Pepin Pepin County Government Center
County Board Room
740 7th Avenue West, Durand
Pierce Ellsworth Senior High School, Auditorium
323 Hillcrest, Ellsworth
Polk Unity High School
1908 150th Street, Balsam Lake
Portage Ben Franklin Junior High School
Auditorium - Room 1208
2000 Polk Street, Stevens Point
Price Price County Courthouse
126 Cherry Street, Phillips
Racine Union Grove High School
3433 S. Colony Avenue, Union Grove
Richland Richland County Courthouse, Courtroom
181 West Seminary, Richland Center
Rock Pontiac Convention Center
2809 N. Pontiac Drive, Janesville
Rusk Ladysmith High School
1700 Edgewood, Ladysmith
Saint Croix St Croix Central High School, Commons
1751 Broadway Street, Hammond
Sauk UW Baraboo Campus, A4 Lecture Hall
1006 Connie Road, Baraboo
Sawyer Winter High School Cafeteria
6585W Grove Street, Winter
Shawano Shawano Middle School, LGI Room
1050 S. Union Street, Shawano
Sheboygan Sheboygan Falls High School, Auditorium
220 Amherst Avenue, Sheboygan Falls
Taylor Fair Grounds, Multi Purpose Building
Hwy 64/ Hwy 13, Medford
Trempealeau City Center Gym
36245 Park Street, Whitehall
Vernon Viroqua High School, Commons
100 Blackhawk Drive, Viroqua
Vilas Saint Germain Elementary School
8234 Hwy 70, Saint Germain
Walworth Delavan-Darien High School
150 Cummings Street, Delavan
Washburn Spooner Ag Research Station
W6646 Highway 70, Spooner
Washington Washington County Fairgrounds
3000 Cty Hwy PV, West Bend
Waukesha Waukesha Expo Center, North Hall
1000 Northview Road, Waukesha
Waupaca Waupaca High School, Auditorium
E 2325 King Road, Waupaca
Waushara Waushara County Court House
2nd Floor Old Court Room
209 S. St. Marie Street, Wautoma
Winnebago Webster Stanley Middle School
Auditorium, 915 Hazel Street, Oshkosh
Wood Pittsville High School, Auditorium
5459 Elementary Avenue, Pittsville
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, including the provision of information material in an alternative format, will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please call Kari Lee-Zimmermann at (608) 266-2952 with specific information on your request by April 5, 2010.
Copies of Proposed Rules and Submittal of Written Comments
The proposed rules and fiscal estimates may be reviewed and comments electronically submitted at the following Internet site:
http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov. Written comments on the proposed hunting and trapping regulations may be submitted via U.S. mail to Mr. Scott Loomans, Bureau of Wildlife Management, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. Written comments on the proposed fishing regulations may be submitted via U.S. mail to Mr. Joe Hennessy, Bureau of Fisheries Management, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. Written comments shall be postmarked
not later than April 13, 2010. Written comments whether submitted electronically or by U.S. mail will be summarized for the Natural Resources Board, however, they will not be tallied along with the responses received at the county hearings.
CR 10-020 — Analysis Prepared by Department of Natural Resources
Statutes interpreted
Statutory authority
Explanation of agency authority
The statutes listed above specifically provide the department with authority to establish game refuges, maintain open and closed seasons and other regulations to conserve fish and game and ensure opportunities for hunting and trapping, provide additional hunting opportunities for persons who are physically disabled, report the number and kind of animal taken by hunters and trappers and authorize and regulate hunting on land in state parks. All rules promulgated under this authority are subject to review under ch.
227, Stats.
Related rule or statute
There are no state rules or statutes that directly relate to the provisions that are proposed in this administrative order.
Plain language analysis
The department has recommended modifications to chapters NR 10, 11, 12 and 19, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to hunting, trapping, closed areas and game refuges. These rule changes are proposed for inclusion in the 2010 Spring Hearing Questionnaire. Specifically, these proposals do the following:
Sections 1 and 23 establish a definition and allow the use of atlatls for small game hunting.
Sections 2, 29 and 30 allow the use of colony traps for muskrats and establish size standards and regulations.
Sections 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 32 and 33 eliminate the Burnett County and Rock Prairie Canada Goose Management Subzones.
Sections 4, 21, 36 and 39 establish and clarify definitions of a normal “agricultural or gardening practice" and “manipulation" for the purposes of enforcing existing prohibitions of baiting and feeding wild animals.
Section 9 allows participation in the youth turkey hunting season by 16 and 17 year olds.
Sections 10 and 31 establish turkey hunting seasons and zones at Hartman Creek, Straight Lake, and the Glacial Heritage Area State Parks.
Sections 11 and 12 establish a single, consistent raccoon season opener for residents and non-residents.
Section 13 allows firearm deer hunting at Nelson Dewey state park during the traditional season in November.
Section 14 allows deer hunting on newly acquired lands at Buckhorn state park during all normal firearm deer hunting seasons.
Section 15 allows muzzleloader deer hunting at Big Bay state park during the normal statewide muzzleloader season that follows the traditional November firearm season.
Section 16 Establishes firearm and archery deer hunting seasons at proposed Glacial Heritage Area state parks that are consistent with other CWD Management Zone state park hunting seasons.
Section 17 allows participation in the youth deer hunting season by 16 and 17 year olds.
Section 18 and 19 establish a single, consistent statewide opening date for fox hunting and trapping and coyote trapping.
Section 21 eliminates the 2:00 p.m. pheasant hunting closure at Scuppernong River Habitat Management Area in Waukesha County and allows pheasant hunting all day.
Section 22 allows the use of scopes on muzzleloading firearms during the muzzleloader-only deer hunting season.
Section 24 provides that all deer hunting licenses which are issued to 10 year-olds to 17 year-olds will include a carcass tag that is valid for an antlerless deer in any unit statewide.
Sections 25 and 26 allow the transportation of whole deer carcasses from the CWD zone to other areas if the whole carcass is taken directly to a licensed meat processor or taxidermist.
Section 27 and 28 allow dividing a deer into five parts prior to registration in order to facilitate removal from the field. These sections also repeal, recreate and amend provisions which allow quartering bear and elk so that they may be divided into five parts in order to more easily facilitate removal from the field.
Sections 34 and 35 increases the penalty for violation animal damage abatement program requirements by clarifying that program participation can be denied for the following program year in addition to the current year.
Sections 37 and 38 clarify the definition of “novice participant" for learn to hunt programs.
Comparison with federal regulations
Federal regulations allow states to manage the wildlife resources located within their boundaries provided they do not conflict with regulations established in the Federal Register. None of these rule changes violate or conflict with the provisions established in the Federal Code of Regulations.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states
These rule change proposals do not represent significant policy changes and do not differ significantly from surrounding states. All surrounding states have regulations and rules in place for the management and recreational use of wild game and furbearer species that are established based on needs that are unique to that state's resources and public desires.
Iowa allows the use of atlatls for small game hunting and at least 12 other states allow their use, primarily for small or non-game species. In some of these state, non-game includes rabbits, squirrels, raccoon, fox, coyote and other species that would be considered small game or furbearers in Wisconsin.
All of Wisconsin's surrounding states allow deer or turkey hunting in certain situations on properties which are comparable to state parks in Wisconsin and have a wide variety of season types and firearm or archery options.
The federal maximum age for participation in special youth waterfowl hunting seasons is 15. Minnesota allows participation by 12 to 17 year olds in its youth turkey hunts. Most of Iowa's hunts are for 12 – 15 year olds. Michigan youth hunts are for 10 to 16 year olds. The minimum age for Illinois youth hunts is generally 10 but the maximum is either 15 or 16, varies from pheasant to deer.
Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois all have consistent raccoon season opening dates for residents and non-residents. Michigan does not allow non-resident raccoon trapping until a month after the resident season has opened, however, Michigan does not allow trapping or fur harvest by Wisconsin residents.
Minnesota does not allow scopes on muzzleloaders. Illinois, Michigan and Iowa do allow the use of scopes.
All of Wisconsin's surrounding states have a consistent statewide opening day for fox. The coyote season also opens on the same day statewide in Wisconsin's surrounding states. While those states do not have zones for the same species, the fox and coyote seasons are different in all surrounding states except Iowa.
Minnesota allows quartering deer in the field and requires that the head of the deer remain attached to one of the quarters. Iowa requires deer to remain intact until the animal is processed for consumption. Wisconsin's other surrounding states do not prohibit quartering deer in the field to facilitate removal.
Colony traps are legal in Minnesota but not allowed in Illinois. In Iowa and Michigan colony traps are legal only for muskrats and must be entirely submerged.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
The rule changes included in this order do not deviate from current department policy on the management of wildlife and the regulation of hunting and trapping.
This rule proposal would allow small game hunting with an implement called an atlatl. An atlatl is a primitive device that achieves the velocity needed to strike a target with a dart by the use of a lever. The efficiency of this device may be comparable to traditional archery gear. Currently small game animals may be hunted with firearms, air guns, archery gear, and crossbows (if authorized by permit). In this proposal, small game includes species which are unprotected under current rule.
This rule would allow the use of traps which are capable of capturing multiple muskrats in one setting, commonly called colony traps. Maximum trap dimensions and placement restrictions are established and the use of bait is prohibited in order to limit the number of animals captured in one setting of a trap to three or four and minimize the chance of catching non-target species. This rule specifies that colony traps may only be used for muskrat but mink that are incidentally captured could be retained and utilized by the trapper. Because this trap type completely encloses the trapped animal in a cage, fur damage by predators is minimized. Colony traps do not have moving parts other than a one-way gravity drop entrance and will not create conflict with other wetland dependant activities such as duck hunting.
Elimination of the Burnett County and Rock Prairie Canada Goose Management Subzones is proposed because they are no longer needed with the recovery of year-round populations of resident geese.
Under current regulations on the practice of baiting and feeding wild animals, normal agricultural or gardening practices and crop manipulation are not considered baiting. These practices are not defined in administrative code. For the purposes of enforcing current prohibitions of baiting and feeding wild animals this proposal more specifically defines a normal agricultural or gardening practice by clarifying that, once a crop is harvested, it is considered to be bait if it is placed back on the landscape. If a crop is placed in an area, such as fenced pasture for the purpose of feeding livestock, it is not considered to be bait.
Currently, participation in the youth turkey and deer hunting seasons is allowed only by youth ages 10 to 15. This proposal would expand participation in those seasons by allowing 16 and 17 year olds. In 2008, the number of 16 and 17 year olds who purchased licenses to hunt during the regular firearm deer seasons was 18,749.
Hunting at state park properties is prohibited by state statute unless the department has promulgated rules that specifically allow hunting for deer, turkeys, or small game at an individual park property. Turkey hunting is currently allowed during the first three of the six spring turkey hunting periods at 14 state parks. These properties are managed primarily for outdoor recreational activities other than hunting but, by allowing hunting prior to times when property use increases, hunting can be accommodated while minimizing user conflict. This rule would expand turkey hunting opportunities at three properties, Straight Lake, Hartman Creek and the newly proposed Glacial Heritage Area state park. Fall turkey hunting is not allowed at any state parks and is not proposed for these three.
This rule would establish a single, consistent raccoon season opener for residents and non-residents. The current season restricts non-residents from the first two weeks of the fall season. There is, however, no measurable level of competition for this resource between residents and non-residents. Since 2006 the department sold 6, 6, and 5 non-resident trapping licenses, respectively. Non-resident furbearer hunting licenses average 35-40 annually with many purchased specifically for bobcat hunting. This would be consistent with all other current Wisconsin non-resident furbearer hunting and trapping seasons, which open with the resident season opener. This proposal is a simplification of current rule and there is no biological reason for the existing delay for non-residents.
Hunting at state park properties is prohibited by state statute unless the department has promulgated rules that specifically allow hunting for deer, turkeys, or small game at an individual park property. Current rule authorizes rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader deer hunting opportunities at 25 state parks. This proposal would expand deer hunting opportunities at Nelson Dewey state park by allowing hunting during the traditional firearm season in November. It would allow deer hunting on newly acquired lands at Buckhorn state park during all normal firearm deer hunting seasons. The proposal allows muzzleloader deer hunting at Big Bay state park during the normal statewide muzzleloader season that follows the traditional November firearm season. Finally, this rule would establish firearm and archery deer hunting seasons at proposed Glacial Heritage Area state parks which are consistent with other CWD Management Zone state park hunting seasons. Deer hunting at state parks provides hunting opportunities in ways that are designed to minimize conflicts with non-hunting state park users and to control deer herd impacts on natural vegetation.
Under this proposal, the north and south zones for fox hunting and trapping seasons would be eliminated so that the seasons for fox hunting and trapping would open concurrently statewide. The coyote trapping season, which is the same as the fox season, is revised in the same way under this proposal. This will provides hunters in the old south zone with an additional two weeks of harvest opportunity. There appears no biological reason to delay southern seasons by 8 days. This proposal simplifies an unneeded complication. A person in southern Wisconsin, if concerned that pelts will not be prime under the early season framework, can simply chose to delay harvest.
This proposal would eliminate the 2:00 p.m. pheasant hunting closure at Scuppernong River Habitat Management Area in Waukesha County and allow pheasant hunting all day. Scuppernong was once a Wildlife Area and was incorporated into the Kettle Moraine State Forest Southern Unit in 2001 and renamed the Scuppernong River Habitat Area. The early closure was designated to reduce pressure immediately following stocking, giving the birds time to disperse. This area does receive heavy hunting pressure but also has some of the best and most pheasant habitat in the County. The area is usually stocked with pheasants from the state game farm in the late afternoon and hunters only have a few hours to pursue birds. Adequate carry over of birds to the next day is expected with this rule change. The remainder of the forest is open after 2:00 p.m. for pheasant hunting and removing the early closure will make for consistent regulations in the area and avoid hunter confusion during the pheasant season.
This proposal would allow the use of scopes with magnifying power on muzzleloaders during the muzzleloader-only season that follows the traditional firearm season. Scopes are not currently allowed during the muzzleloader only season because, when the season was initially developed, public support was for a hunt that focused on the use of traditional, primitive firearms. Public opinion has evolved and appears now to favor allowing the use of scopes. Department staff people do not anticipate that this proposal will have any effect on deer herd management.
Currently, the Junior Gun Deer License includes one Gun Buck Deer Carcass Tag valid in any unit statewide and one Antlerless Deer Carcass Tag valid in Earn-A-Buck and Herd Control Units. In an effort to provide youth hunters with added opportunities to harvest a deer, this proposal would make the antlerless tag valid in any unit statewide.
Currently, only boned out meat, quarters that do not contain any part of the spine or head, hides, antlers, and finished taxidermy mounts may be transported from a CWD area in Wisconsin or another state or province. Allowing the transportation of deer carcasses from a CWD management areas to other areas will provide hunters with greater flexibility while still preventing environmental contamination through discarded animal parts by requiring that carcasses that contain any part of the spinal column and heads be delivered only to a licensed meat processor (not an unlicensed individual who cuts up deer only) or to a registered taxidermist within 72 hours. Licensed meat processors are required to properly dispose of carcass waste materials under DATCP rules and provisions are established in this proposal to require that taxidermists properly dispose of the parts of the carcasses of highest risk for spreading CWD.
The practice of quartering deer prior to registration, in order to facilitate removal from the field, is currently prohibited for most hunters. This proposal would allow a hunter to divide a deer into as many as five parts only for the purpose of removing the animal from the field. Currently bear and elk may be quartered but this proposal will allow dividing them up to five times which will be consistent with deer and more practical to facilitate removal from the field. In order to make identification easier for registration station staff and to assure that parts of different animals are not confused, this proposal requires that the head remain attached to one part of deer and bear and that no more than one deer or bear which is not intact may be possessed or transported prior to registration.
This proposal would increase the penalty for Wildlife Damage Abatement and Claims Program enrollees being uncooperative or wrongfully denying public hunting access. Under the proposal, enrollees found in violation would not be eligible for WDACP assistance or claims for an additional calendar year instead of the remainder of the current year. In many situations, the department is unaware of hunter access complaints until after the deer hunting season meaning enrollees proven to be uncooperative or wrongfully denying hunter access are not eligible for WDACP assistance for only a month or two. Under this proposal, program violations may be deterred by the increasing this penalty.
