2015 Archived Articles
Hearings Coming Up for Permanent White Deer Protection
January 4, 2015
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will be holding nine public hearings at locations throughout Wisconsin later this month to gather public input on the Deer Trustee Report Rule Package, which includes a proposal to “restore a statewide restriction on the harvest of all white and albino deer.”
An Emergency Rule Package, which included white deer protection in CWD zones, was approved by the DNR Board last January, but was only temporary for the 2014 deer hunting season and will expire in June 2015–which means we could lose white deer protection in CWD zones in 2015!
The DNR Board will vote in February on adoption of the permanent Deer Trustee Report Rule Package, which, if approved, will advance to the state legislature for final review.
Although there are many proposals in the Rule Package (see link above), rules can be removed or changed, so it is very important that people speak up about the need to protect all white deer in Wisconsin.
The hearings to get public comments on the proposed permanent rule changes will be from 6-8 pm at the dates and locations listed below. Find additional information at the DNR website.
If you cannot attend any of these hearings, you can still send comments to: Mr. Scott Loomans, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, or email him at Scott.Loomans@Wisconsin.gov
January 20
La Crosse (DNR Service Center, Room B19, 3550 Mormon Coulee Road)
Fitchburg (DNR Service Center, Gathering Waters Conference Room, 3911 Fish Hatchery Road)
January 21
Dodgeville (DNR Service Center, Conference Room, 1500 N. Johns St.)
January 22
Eau Claire (Chippewa Valley Technical College Business Education Center, Room 103A, 620 West Clairemont Ave.)
Green Bay (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Lecture Hall Room SC132, 2740 W. Mason St. )
Schofield (DC Everest Middle School, Auditorium, 9302 Schofield Ave.)
Spooner (DNR Service Center, Community Room, 810 West Maple St.)
January 26
Waukesha (DNR Service Center, Room 151 (West entrance), 141 NW Barstow St.)
January 27
Rhinelander (James Williams Middle School, auditorium, 915 Acacia Lane)
Albino Deer Steals Hearts in Northwoods Community
February 11, 2015
A recent news story from Wausau’s WFXS Fox 55 television station highlights, once again, the appeal to people and communities of white deer. In this story, a reporter interviews Jack Marasch, who was captivated by his first sighting of a white fawn near Mercer in Iron County, Wisconsin: “I’m 74 years old and I’ve never seen a white deer in my life.”
Local bar manager, Dawn Craig, one of many people in the area who keep tabs on the white fawn says “She just is a delight to everyone and something new and interesting to see.” Marasch adds, “She’s just a great little deer and she’s touching everybody’s hearts up here and we love her… We just love her.”
Permanent White Deer Protection Up for DNR Board Vote on February 25
February 17, 2015
The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will meet on Wednesday, February 25 to decide if changes in Wisconsin hunting laws that were enacted last year on a temporary basis (the Emergency Rules Package) will become permanent law. Included in this Deer Trustee Report Rules Package is a proposal to reinstate protection of white deer in CWD (chronic wasting disease) zones. Public comments will be accepted before the Board makes their final decision.
IMPORTANT! There is a Friday, February 20, 11:00 am deadline to register to speak at the February 25 meeting. Call or email Laurie Ross (info below) to sign up to speak. For public participation guidelines, click here.
The Board meeting will start at 8:30 am at the DNR’s GEF 2 building in Madison, Wisconsin. Enter the building at the 101 S. Webster Street entrance and go down the right corridor to the reception desk.
101 S. Webster St.
Madison WI 53703
If you are unable to attend the meeting, you can submit written comments to Laurie instead. The white deer issue is agenda item 3.B.1. Encourage a “yes” vote on all white deer protection.Laurie J. Ross, Board Liaison
Office of the Secretary
Laurie.Ross@wisconsin.gov
608-267-7420
Permanent White Deer Protection on the Home Stretch
February 26, 2015
The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, at its February 25 meeting, voted to approve the Deer Trustee Report final rule package which “restores the protected status of white deer in a CWD affected area so that they will again be protected statewide.”
Ron Ruenger from Black Hawk and MaLenna Smith from Leland both spoke to the Board in favor of reinstating statewide white deer protection in the rule package.
Rob Bohmann, Conservation Congress Chair, argued that the white deer proposal did not belong in the rule package because it was not in Dr. James Kroll’s (Wisconsin’s deer czar’s) original recommendations.
Au contraire. The Rules Package was intended to implement improved management and new regulations for Wisconsin deer hunting. The rule that removed white deer protection in CWD zones definitely needed to be changed and this was the time and the place to do it.
The Deer Trustee Report rule package will go next to the legislature for review and to Governor Walker for signing before becoming permanent law.
1st Annual White Deer Triathlon
March 29, 2015
Boulder Junction, Wisconsin really knows how to make the best of a good thing. It seems the self-proclaimed “Musky Capital of the World” is getting more attention lately from their long-time population of white deer. Now they’ve created a sporting event named for the white deer: The White Deer Triathlon, which will take place Saturday, May 16, 2015.
This first-ever event will feature running, biking, and paddling legs (instead of the traditional swimming) on a scenic triangular course in Boulder Junction and across Boulder Lake. Check out this Boulder Junction webpage for more information, registration, and additional event activities. The “winners” will receive awards…and (along with everyone else) get a chance to see a real white deer!
Another WCC Spring Hearing; Another Attempt to Legalize White Deer Hunting
March 29, 2015
On Monday, April 13 at 7:00, Wisconsin Conservation Congress Spring Hearing attendees will get to voice their opinions, by an advisory vote to lawmakers, on 112 fish and wildlife issues affecting Wisconsin. This year’s ballot includes two very controversial questions: a proposal to hunt sandhill cranes and a proposal to let counties determine their own white deer hunting regulations.
The proposal on white deer on the WCC spring ballot reads:
7. Do you support a rule change that would allow County Deer Advisory Councils to recommend the hunting of white deer in their respective counties? Yes_____ No_____
This white deer question was proposed by a group of Wood County hunters (Wisconsin Rapids area) who have their figurative sights on a couple of white bucks in the area and who would like to have their literal sights on them as well. The WCC Deer and Elk Committee took what was originally a county proposal (passed at the 2014 Wood County WCC Spring Hearing) and made it a statewide question.
White deer are still extremely rare in Wisconsin, even where there are localized populations. The Boulder Junction white deer herd is smaller than in past years, and numbers are no guarantee that the animals will be present in the future, even without hunting pressure.
It’s nice that white deer are finally being recognized for the strong, healthy members of the herd that they are, but any notion that they outnumber the brown bucks in an area or are limiting hunting opportunities is highly unlikely.
With the exception of CWD zones in 2008-2013, the tradition of white deer protection in Wisconsin has been continuous and statewide for 75 years! Allowing hunting in any county represents a fractured management view–as logical as allowing the hunting of bald eagles that congregate at dams because “there are so many.”
Question #35 on last spring’s WCC ballot (Do you favor legalizing the harvest of white and albino deer statewide?) was resoundingly defeated by a vote of 3,939 to 1915 by a predominantly hunting population! A vote from nonhunters would have produced even larger opposition to the idea.
The WCC Spring Hearings will be held at county locations throughout the state. Arrive by 6:30 to register. Attendance at the meetings is very important since only votes at the meeting count in the final compilation for or against a proposal.
Vote for the White Deer!
April 10, 2015
If you’re a white fawn, it’s a tough world out there: coyotes and wolves and bears, oh my, with plenty of speeding cars threatening your crossing at every road. Now a group of hunters want individual counties to determine their own laws so that people can legally shoot adult white deer, too.
There are too few white deer and they are too special. They need to be preserved and appreciated for the rare and beautiful animals that they are.
Vote “No” to Deer & Elk Committee Advisory Question No. 7 at the WCC Spring Hearing on April 13 (see info in article below). Send a message to lawmakers that statewide protection is best for both the white deer and Wisconsin.
WCC Attendees Vote Against County Hunts for White Deer
April 17, 2015
Final votes from Wisconsin’s Conservation Congress Spring Hearing were 1,882 against allowing counties to determine their own regulations for hunting white deer and 1,750 in favor. This was a surprise total, considering votes at the 2014 spring hearing were 3,939 against legalizing the hunting of white and albino deer statewide, with only 1, 915 votes in favor of allowing hunting.
The decreased support for white deer may have been a product of the very low turnout at this year’s hearings (a mere 4,610 compared to 7,053 in 2014), plus an increased interest by hunters in moving deer management recommendations to County Deer Advisory Councils (CDACs).
The introduction to Question 7 on the ballot also had inaccurate and misleading information on white deer populations. Since information on the ballots can neither be checked nor challenged, it could have lead some people to believe, MISTAKENLY, that white deer numbers could justify local hunts–which they cannot.
Considering voters overwhelmingly supported all 69 of the DNR’s proposed rule changes and rejected only 5 of 41 of the WCC’s advisory questions–most of which either increased seasons or increased bag limits, it’s probably amazing that a proposal to allow counties to hunt white deer was rejected at all.
Find a complete summary of the 2015 WCC Spring Hearing results and county breakdowns here:
2015 Spring Hearing-Statewide Results
2015 Spring Hearing-County Results
Summer Dates for Forest and Flight Photography Shows
May 18, 2015
Wildlife photographer Mike Richard will have framed prints, photos, and cards for viewing and for sale featuring Leland’s white deer and other area wildlife (including eagles, cranes, and swans). See why the white deer are so incredible and purchase a print so you can enjoy seeing them every day.
Also, check out Forest and Flight’s new website for a sampling of Mike’s outstanding photos and to purchase prints online. http://www.forestandfliSeptemberghtphotography.com/
June
ArtJune Fine Arts and Crafts Show
Saturday, June 20, 9-4; Baraboo, WI
Spring Green’s 45th Annual Arts & Crafts Fair
Saturday, June 27, 9-5; Sunday, June 28, 9-4; Spring Green, WI
July
Mount Horeb’s 44th Annual Art Fair
Saturday, July 18, 9-5; Sunday, July 19, 10-4; Mount Horeb, WI
August
Middleton Good Neighbor Festival Arts & Crafts Show
Saturday, Aug. 29, 9-5; Sunday, Aug. 30, 9-5; Fireman’s Park, Middleton, WI
September
Sauk Prairie Chow Chip Throw Arts & Crafts Fair
Saturday, Sept. 5, 9-5; Marion Park, Prairie du Sac, WI
Wisconsin Dells Wo-Zha-Wa Arts & Crafts Show
Friday, Sept. 18, 12-5; Saturday, Sept. 19, 9-5; Sunday, Sept. 20, 9-3:30; Bowman Park, Wisconsin Dells, WI
One Yard, One Picture Says It All
May 20, 2015
One yard sign–nice. Two yard signs–terrific. A white deer statue–pretty eye-catching. A second white deer statue–double the impact. Nicely arranged setting. Great job homeowners! (Photo taken at a rural Sauk County home.)
Protected!
July 18, 2015
White deer are again protected in all of Wisconsin!
Is it true?
The Deer Trustee Report Rules Package, which contained a provision for reinstating statewide protection for white deer, was signed by Governor Scott Walker in April and recently passed committees in both the State Senate and Assembly without opposition or change.
The new law will take effect on August 1 of this year.
White deer were protected statewide from 1940 to 2008 when protection was removed in CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) zones as a drastic response to the disease. A temporary rule protected white deer again in all zones during the 2014 hunting season.
The DNR does not record coat color for deer kills, so there is no way to know how many white deer were killed during those six years when the deer were unprotected. Three white bucks alone were shot in the Leland, Wisconsin area.
This new law is welcome news to Leland residents, who have worked so hard to get the deer protected. The white buck in the video above was the third Leland kill and the impetus to get hunting law changed.
There is still a small herd of white deer in the area–so much appreciated by both residents and the lucky travelers who catch a furtive glimpse of white or see a ghostly figure mixed with the “everyday” brown deer along Leland’s back roads.
Special thanks to former Representative Fred Clark for his instrumental efforts in navigating the legislative channels to make this happen.
It’s Like Going to Disney World and Shooting Mickey Mouse
November 29, 2015
So remarked local nature photographer Carl Sams after a pure white buck was shot in Kensington Metropark 40 miles northwest of Detroit, Michigan last February. “It was the golden goose of the park.”
Area photographer, Lou Waldock, lamented, “They (park leaders) were given a beautiful gift and they squandered it.” “People are utterly devastated.”
Once again a treasured white deer is shot, but this time not by hunters. And this time, the ethical aspects have some added dimensions. Read more
A White Deer Christmas Card
December 22, 2015
Photo from Seneca White Deer Inc.
A decommissioned army depot in Seneca Falls, New York, very much like Sauk County’s Badger Army Ammunition Plant, is home to a herd of white deer that has been isolated within a fence and protected from hunting since 1949.
200 of 800 deer now at the plant are white, but their fate is in jeopardy as development interests threaten to take over the deer’s home. Locals have organized to get at least some of the 10,000 acre former army site preserved for the deer.
As part of an effort to raise funds, the “Seneca White Deer” group this year is selling Christmas cards with pictures of white deer on them–a fitting symbol of the holiday season. Cards can still be purchased, which will hopefully help the white deer find “Peace On Earth” and a place to live.
