In-person CDAC meetings canceled
Call-in meetings open to public, Taylor County CDAC meets April 6
In light of COVID-19, the Department of Natural Resources will suspend inperson County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC) meetings planned for discussing this year’s deer season antlerless permit recommendations and will instead use a call-in format.
Wisconsin’s hunting legacy runs deep. Everyone has a say about the deer herd in Wisconsin and the DNR wants to hear from you. Between March 30 and April 9, each county will host a call-in meeting talking about harvest goals for 2020. Anyone interested in listening to their county’s call can join the meeting by phone from the comfort of home.
Meeting dates and times have not changed, and meetings remain open to the public. Taylor County’s meeting is set for Monday, April 6 at 7 p.m. The statewide meeting schedule with call-in numbers can be found at https://dnr. wi.gov/topic/hunt/cdac.html.
The call-in number for Taylor County’s meeting is 855-947-8255 and the passcode is 9656-506#.
The agenda for each county meeting will include the development of antlerless harvest goals and season framework recommendations for the 2020 deer season to achieve each county’s deer population objective. Options under discussion include the antlerless deer harvest quota and various season framework options such as offering the holiday hunt or extended archery/crossbow seasons.
Presentations by DNR wildlife biologists normally given in-person at these meetings will be available on the DNR website by March 26. After meetings conclude, meeting summaries with preliminary recommendations will also be posted on the DNR website.
All council meetings are open to the public. Due to the facilitation limitations of call-in meetings, public comments will not be taken on the call. Instead, anyone wishing to provide feedback will be asked to do so using the online public input form available on the DNR website from April 16-29.
Last year, Taylor County’s CDAC approved 5,600 private-land and 675 publicland antlerless permits and a total antlerless harvest quota of 2,100 deer, with 1,900 of those being on private lands and 200 on public lands.
According to information posted on the DNR’s metrics website, the total deer harvest in Taylor County last fall was 4,807 deer, down 15.9% from the 5,715 deer harvested in 2018. Bucks dropped from 3,114 in 2018 to 2,447 and antlerless numbers dropped from 2,601 to 2,360. On private lands, bucks went from 2,575 to 2,076 and antlerless numbers went from 2,359 to 2,130 for a total 14.8% drop from 4,934 in 2018 to 4,206 in 2019. On public lands, the buck kill dropped from 539 to 371 and antlerless numbers dropped slightly from 242 to 230 for a total drop of 781 to 601 deer, which is 23%.
Each county in Wisconsin has a County Deer Advisory Council to provide input and recommendations to the department on deer management within their county. Councils work with local department staff to schedule meetings, provide community outreach and an opportunity for public input, review population data and deer impacts on forests and agriculture, develop three-year recommendations on county population objectives and create annual antlerless harvest quotas.
A second round of meetings will take place in May, during which council members will review public comment and make final recommendations for the 2020 deer season. No meetings will be held in person for as long as the public health emergency lasts. The decision to host May’s meetings in-person or by phone will be made closer to the date.
Taylor County’s meeting is currently scheduled for Monday, May 4 in the upstairs meeting room at County Market in Medford.
The DNR will review final County Deer Advisory Council recommendations following the May meetings and provide recommendations to the Natural Resources Board for approval in June. Questions about this updated process can be sent via email to DNRCDACWeb-Mail@wisconsin.gov.
