DNR biologist offers views on low gun season harvest

A recent Deer & Deer Hunting magazine article citing research that wolves killed more deer in a few northern counties than firearms deer hunters this season has fueled sportsmen’s calls for a wolf season, but also has state biologists questioning the numbers.

The larger question is, why was the 2019 firearms deer season harvest the lowest in 39 years?

Deer & Deer Hunting, based in Iola, is typically a very factual magazine founded on deer research and hunting data. Its predecessor, The Stump Sitters, was a groundbreaking publication that uncovered much fresh data on deer behavior, and Deer & Deer Hunting has continued that tradition.

The article, “More Deer Killed by Wolves Than by Hunters in 2019,” quoted a Facebook-based group called Wisconsin Wolf Facts, which has no confirmed page owner and provides no contacts. Their methodology for their statistics is not provided anywhere, nor did the magazine question those statistics. Not only is the headline very misleading, but the so-called facts in the story are not attributed to any person other than this phantom Facebook page.

In the online article now circulating among hunters, Wisconsin Wolf Facts claims that gray wolves killed 15,280 deer in 17 northern counties. During this fall’s nine-day gun deer season, hunters killed 33,571 deer in those same counties.

In Iron, Jackson, Douglas and Forest counties, according to the group, wolves killed more deer than the gun hunters. They claimed that in Douglas County, for example, wolves killed 2,260 deer, while gun hunters killed 1,790. Of course wolves hunt every day of the year and mostly at night, while the gun deer season is only nine days long.

Here’s a link to the story by Deer & Deer Hunting editor-in-chief Daniel Schmidt: www.deeranddeerhunting.com/articles/deer-news/more-deer-killed-by-wolves...

Daniel Storm, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources lead biologist for deer predation in the state, was quick to question the research, making it clear that the numbers did not come from the state.

“Note that we don’t estimate the number of deer that are killed statewide by wolves or any other predator other than humans,” Storm said in an email. “It is not possible to do so accurately and can only be done by some ‘back of the envelope’ math that makes a lot of assumptions.”

It’s difficult to determine what killed a deer and whether it was later scavenged by wolves, coyotes and other predators, he noted. However, this is all relatively unimportant with deer survival in winter. Winter severity is much more important, he explained.

Studies of radio-collared fawns in Sawyer County during the “super harsh winter of 2013-14” showed a fawn survival rate of about 50%, he said. In a mild winter, more than 90% of fawns survive the winter.

“Survival of adults outside the hunting season there was 80-85%, no matter how harsh the winters were. During the harsh winter of 2013-14, we had deer starving in Waupaca and Shawano counties. They were almost never eaten by predators there. If there had been more wolves and coyotes, those deer that starved would probably have been eaten. But the predators were not there and they died anyway. It really is all about winter and everything else is a distraction,” Storm stated.

The Winter Severity Index looks at the number of days between Dec. 1 and April 30 when the temperature is 0 or below, and when there is 18 inches or more of snow on the ground. For each day both conditions exist, that day receives a 2. For either the temperature or snow depth criteria alone, that day receives a 1. Then the winter’s total score determines the severity, Storm explained.

Last December and January were relatively mild, although snows last February and March set some snowfall records. The winter of 2012-13, conversely, saw winter conditions exist into May, he noted.

Although the DNR initially told hunters that the deer herd was at a near record high of 1.8 million animals prior to the gun deer season, the harvest of 167,693 animals was the lowest in 39 years and down 21.6% from last year.

Storm pointed out the late start of the hunt, which largely missed the peak of the rut, about 30% of the corn remained in the fields and snows hit many areas after opening weekend. He also noted that the buck harvest during the archery season prior to the gun season was actually up slightly from 2018.

Wolf numbers certainly have increased since animal-rights groups sued to stop a Wisconsin wolf season by relisting wolves as endangered in 2014, after two successful wolf seasons in the state. Noted wolf expert David Mech has testified in court that wolves are not endangered in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Officially, there are almost 1,000 gray or timber wolves in the state. Many think that estimate is low.

State predation research has revealed that black bears are the number one predator of fawns within the bear’s known range, primarily the northern third or so of the state. Efforts continue to secure a state wolf hunting and trapping season to regulate wolf numbers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has submitted a proposal to delist the wolf from the Endangered Species List, which would help clear the way for an annual hunting and trapping season.

Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.