. But it has been hugely unpopular with many hunters and among farmers who depend on the sale of bait crops like carrots and sugar beets.

The lawmakers said they hope to have the resolutions taken up next week in the House and Senate. But it was not immediately clear what their impact would be because of questions over what authority the Legislature has to dictate policy on natural resources issues.

DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff issued the following statement at mid-day today in response to the proposed resolutions:

“Two diseases have been found in Michigan deer that were not here historically. Those diseases (bovine tuberculosis and CWD) can be spread among deer by close contact with other deer through their saliva, nasal secretions, or (in the case of CWD) droppings. Concentrating deer activity at bait sites increases the likelihood that diseases will be passed from deer to deer.

"The DNR doubts that most people would say 'yes' to the question: Are you willing to risk causing Michigan's deer herd to be sick from chronic disease from this day forward just so that you can use bait?

"We firmly believe hunters want to pass a healthy deer herd on to the next generation. That is why it is important to stop baiting. Deer hunting generates a $500-million economic impact to the state each year, and a disease like CWD poses a grave threat to that if it is in the wild deer population. The impact of CWD in the wild herd would hurt many small businesses around the state -- many of whom do not sell bait.”

Source: Detroit Free Press

MICHIGAN NEWS: CWD Fallout Begins

Thousands of hunters and owners of small businesses are in turmoil over a Lower Peninsula-wide ban on baiting and feeding of deer that state officials have imposed because of Michigan's first chronic wasting disease case.

State officials want to protect the state's hunter-based marketplace, but critics say the ban threatens autumn's $500 million hunter-based economy.

Deer feed suppliers, hunters and owners of commercial deer facilities packed a state House hearing on Tuesday. More are expected at a Thursday meeting of the State Natural Resources Commission, which is considering an extension of the six-month ban.

"If this ban is not lifted, it puts me in bankruptcy," Saginaw grower-wholesaler Tony Benkert told the committee.

Bart's Fruit Market owner Mark Bartholomew of Houghton Lake, which normally supplies 250 deer feed outlets throughout Michigan, said he laid off 17 workers and will have to cut still more.

"The DNR is playing with a lot of people's livelihood," he said, referring to the Department of Natural Resources, which imposed the ban.

Natural Resources wildlife veterinarian Steve Schmitt told lawmakers allowing baiting to continue would be "like playing Russian roulette with the wild deer herd."

First identified in Colorado 40 years ago, the disease has spread eastward to 11 states and two Canadian provinces. None has been able to eradicate it.
In Wisconsin, where it showed up first in wild deer killed in 2001, the effort has included baiting bans in 26 of 72 counties and hiring sharpshooters to thin the deer herd. Schmitt said scientific models, based on experience in Colorado and Wisconsin, suggest it could wipe out three-fourths of the deer herd over 50 years.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries imposed Michigan's baiting ban after the Aug. 25 confirmation of the fatal brain and nervous system disease in a doe at a Kent County deer breeding facility. That follows protocols set up in 2002 following the early Wisconsin cases.

The State Natural Resources and Agriculture departments also have slapped quarantines on more than 550 private facilities where deer are raised and kept for hunting, breeding and hobby purposes.

What's at stake is personal for Imlay City-area grower John Morocco, whose 40 acres annually produce 120,000 40-pound bags of carrots and $140,000 in income. That deer feed provides most of the essentials for his family of five. "I've been doing this for 30 years and I've been told we now don't have an income," said Morocco, 54. "I'm worried about how I'm going to feed my family."

The order doesn't prevent Morocco from raising or selling his carrots as deer bait. But his phone isn't ringing off the hook, as has been customary with archery deer season three weeks away and hunters making preparations for the Nov. 15 start of the general firearms season.

South of St. Johns in mid-Michigan, Andy Todoscuik expects a sharp drop in the $40,000 his landscaping-nursery-bakery business usually collects from deer feed sales in the fall. "It'll turn us into a ghost town until Thanksgiving," predicted Todoscuik.

Hunters also are perplexed.

Robert Tobolski and fellow workers at the Warren TACOM plant, who have a hunting club, last weekend removed corn and salt licks from their hunting area near Milford.
"I had a few bucks invested, let's put it that way, so it's kind of upsetting," said Tobolski, 52.

Source: Detroit News

MICHIGAN NEWS: Deer Baiting Banned Following CWD Discovery

When the baiting ban was announced following last week's discovery of chronic wasting disease in a deer in Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources and newspapers got many calls and e-mails from angry hunters.

Most thought the DNR had overacted and predicted a reduction in hunter numbers, and some said they would hunt in other states. One man fumed that he would hunt in Illinois, failing to recognize that baiting is illegal in that state and 23 others.

Explaining why the ban covered the entire Lower Peninsula rather than just Kent County, where the sick deer was found, DNR big game specialist Rod Clute said the agency was simply following a CWD action plan approved six years ago by the DNR, the Agriculture Department and the Legislature.

"We'd rather say no to baiting in the Lower Peninsula now than find out later that we should have said no. This deer is the first, and we're hoping we've found an ice cube rather than an iceberg," he said.

Here are the DNR's answers to some questions hunters have asked.

Will things like salt blocks, mineral licks and attractants like C'Mere Deer be legal?

No. Anything that's designed to draw a deer to eat or lick it is banned. Attractant scents like doe urine and doe-in-estrus are legal.

Some people like to feed deer just to view them, not to hunt. Is that still legal?

No. And food put out for other wildlife, like turkeys, is legal only if it is made inaccessible to deer.

Why isn't baiting banned in the Upper Peninsula?

The CWD plan says that baiting will be banned if an infected deer is found within 50 miles of either of Michigan's peninsulas. The Kent County deer was 250 miles from the UP.

Food plots are still legal. Aren't they just as likely to spread disease as bait?

Many studies have shown that concentrating bait in piles is far more likely to spread deer disease than food plots. The science is sound on this. In addition, the DNR has no control over agricultural practices and can't legally stop people from growing crops.

Bait is still being sold by a lot of stations and mom-and-pop stores. Why doesn't the DNR just ban the sale of bait?

Once again, the DNR has the authority to regulate the method and manner by which we hunt deer. It doesn't have the authority to regulate commerce and tell stores what they can sell. It's up to the hunters to end those sales by refusing to buy bait.

I see deer licking each other all the time. Won't that spread disease?

Deer are social animals and tend to move in groups of three to eight that usually are related, and they do lick each other. What bait piles do is draw in a lot more unrelated deer and increase the amount of contact between them. Bait piles also increase the amount of urine and feces dropped in a small area. Just as a hospital full of sick people is a good place for humans to pick up an infection, a bait pile that draws sick deer is a way to increase the chance of disease spreading among animals.

If I unknowingly eat venison from a deer with CWD, can I catch the disease?

CWD infects deer species that include whitetails, mule deer, elk and moose. Other mammals, including humans, apparently are immune. However, erring on the side of caution, scientists recommend that people avoid eating meat from a deer known to be infected with CWD or that they think may have the disease.

They've found a couple of dozen dead deer along the Clinton River in southeast Michigan in the past couple of weeks. Could they have died from CWD?

The DNR is investigating those deer deaths, but tests so far have ruled out CWD, bovine tuberculosis or any other known disease. Biologists are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to see if the deer were poisoned by something in their environment or in the water.

Source: Detroit Free Press

MICHIGAN NEWS: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Deer

A whitetail deer at a captive facility in Kent County has been confirmed to have chronic wasting disease. The fatal illness in its latter stages has symptoms similar to mad cow disease but affects only cervids like moose, elk and deer, state officials said Monday.

The Michigan Agriculture Department placed an immediate quarantine on all of the 580 captive cervid facilities in Michigan, and Becky Humphries, director of the Department of Natural Resources, said she would announce a total ban on the baiting and feeding of wild deer in the Lower Peninsula as of today.

Even before the single case was confirmed in a 3-year-old doe that was born at the Kent County facility, the state had quarantined five other deer operations in Montcalm and Osceola counties that bought deer from it or sold deer to it.

Humphries said the state's primary concern was to ensure that the disease has not spread from the captive deer to the state's wild deer herd of about 1.5 million whitetails.

DNR veterinarian Steve Schmitt said that under a chronic wasting disease plan the state wrote in 2002, a so-called hot zone was declared in the area within five miles of the infection site, including all or parts of Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield and Cannon townships.

Testing will be required for all deer killed within that zone.

Schmitt said that even before deer hunting starts with the archery season Oct. 1, the DNR will try to test 300 deer in the hot zone that will be taken under crop damage permits or by roadkills. Another 300 will be tested in surrounding counties.

About a dozen years ago, baiting was banned in some localized areas after bovine tuberculosis was discovered in wild whitetail deer in several counties in the northeastern Lower Peninsula.

But often hunters ignored that ban, and bait continued to be sold even at the heart of the TB zone.

Biologists believed it was a only a matter of time before the wasting disease, first identified about 40 years ago in captive deer in Colorado, reached Michigan after spreading to a dozen other states in the last three years, including Wisconsin and Illinois.

Chronic wasting disease is caused by mutated proteins called prions, which cause nearby proteins to mutate. This usually happens in the brain and spinal column.

Source: Detroit Free Press

WISCONSIN OPINION: The Science Says "Stop Baiting and Feeding"

It’s rarely a good idea to feed a wild animal, but it’s an especially bad idea to feed a wild deer.

That notion has gotten through to Wisconsin sportsmen. Now, it needs to get through to the state Legislature.

Last week, Wisconsin sportsmen vote, 54-46 percent, to ban the feeding and baiting of deer statewide. Baiting and feeding is already illegal in the 26 southern Wisconsin counties nearest to the 2002 outbreak of Chronic Wasting Disease.

The research is clear that baiting and feeding artificially concentrate deer and facilitate the spread of CWD and other diseases. Since deer, unlike bears, often move in groups, they feed together at the same locations. Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist Ron Lichtie compares bait and feed piles to human beings at a buffet eating off the same plate.

Baiting also interferes with the normal deer hunt. Research shows:

* Feeding of deer increases reproduction and survival, which makes traditional herd control methods less effective and increases the need for earn-a-buck and October hunting seasons.

* Baiting and feeding cause deer to go nocturnal and concentrate deer on refuges, which makes a successful hunting experience more difficult.

* Baiting and feeding concentrate deer on private property -- especially parcels with the most bait -- and hinder opportunities for sportsmen who rely on public hunting lands.

But if you’re not inclined to believe the DNR, then perhaps you’ll believe the Wisconsin Farm Bureau. It raised the spectre of bovine tuberculosis, which has already been identified in Michigan and Minnesota, and the real possibility that the artificial concentration of deer threatens domestic livestock. The loss of Wisconsin’s TB-free status would cost state farmers nearly $2 million annually in additional testing costs.

Sportsmen and farmers have spoken up, but only the state Legislature can enact a baiting and feeding ban. It’s time for area lawmakers -- state Sens. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) and Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center), and state Reps. Terry Musser (R-Black River Falls), Sheryl Albers (R-Reedsburg) and Lee Nerison (R-Westby)-- to take a visible leadership role on this issue. The science is indisputable, and it should trump politics.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/5xvuzc

MISSISSIPPI NEWS: Governor to Veto Deer Baiting Ban Bill

House bill 1089, the so-called "Deer Baiting Bill," has passed both the house and the senate. But word from the governor's office is that Haley Barbour plans to veto the bill, keeping it from becoming law.

But it may not matter whether it's law or not, because deer baiting is already a common practice here in Mississippi.

"When you go outside and you're in the woods, I just love being outdoors myself," said hunter, Bill McKee.

Many hunters like Bill McKee enjoy the thrill of the hunt, whether they bag the big buck or not, just hunting deer is enough for them. Still, McKee also keeps a feeder on his property.

"We have a lot of people that do it, matter of fact, I've got a feeder I keep out year round just to supplement the food for the deer," said McKee.

And McKee's not alone, I spoke with many hunter's who didn't want to talk on camera who say they may not hunt over corn feed or bait but they'll keep it on their property to keep the deer on their property. House wildlife committee chair, Bo Eaton says hunters want an even playing field.

"In Louisiana, it's legal, in Arkansas,it's legal and Texas and these hunters in the state want to have the same opportunity as those hunters in the other states that adjoin Mississippi," said Eaton.

For some it comes down to a matter of ethics, they say there's no fair chase no sportsmanship in killing a deer over bait.

But Eaton believes the decision to bait or not, should be left up to the hunter.

"What's best for the hunting public and this is an ethical issue that's before us and the hunters, in my opinion, if you feel like it's unethical then don't do it," said Eaton.

Last year, the wildlife commission was given authority to allow deer baiting. At this point, they are doing field tests to study how it affects the deer population.

Source: http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=8108723&nav=1L7u

WISCONSIN OPINION: Deer Baiting Ban Misguided

Rooney notes: I am not sure if agree with the entire argument made here, but parts are well-reasonsed and worth considering.

Dear Editor: Tim Eisele's condemnation of the Department of Natural Resources stakeholders advisory group on chronic wasting disease, of which I was a member, needs a response. This is my personal view.

He fails to tell his readers that baiting has been banned in the CWD zone for five years; has it stopped CWD from spreading? He fails to inform readers that research shows the prion involved with CWD binds tightly to soil and fails to inform us that healthy animals put in a pen 16 years after CWD-infected animals were removed caught the disease. This indicates an environmental reservoir (soil?) exists for years.

In areas of Wisconsin where CWD is not present, no amount of saliva exchange can transmit CWD.

The advisory group got it right, i.e., they recognized the difference between baiting and feeding -- one used to kill deer, the other to protect deer -- something the DNR and some state organizations seem unable or unwilling to recognize.

Eisele fails to tell readers that hunting over bait is the safest hunting method; no hunter has been wounded or killed by another hunter hunting over bait. The same can't be said about deer drives, which are the most dangerous hunting method. Yet we don't hear a safety-conscious DNR or any outdoor writer wanting to get rid of deer drives, just baiting.

But maybe we all have it backward. In the CWD zone where we want to reduce the deer population, maybe we should allow baiting, like DNR sharpshooters did, since an environmental prion reservoir exists, and ban baiting in the rest of Wisconsin where it's not found.

One concern I have is that we allow tens of thousands of gallons of doe urine from deer farms to be spread across our landscape as "buck lure" when a synthetic alternative exists.

I believe the most significant recommendation of the CWD advisory group was to enact regulations restricting movement of whole deer carcasses out of the CWD zone. That, I predict, would do more to prevent the spread of CWD than any baiting ban.

Ken Anderson
Eagle River

Source: http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letters/269838

WISCONSIN NEWS: Deer Baiting #1 Season Violation for 4th Straight Year

by Pat Durkin, Green Bay Press-Gazette

With the U.S. dollar worth less than its Canadian counterpart, maybe some people no longer gasp and clutch their chest when handed an unexpected bill for $530.

Some of us might even smile and pay up if it secured two premium tickets to a Green Bay Packers playoff game.

One thing $530 doesn't do, however, is deter everyone from illegally baiting and feeding deer, which usually means exceeding the 40-acre limit of 2 gallons of shell-corn or bad apples.

For many folks, a $530 fine must be an acceptable risk. What else can you conclude when 331 citations during the November firearms deer season made illegal baiting the No. 1 offense on the Department of Natural Resources' "Top 10 Violations" list the fourth straight year?

This was also the fourth consecutive year illegal baiting citations increased since the Legislature in 2003 rescinded the DNR's statewide ban, which the agency imposed after chronic wasting disease surfaced in February 2002.

Those 331 baiting violations are a 30 percent increase from 254 in 2006, a 50 percent increase from 221 in 2005, a 120 percent increase from 150 in 2004, and a 336 percent increase from 76 in 2003.

In similar fashion, deer-feeding citations increased the third straight year, jumping to No. 3 with 82 offenses, an 82 percent increase from 45 in 2006 when it ranked No. 7. Further, baiting/feeding violations accounted for 413 (47 percent) of the 881 citations on the DNR's top 10 list.

Roughly speaking, the difference between baiting and feeding is baiters intend to shoot deer after luring them into range with handouts. In contrast, feeders like to watch deer on their property, and hope the free food keeps "their deer" nearby so others can't shoot them.

Meanwhile, citations for transporting a loaded gun in a motorized vehicle held the No. 2 spot for the fourth straight year, with 120 offenses.

Another perennial violation, transporting an uncased gun, dropped from third in 2006 to No. 4 with 80 citations.

That means the No. 2 spot is within reach of deer-feeders. After all, citations for transporting a loaded gun averaged 111 citations the past five years. With just a few more phone tips from concerned citizens, deer-feeders could overtake road-hunters in 2008.

Eye on the prize, and all that.

These dismal numbers for baiting and feeding look even worse when noting the practices are allowed in only 46 of Wisconsin's 72 counties. They're banned in the DNR's South-Central district and most of its Southeast District because of CWD. Baiting and feeding are minor problems there, accounting for 45 (11 percent) of the 413 citations statewide.

For further reference, DNR wardens wrote only 87 baiting citations statewide in 2002, the one year it was illegal throughout Wisconsin. Of course, apologists often blame the DNR for Wisconsin's baiting/feeding problems.

Some even fault conservation wardens for not enforcing the 2-gallon limit, but seconds later claim wardens overlook safety infractions to "harass" baiters/feeders.

The numbers don't support either claim. The four most common safety violations since 2003 are transporting loaded guns, 553 total citations (an annual average of 111); transporting uncased guns, 444 (89); hunting within 50 feet of a paved road's center, 300 (60); and shooting within 50 feet of a road or across it, 300 (60).

During November's gun season, citations for those offenses were 120, 80, 62 and 46, respectively, with citations up from 2006 in two categories and down in two.

Meanwhile, pitiful souls often beseech the DNR to ban baiting and feeding, even as they receive the $530 ticket. They must have forgotten the Natural Resources Board voted for statewide bans in 2003 and 2007, but was ignored both years by the Legislature.

Until baiting/feeding opponents apply heat to lawmakers to rescind the 2003 law written by Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, passed by the Legislature, and allowed to stand by Gov. Jim Doyle, baiters shouldn't expect salvation from anyone but themselves.

Source: http://www.tinyurl.com/336cnu

WISCONSIN OPINION: Good Reasons to Ban Deer Baiting and Feeding

Keith McCaffery, retired northern deer biologist for the DNR, emphasizes that the state can not effectively manage deer in the presence of baiting and feeding.
"It changes their productivity, survivorship, their behavior and distribution, and greatly confounds harvest management," McCaffery said. "This is 'old hat' and has been known by deer biologists for a long time."

"But, some of the new reasons for concern are that saliva was proven to be a means of transmission for CWD, which converted a number of doubters," he said. "They had speculated that saliva was highly suspect and that has now been proven. Researchers took saliva from animals that manifested symptoms and orally gave it to fawns that later came down with CWD."

Other relatively new factors that should turn the tide against baiting and feeding, include the report last December by DNR Chief Conservation Warden Randy Stark that highlights problems wardens are seeing with illegal baiting. To McCaffery the violations that occur and the way some hunters use baiting to take over land that should be open to the public is an embarrassment.

Third is University of Wisconsin-Wildlife Ecology assistant professor Tim Van Deelen's report analyzing the effect of baiting on herd control."Van Deelen found that baiting tended to increase the archery harvest slightly, but it decreased the firearm harvest and the net effect was no effect," McCaffery said.

Another new reason why baiting and feeding should be banned, McCaffery said, is the emergence of new diseases. Michigan has had a problem with Bovine tuberculosis in its wild deer herd, and more recently Minnesota has found tuberculosis in part of its deer herd. In addition, Pseudorabies has appeared around Marshfield and there is speculation that it may have come from feral hogs. McCaffery wonders if baiting is playing a factor in its transmission.

"The fact that diseases continue to pop up should be an alarm bell," McCaffery said.
McCaffery said he has been concerned about the lack of political support for actions to control CWD in Wisconsin.

Source: http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/200107

TENNESSEE NEWS: No deer baiting this hunting season

There will be no deer hunting over bait in Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission. At their meeting last week the TWRC considered the pros and cons, finally siding with the TWR-Agency's recommendation against it. The TWRA spent two months studying data from 15 states, seven of which allow hunting deer over bait.

The primary concern was the deer's increased susceptibility to disease; the next concern was powerful toxins that develop in the feed grains, especially corn. Studies also indicated that deer became more nocturnal when feeding on bait. Finally, in a survey done by the TWRA, more than 60 percent of hunters and non-hunters were opposed to baiting deer. Huzzah.

Tom Wiest is an outdoors writer. Write to him at: Tom Wiest, c/o The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802-9740 or e-mail to tomwiest@att.net

WISCONSIN NEWS: Support for restricting deer feeding and baiting

BY ROBERT IMRIE
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WAUSAU, Wis. - Outdoor enthusiasts at annual conservation hearings split on whether the state should outlaw the baiting of whitetail deer, though they strongly supported restricting the practice before and during the fall hunt.

The issue came up in five questions posed to about 5,300 hunters and anglers who attended the annual spring Conservation Congress hearings in all 72 counties Monday night. The state Department of Natural Resources released results of the questions Tuesday.

The change that got the most support -- 62 percent -- was posed by the Natural Resources Board.

The question asked hunters whether they would support legislation to ban deer baiting and feeding across the state 10 days before and during the nine-day deer gun hunt in late November. It also asked whether the board should submit the proposal to the state Legislature for consideration before next fall's hunt.

The vote -- 3,198 yes and 1,977 no -- gets forwarded to the Natural Resources Board.

"I'm very pleased to see that one pass," said HerbertBehnke, the longtime board member who proposed it before his recent retirement. He said legislative opponents of restrictions on the practice are prone to listen to special interests, including feed sellers who have a profit motive.

The vote was closer for a question on whether the state should outlaw deer baiting all the time. The DNR said 2,785 voted yes and 2,233 voted no.

Jim Otto, 50, a deer hunter from Harshaw, said that vote probably broke down along lines of hunters who hunt on public land supporting the ban and hunters who hunt on private land opposing it.

Hunters stalking deer on public land say they don't see as many deer as they used to and blame baiting and feeding on private land for holding the deer there, Otto said. "It is a never-ending debate. I don't expect much will change."

WISCONSIN NEWS: Hunters reject political meddling in deer management

(Ed. note--I was really glad to see Gunderson get spanked here.)

By Ed Culhane
Appleton Post-Crescent staff writer

KAUKAUNA — Hunters and other sportsmen voted statewide Monday on state Rep. Scott Gunderson's proposal to bypass the normal rules process and set deer seasons by statute.

The question appeared as a submitted floor resolution in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties during the annual spring fish and game rules hearings and annual county meetings of the Conservation Congress. Gunderson, R-Waterford, had forwarded the resolution to every county.

Ballots at the county hearings will be tabulated electronically and the results released Wednesday afternoon, state officials said.

Representatives of the Outagamie County delegation to the Conservation Congress predicted Gunderson's resolution would be soundly defeated.

"I think there's going to be backlash on it because they (hunters) don't want legislators doing game management," Dennis Neuman of Seymour, a county delegate, said after the meeting.

Ralph Fritsch of Kaukauna urged his fellow hunters to send a message to Madison.

"This is not a resolution," said Fritsch. "This is Assembly Bill 1129. If that bill passes, this will take precedence as the first time legislators have dictated to hunters what their deer seasons will be. Vote 'no' and tell Gunderson to stick this thing where the sun doesn't shine."

Two hunters spoke against the resolution at the Outagamie County meeting. Don Rogalski of Bear Creek, a member of the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association, introduced his own resolution calling for the restoration of deer hunting seasons previously set by the state Natural Resources Board.

Those seasons offered hunters a two-year moratorium on the unpopular early Zone T gun hunts — four-day, antlerless-deer-only gun hunts in October in areas of the state with too many deer — in favor of expanded Zone T gun hunts in December. Hunters have complained for years that the October gun hunt disrupts the early bow season and changes deer movements before the traditional nine-day November gun season.

But the rule was suspended by the Natural Resources committees of the state Assembly and Senate, based on an objection by the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs, a group that objects to gun hunts north of State Highway 8 during the second week of December. The joint Committee on the Review of Rules and Regulations will hold a public hearing on the issue April 18.

Gunderson then submitted a deer season structure in the form of a state statute. It eliminates October Zone T hunts statewide, forbids late season Zone T hunts north of State 8 and creates a new 4-day muzzleloader hunt in October. Most statewide hunting and conservation clubs have taken positions against Gunderson's bill, including the Wisconsin Muzzleloader Association.

No one spoke in favor of Gunderson's bill.

The meetings take place simultaneously in every county, giving sportsmen the opportunity to vote on proposed changes to fishing, hunting and trapping seasons and to weigh in on Conservation Congress resolutions that will be considered by that group's study committees.

The Outagamie County meeting went quickly, with little or no discussion on most of the more than 75 questions on the ballots. Even the perpetually divisive issue of whether the practices of deer baiting and deer feeding should be partially or completely banned drew no testimony.

The question of creating a deer season in High Cliff State Park did spark commentary.

Jeff Samida of Sherwood said that despite public meetings at which neighbors of the park expressed concerns about the proposed gun hunt, none of their ideas appear in the proposal.

"We've had quite a few suggestions," Samida said. "It doesn't seem like it's changed one iota."

When it was pointed out that hunting takes place safely in other state parks, Cheryl Dewing of Sherwood objected, saying High Cliff was different.

"They don't have the proximity to homes that we do," Dewing said. "That's why we object. It's a safety issue."

Others at the meeting named parks in urban areas with hunting, but the Sherwood residents were not appeased.

"This is not a hunting area, this is an urban park," said Mary Pat Thomson.

Ed Culhane can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 216, or by e-mail at eculhane@postcrescent.com.