Help shape deer season for your county; Taylor County CDAC meets April 23

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and County Deer Advisory Councils are seeking public input to prepare for the 2024 deer season. Each county in Wisconsin has a County Deer Advisory Council that meets annually to provide input and recommendations to the DNR on deer management in its county.

The online public comment period is open through April 14. Complete the public input questionnaire to help provide feedback for your County Deer Advisory Council. A link to the questionnaire can be found at the top of the DNR’s CDAC web page (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/ Hunt/cdac).

Taylor County’s in-person meeting will be held Tuesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in Medford Area Senior High library.

County Deer Advisory Council recommendations are based on deer metrics, county deer population objectives and public feedback. Information on each county’s harvest and population metrics can be found on the Wisconsin Deer Metrics System database (https://dnr.wisconsin. gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/deermetrics.html).

The online public comment period is an opportunity for anyone interested in helping shape local deer herd management. Local County Deer Advisory Councils will consider public comments when creating recommendations for the DNR.

Interested members of the public are encouraged to participate in the discussion at their local County Deer Advisory Council meeting. At these meetings, councils review county data on fawn-to-doe ratios, harvest trends, herd health, deer impacts on agriculture, forest health, vehicle collisions and hunter experience. This information is reviewed annually to respond to deer harvest, winter severity and other factors that impact the upcoming deer season.

The 2024 County Deer Advisory Council meetings will occur between April 22 and May 2. Other nearby meetings include April 23 at 6:30 in Chippewa Falls for Chippewa County, April 25 at 6 p.m. at NTC in Phillips for Price County, April 29 at 7 p.m. in Wausau for Marathon County, April 30 in Ladysmith for Rusk County and May 2 at 7 p.m. in Merrill for Lincoln County.

On the DNR website (dnr.wisconsin.gov) you can search for the DNR’s meetings and hearings calendar to view the County Deer Advisory Council meeting info.

Following the County Deer Advisory Council process, the DNR will bring recommendations for the 2024 season to the Natural Resources Board for consideration in June.

Taylor County data

A quick glance at Taylor County’s 2024 spring data shows a total 2023 harvest of 4,302 deer, a steep drop from 6,174 in 2022 and the second-lowest total among the previous 10 years. The only year with a lower harvest in the past 10 years was 2014 (3,284) when there were no public antlerless tags immediately after one of northern Wisconsin’s most severe winters in history.

Of the 2023 total registrations, 2,234 were bucks, down from 3,114 the previous year, and 2,068 were antlerless, down from 3,060 in 2022. Despite high numbers of available permits on private land, the antlerless harvest again was the lowest in the county since 2014 when 845 were taken, mostly on youth hunter tags.

Total harvest on private land dropped from 5,398 in 2022 to 3,755 in 2023 and the total harvest on public land dipped from 776 deer in 2022 to 547 last fall, with 319 of those being bucks and 228 being antlerless deer.

Last fall, 7,738 of 8,520 available private-land antlerless tags were sold and 1,551 were filled (20%), while 594 public-land tags were sold with 109 being filled (18.4%).

The deer herd abundance post 2023 deer hunt estimate is just under 26,000 deer, down about 8,600 from this time last year.