how weather and moon phases ….

how weather and moon phases affect deer movement, the do’s and don’ts of tree planting and how to evaluate the health of deer you’ve harvested as you butcher them.

The other key change to DMAP being proposed is in the fee structure. While the plan is still have a flat fee of $50 for three years, if the proposal passes, members could choose the additional benefits they want to pay for.

“The way the code is currently written, every three years, if you have 160 acres or more and you enroll at the Level 2 you receive the same benefits regardless of what you want or need,” Frater said. “So everybody is receiving a new management plan, a site visit with the biologist and the forester every three years. We did a bunch of focus groups and did a bunch of surveys as part of the program review. One of the things that came out, members wanted the ability to have more customization. So to meet that we’re separating out program membership from the on-site services, what we’re now calling elective benefits.

“That’s the big change,” she added. “It allows for that customization. It allows them to select more of the services that they want. So we do have a lot of members who are in because they really want to do habitat management work and that’s their main focus, but we do have a subset who are in the program for tags. Under the current code, we were having to write management plans for them even though that’s not what they wanted. This gives them the flexibility to select those services that they want and need.”

While Frater admits she is a bit nervous of how the reduced acreage requirements is likely to affect the number of on-site visits the DMAP crew would have to do, she is excited about where the program is headed with these intended tweaks.

“I was actually a DMAP member before I joined the team,” she said, noting she helped manage her parents’ 40 acres in northern Wisconsin. “I think it’s a great program and I think it has a lot to offer.”

To learn more about DMAP or to apply, visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/ WildlifeHabitat/DMAP.