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DNR updates board on deer management unit review; public comments mostly supportive of habitat-based units in northern forest
Summary
DNR staff briefed the board on outreach and feedback for a potential return to habitat-based deer units in the northern and central forest zones; the department plans to return with formal rule language for board action next month.
Department of Natural Resources staff on Jan. 22 updated the board on a public process to review county-based deer management units and consider a return to habitat-based units in the northern and central forest zones.
Jeff Przyl, the DNR deer program specialist, said the department focused the review on the northern and central forest zones (not farmland zones) after hearing sustained input from county advisory councils and some Conservation Congress delegates. The department convened a preliminary advisory committee, held an online briefing for county deer advisory councils and conducted four public open houses in November (including virtual attendance). The formal comment period for proposed rule language ran Dec. 9–Jan. 10 and included an online public hearing on Jan. 8.
Przyl said public survey responses and open-house input were largely supportive in the northern forest (about 80% in favor of proposed habitat-based units); central forest feedback was more mixed but still leaned toward support in many areas. The department revised some boundaries following public input (including the addition of a new unit in the Bayfield county area and a Marinette County boundary adjustment) and plans to bring proposed rule text and a green-sheet background to the board in February. If adopted in February the new units could be in place for the 2025 fall season; delaying a decision would push implementation to 2026.
Board members asked about how county deer advisory councils (CDACs) would operate if units changed and whether the Conservation Congress' role would change. Przyl said the department envisions working with the Conservation Congress and CDACs to preserve local public input; the proposed rule language would replace the word "county" with "citizen" in the advisory-council references to allow flexibility in how advisory groups are organized if units change.
The board previewed the February timeline and requested continued outreach to affected counties, tribes and the Conservation Congress before final action.
