DNR seeking public input on 2025 deer season

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and County Deer Advisory Councils are seeking public feedback on Wisconsin’s deer management, including harvest quotas, management zones and more ahead of the 2025 deer season.

Each county in Wisconsin has a County Deer Advisory Council that meets annually to provide input and recommendations to the DNR on local deer management based on deer herd metrics (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/ topic/WildlifeHabitat/deermetrics.html), county management goals and the public feedback they receive. These recommendations are reviewed and set annually to allow for adjustments in response to the previous year’s deer harvest, winter severity and other factors.

This year, County Deer Advisory Councils in the Northern and Central Forest deer management zones will make recommendations on numbered deer management units. Boundaries in the Northern Forest Zone were changed from county lines to create habitat-based deer management units. Some County Deer Advisory Councils will make multiple recommendations based on the number of units within a county’s borders.

Modifications have also occurred to metro subunits in the southeastern portion of the state. A map of the 2025 DMUs is available on the DNR’s deer management webpage (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/ WildlifeHabitat/deermanagement).

Taylor County is one of the Northern Forest counties affected by the changes and now has land in five different units, including land south of Hwy 64, which is now part of the state’s Central Farmland Zone.

The Taylor County CDAC will meet to submit its recommendations for 2025 on Wednesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in the library at Medford Area Senior High.

Following the County Deer Advisory Council process, the DNR will bring its recommendations for the 2025 season to the Natural Resources Board for review in June.

Submit feedback online

The DNR encourages input from anyone interested in helping shape local deer herd management preferences during the online input period. This feedback will be considered by the local County Deer Advisory Councils as they develop their recommendations for the DNR.

The survey link is available on the County Deer Advisory Council webpage (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/ topic/Hunt/cdac) through Sunday, April 13.

The public is also encouraged to attend their local County Deer Advisory Council meeting to join the discussion about local deer management and provide input on deer season details. Meetings include a review and discussion of current county data on harvest trends, herd health, the deer hunter experience and deer/human conflict issues like crop and property damage.

Other nearby meetings include April 22 at 6 p.m. in Neillsville for Clark County, April 22 at 7 p.m. in Chippewa Falls for Chippewa County, April 28 at 6 p.m. in Phillips for Price County, April 28 at 7 p.m. in Wausau for Marathon County, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. in Ladysmith for Rusk County and May 1 at 7 p.m. in Merrill for Lincoln County. Locations can by found at https://widnr.widen. net/s/mx5dbjvftq/cdac_meetingschedule.

Any questions about the County Deer Advisory Council process may be submitted to DNRCDACWebMail@wisconsin.gov.