(Michigan Department of Natural Resources photo)

An online public comment period is open through Sunday to provide input on deer management in Wisconsin.

The comment period is a chance to offer views that local County Deer Advisory Councils will consider as they make recommendations for the 2024 hunting season. To participate, go to https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Hunt/cdac.

Each county in Wisconsin has a County Deer Advisory Council that meets annually to consult with the Department of Natural Resources on deer management in its county. 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 at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/deermetrics.html.

Interested members of the public are encouraged to participate in the discussion at local County Deer Advisory Council meetings, which will occur between April 22 and May 2. 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 affect the upcoming deer season.

The public can view County Deer Advisory Council meeting information at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Hunt/cdac or by searching at the DNR’s Meetings and Hearings calendar at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/calendar.

The Marinette County advisory council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at Crivitz Town Hall, 800 Henriette Ave., Crivitz.

In Florence County, the advisory council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 2, in the lower level conference room of the Florence Natural Resource Center, 5638 Forestry Drive, Florence.

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

In the Northern Forest Zone, the buck harvest during the 2023 nine-day gun season was 15% below the five-year average while the antlerless harvest was 27% off the five-year pace, the DNR reported last year.

In response, a Republican-authored bill was passed this winter designed to help the northern herd replenish itself. The legislation would have mostly banned the hunting of antlerless deer in northern Wisconsin for the next four years.

On March 29, however, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the measure, saying it had many opponents, including those who have observed a wide range of deer densities across the north.

“Balancing the goal of providing hunters with successful hunting experiences and ensuring healthy forest habitats in northern Wisconsin requires both collaboration and the flexibility to address challenges as they arise,” Evers said in his veto message. “The one-size-fits-all solution proposed in this bill does not strike this balance, as it limits property owners from making decisions to best manage their land and disregards public input provided via County Deer Advisory Councils,” the governor said.