This statement of scope was approved by the Governor on July 23, 2013.
Rule No.
Relating to
Deer management, hunting, and implementation of the 2012 White-tailed Deer Trustee's Report.
Rule Type
These will be emergency rules.
1. Finding/nature of Emergency (Emergency Rule Only)
The department is directed by 2013 ACT 20 to develop emergency rules allowing final implementation of provisions from the White-tailed Deer Trustee's Report. The ACT has established that the department is not required to make a finding of emergency. These emergency rules can remain in place until permanent rules are implemented.
2. Detailed Description of the Objective of the Proposed Rule
There has been dissatisfaction with various issues related to white-tailed deer management and hunting in Wisconsin. Gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker made a promise to appoint a “Deer Trustee" to review programs. In October of 2011, Dr. James C. Kroll, officially known as Wisconsin's white-tailed deer trustee, entered into a contract with the State of Wisconsin to conduct an independent, objective and scientifically-based review of Wisconsin's deer management practices. The White-tailed Deer Trustee's report was released to the public in July 2012.
The objective of these proposed rules is to work with sportsmen and sportswomen and other stakeholders in order to implement ideas and solutions from the Deer Trustee's report to forge a new age for deer management.
3. Description of the Existing Policies Relevant to the Rule, New Policies Proposed to be Included in the Rule, and an Analysis of Policy Alternatives
Implementation of the Deer Trustee's report will result in establishing significant new policies for deer management and hunting management compared to current rules. The primary policy alternatives being analyzed and considered are ones recommended in the report. Throughout this rulemaking process, the department and its partners may evaluate other policy alternatives as they are identified.
Ch.
NR 1 related to Natural Resources Board Policies
Ch.
NR 1 establishes a general framework for the department's wildlife and forestry management activities. The department is reviewing the report with this framework in mind and will recommend modifications that are consistent with the report. These rules are likely to shift away from deer population goals expressed solely in specific numbers of animals toward more general population objectives. The basis for establishing deer population goals may also be modified by these rules. The department may revise what it considers to be tolerable levels of crop damage. The chapter currently addresses wildlife habitat management policy and those provisions may be strengthened or made more specific based on significant wildlife habitat related recommendations in the report. Development of a Young Forest Initiative Task Force may be addressed in this chapter as well as a Deer Management Assistance Program. Deer research priorities may also be a topic that is addressed in this policy-setting chapter. This chapter will be amended to maintain cross-reference citations with ch.
NR 10.
Ch.
NR 8 related to License and Permit Procedures
Ch.
NR 8 establishes standards and procedures for the automated license issuance system. These rules may recommend changes if they are necessary to improve efficiency or flexibility in the issuance of licenses, as needs arise during development of new automated licensing systems, and to maintain cross-reference citations.
Ch.
NR 10 related to Game and Hunting
This chapter establishes most of the deer population management policy and practices and hunting regulations that are in place today. Ch.
NR 10 establishes the Sex-Age-Kill model for estimating deer populations, deer population goals, and deer management units. These rules will replace the current deer management unit population goals with a simplified unit objective to, “increase, stabilize, or decrease population density." These rules may establish the timetable for review of deer management units and the process for modifying established objectives. These rules will establish a set of metrics to monitor progress towards the goal. These rules will reduce the number of deer management units and may combine farmland regions. The department will consider using county boundaries in place of the current unit boundaries.
These rules will simplify the regulatory process by setting antlerless harvest goals, regulations, and antlerless permit quotas on a three-to-five year cycle instead of annually under current rule. Historical demand for antlerless permits has not been a factor considered in quota setting in the past but would be a consideration under these rules. Through these rules, the department may eliminate free antlerless deer tags, currently referred to as herd control tags. These rules may establish a fee for antlerless tags which allow harvest of deer in its CWD management zones. Currently, some units have an unlimited number of antlerless deer permits available per hunter but, under this proposal, that may no longer be the case. Finally, these rules may establish antlerless deer permits and allow the establishment of quotas for public lands that are different from the permits and quotas that are established for privately owned lands in a management unit.
Simplifying the regulatory process and implementing a new population management goal system may require a variety of related hunting regulations changes. Changes may include the names for permits and the allowable use of various deer permits. Back tags worn by hunters, deer carcass tags, and tagging requirements may be modified or eliminated where possible in order to simplify regulations or as opportunities arise during development of new automated licensing systems. Deer registration and transportation requirements may be relaxed and, in their stead, more customer-friendly harvest reporting procedures established. Black bear are another species for which in-person registration of harvested animals is required. These rules may modify bear harvest recording requirements if that is practical because deer and bear registration occur at the same locations and through the same process under current rules.
The department may recommend deer hunting season date modifications as a result of this rulemaking. While the report generally recommends that, “keeping seasons and bag limits consistent for longer periods of time would allow better assessment of management progress," it is challenging to discuss management system changes of this scale without considering season dates. For instance, it may be possible to simplify hunting regulations by eliminating a one-day closure of the archery season on the day before the traditional nine-day firearm season opens. The timing of other seasons for youth, disabled hunters, or other special seasons may also be evaluated. A move to more “passive" management of CWD, as recommended in the report, may also involve changes to deer hunting season dates.
This rulemaking will establish a Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) that will allow landowners and hunters to work together with the department to manage deer on a site-specific basis. The program will actively involve members of the public in the collection, analysis, and reporting of deer harvest information and improve management of the deer herd. The department may establish enrollment fees for participation in the program and that money will be credited back to implementation. This is a central recommendation of the report and recommends that the department establish: a) applicability to private and public lands, b) initial areas eligible to participate, c) administration of DMAP, d) funding, e) personnel and training, f) minimum property size to participate, g) fees, h) participation requirements, i) data collection requirements, j) registration of deer harvested on DMAP properties, k) data analysis and reporting, and l) assessment of DMAP effectiveness.
The department does not intend to modify regulations on the method of deer harvest at this time. However, if an ACT of the legislature modifies a legal method of harvest while this rule package is being promulgated, and related rule changes are needed, this rule package would implement an ACT of the legislature. Notably, the department is aware that changes to the allowable uses of crossbows are being considered.
The trustee's report generally recommends a more passive approach than current department policy to the management of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD-related rulemaking will be correspondingly limited in this proposal. However, regulation changes related to disease testing protocol, harvest permits and other hunting regulations may be identified and included if they are consistent with the report. The department establishes separate population goals for deer units that are in a CWD zone. Those goals and methods of population estimation will be modified or eliminated by these rules.
These rules may make other modifications to deer hunting regulations if they can be characterized as simplifications. These may include changes to the allowable hunting hours or allowable guns, ammunition, and other devices.
Chs.
NR 11 and
15 related to Closed Areas and Game Refuges
Modifications to chs.
NR 11 and
15 will likely be needed to update cross references with ch.
NR 10 which will be modified significantly. Although the report did not recommend changes to these chapters of administrative code, additional modifications to these chapters may be made if that assists with regulations simplification or improvement of hunting opportunities.
Ch.
NR 12 related to Wildlife Damage and Nuisance Control
Modifications to ch.
NR 12 will likely be needed to update cross references with ch.
NR 10 which will be modified significantly. Although the report did not recommend significant structural changes to the damage program, additional modifications to this chapter may be made if that assists with regulations simplification or improvement of hunting opportunities.
Ch.
NR 13 related to Chippewa Treaty Rights Participants
Chapter
NR 13 is intended to regulate off-reservation treaty rights of treaty rights participants recognized by
Lac Courte Oreilles Band v. Voigt,
700 F. 2d 341 (7th Cir. 1983). Modifications to ch.
NR 13 will likely be needed to update numerous cross references with ch.
NR 10, which will be modified significantly.
Ch.
NR 19 related to Miscellaneous Fur, Fish, Game and Outdoor Recreation
Modifications to ch.
NR 19 will likely be needed to update cross references with ch.
NR 10, which will be modified significantly. This section also contains regulations for feeding of wild animals and white-tailed deer related provisions which are not directly related to the report. Additional modifications to the chapter may be made if that assists with regulations simplification or improvement of hunting opportunities.
Ch.
NR 45 related to the Use of Department Properties
Modifications to ch.
NR 45 will likely be needed to update cross references with ch.
NR 10, which will be modified significantly. The report did not recommend specific changes to this chapter of administrative code. However, many regulations in this chapter apply to deer hunters who are using department managed lands. Additional modifications to this chapter may be made if that assists with regulations simplification or improvement of hunting opportunities.
4. Detailed Explanation of Statutory Authority for the Rule (Including the Statutory Citation and Language)
Department authority to conduct a variety of habitat and wildlife management activities is established in ss.
23.09 (2) (b),
(d), and
(h),
(k) and
(km), and
(p), Stats. These sections authorize rulemaking related to deer and deer habitat management and: plans and priorities for conservation, game refuges, cooperative forest protection, research, resources inventory, and disease control. These sections authorize many of the existing provisions of chs.
NR 1 (Natural Resources Board Policy), 11 (closed areas), 15 (game refuges), and 45 (use of department properties).
The department's ability to promulgate emergency rules to implement recommendations of the deer trustee report is established in non-statutory provisions of 2013 ACT 20. Specifically included in emergency rule authority is the ability to establish bonus antlerless deer permit fees and to establish a deer management assistance program. Additionally, the department is given authority to promulgate emergency rules that will implement recommendations of the assessment of this state's deer management plans and policies under s.
29.40 Stats. These emergency rules can remain in place until permanent rules are implemented. The department is not required to make a finding of emergency.
The primary authority to establish hunting regulations for deer and other species is established in s.
29.014, Stats. This section directs the department to establish and maintain open and closed seasons, bag limits, size limits, rest days, and other conditions for the taking of game that conserves the game supply and provides citizens with good hunting opportunities. This section authorizes many of the existing provisions of chs.
NR 8 (license and permit procedures), 10 (game and hunting), and 19
(Miscellaneous Fur, Fish, Game and Outdoor Recreation).
The wildlife damage and nuisance program and rulemaking authority are established in s.
29.889 (2) (b), Stats., which directs the department to establish rules for program eligibility and funding, methods of abating damage, forms and procedures, prorating claims, and record keeping, audits and inspections. This is the authorizing legislation for much of ch.
NR 12 related to wildlife damage.
The department's ability to establish fees for participation in the deer management assistance program is established in s.
29.020 (2), Stats.
Rules related to Chippewa treaty rights (ch.
NR 13) are promulgated under general authority to establish hunting regulations in s.
29.014, Stats., and these rules are the department's interpretation of how laws must be interpreted or limited in order to comply with the general limitations on state regulatory authority expressed in Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin,
668 F. Supp. 1233 (W.D. Wis. 1987) and the specific limitations expressed in the regulatory phase of the Voigt litigation. (See e.g., Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin,
707 F. Supp. 1034 (W.D. Wis. 1989)).
5. Estimate of Amount of Time that State Employees Will Spend Developing the Rule and of Other Resources Necessary to Develop the Rule
The department estimates that emergency and permanent rule and program development will require the equivalent of 5 full time staff people, or 10,400 hours. This estimate includes developing new deer management programs in addition to time spent specifically on rule promulgation.
6. List with Description of all Entities that may be Affected by the Proposed Rule
White-tailed deer affect nearly every Wisconsin resident in some way. Many of these effects are significant from a recreational, economic, and/or social perspective. A wide variety of groups and individuals will be interested in this proposed rule. Some groups include: Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Deer Hunters Assn., The Nature Conservancy, Whitetails Unlimited, Wisconsin Bowhunters Assn., Wisconsin County Forest Association, Wisconsin Woodland Owners Assn., Quality Deer Management Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the Sierra Club.
Groups registered to lobby the Wisconsin legislature within the last year, many registered specifically on these rules, include: Wisconsin Bear Hunter's Assoc., White-tails of Wisconsin, Safari Club International — Wisconsin Chapters, WI-Force, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, National Rifle Assoc. of America, and the Assoc. of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs.
7. Summary and Preliminary Comparison with any Existing or Proposed Federal Regulation that is Intended to Address the Activities to be Regulated by the Proposed Rule
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.
8. Anticipated Economic Impact of Implementing the Rule (Note if the Rule is Likely to have a Significant Economic Impact on Small Businesses)
Agencies are exempted from the requirement to prepare an economic impact analysis for emergency rules under s.
227.137 (5), Stats.
For similar or potentially identical emergency rules which the department is also promulgating, the department estimates that the economic impact will be moderate. Pursuant to
2011 Executive Order 50, the department will facilitate a 30 day period for comment on a draft economic impact analysis. The comment period will be held in late summer, 2013.
Contact Person
Scott Loomans, (608) 267-2452.
Public Instruction
Per the Dane County Circuit Court order issued in Coyne, et al. v. Walker, et al., Case No. 11-CV-4573, the Department of Public Instruction is not required to obtain the Governor's approval for this statement of scope.
Rule No.
Relating to
High School Equivalency Diplomas and Certificates of General Educational Development.
Rule Type
Permanent.
1. Finding/Nature of Emergency (Emergency Rule Only)
N/A
2. Detailed Description of the Objective of the Proposed Rule
Chapter
PI 5 governs the issuance of high school completion credentials by the State Superintendent, which includes the General Educational Development (GED) Test and the High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED). This rule change is designed to align the rule with changes in the GED Test. The current rule references the number of subtests and the passing scores for the GED, which will be changing in January 2014, when a new test is implemented by GED Testing Service. Additionally, technical changes are needed to align the rule with statute.
3. Description of the Existing Policies Relevant to the Rule, New Policies Proposed to be Included in the Rule, and an Analysis of Policy Alternatives
This rule change is designed to align the rule with changes in the GED Test and with current statute.
4. Detailed Explanation of Statutory Authority for the Rule (Including the Statutory Citation and Language)
115.29 General powers. The state superintendent may:
(4) High school graduation equivalency. (a) Grant declarations of equivalency of high school graduation to persons, if in the state superintendent's judgment they have presented satisfactory evidence of having completed a recognized high school course of study or its equivalent. The state superintendent may establish the standards by which high school graduation equivalency is determined. Such standards may consist of evidence of high school courses completed in high schools recognized by the proper authorities as accredited, results of examinations given by or at the request of the state superintendent, successful completion of correspondence study courses given by acceptable correspondence study schools, a general educational development certificate of high school equivalency issued by an agency of the U.S. government, course credits received in schools meeting the approval of the state superintendent or other standards established by the state superintendent.
(b) Promulgate rules establishing fees for issuing a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation or a general educational development certificate under par. (a). The rules may provide exemptions from the fees based on financial need.
5. Estimate of Amount of Time that State Employees Will Spend Developing the Rule and of Other Resources Necessary to Develop the Rule
The amount of time needed for rule development by department staff and the amount of other resources necessary are minimal.
6. List with Description of all Entities that may be Affected by the Proposed Rule
Testing and preparation sites authorized by the state superintendent to administer the GED Test may be affected by the proposed rule, including technical colleges, community based organizations, correctional institutions and high schools throughout Wisconsin.
7. Summary and Preliminary Comparison with any Existing or Proposed Federal Regulation that is Intended to Address the Activities to be Regulated by the Proposed Rule
N/A
8. Anticipated Economic Impact of Implementing the Rule (Note if the Rule is Likely to Have a Significant Economic Impact on Small Businesses)
The proposed rules will have no significant economic impact on small businesses, as defined in s.
227.114 (1), Stats.
9. Contact Person
Bureau for Policy and Budget
Attn: Katie Schumacher
Public Instruction
