MADISON, Wis. — County Deer Advisory Councils met in each Wisconsin county in March, and preliminary antlerless deer quotas, harvest authorization levels and season structure recommendations for the 2019 deer hunting season are now available for review and comment.

An online public comment period will be open through Thursday, April 11, to collect feedback on the preliminary recommendations.

To view each county’s recommendations and provide feedback, go to the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, and search keyword “CDAC.”

Antlerless quota recommendations and hunter success rates from previous hunts are used to determine the number of antlerless harvest authorizations available for the 2019 deer hunting season and help Department of Natural Resources staff and councils work to reach deer population objectives within each county.

“The impact that CDACs are having on deer hunting in Wisconsin is impressive and growing,” said Jeff Pritzl, acting DNR deer program specialist. “The public has a real voice in local deer management, and the council members weigh their decisions heavily on public feedback — if you have an interest in helping to shape the deer season in your county, this is an important opportunity.”

CDACs consider a variety of factors, such as harvest data, population trends and winter severity to form harvest objective and harvest authorization level recommendations.

After the public comment period has ended, each council will reconvene April 15-18 to evaluate public feedback and determine final recommendations for the 2019 deer season, which will be reviewed and adopted by the Natural Resources Board in May.

All council meetings are open to the public and provide the opportunity for attendees to address the council. Meeting details for each county can be found by going to dnr.wi.gov and searching keyword “CDAC.”

In Florence County, the preliminary antlerless harvest quota is 400, with bonus authorizations of 700 private and 400 public. The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 16 at the Wild Rivers Interpretative Center in Florence.

In Marinette County, the next meeting is at 7 p.m. April 17 at the Crivitz Village Hall. Preliminary recommendations are an antlerless harvest quota of 1,350 in the forest zone and 3,250 in the farmland zone.

In the forest zone, Marinette County would have bonus permits numbering 1,575 public and 2,275 private. The farmland zone would have 500 public and 2,750 private bonus permits.

Forest County has a preliminary antlerless harvest quota of 100, with 300 bonus private authorizations. The next Forest County meeting is at 7 p.m. April 18 at Crandon Public Library.