Years ago, when there were few white-tailed deer in southern Wisconsin, northern
Wisconsin was known as the place where deer hunting
occurred.
That image has remained, in spite of
southern Wisconsin, with its mixed farm fields and forest landscapes, becoming a
deer haven.
Still, many hunters continue to head north
each November. Other hunters stay home in southern Wisconsin and a few northern
Wisconsin hunters actually travel south to hunt
deer.
"There's still the mystique of going north to
hunt deer," said Lee Wiesner, who has lived and hunted in the south and now
lives and hunts in the north.
There are some
advantages to hunters heading north.
"A major
difference is the large amount of public land, over 50 percent of the land, in
northern Wisconsin is open to the public. In the south, very little land is
open to the public, compared to the north," Wiesner, a retired Department of
Natural Resources conservation warden, said. "Some areas in the north have very
low hunter densities; hunters still-hunt (move quietly through the woods) or
stalk deer (sneak up on deer). We see traditional deer drives in the north,
too, but they are far less common in the south."
Kevin
Schultz, like Wiesner, now lives and hunts in northern Wisconsin, but lived in
southern Wisconsin some years ago.
"Land is generally
very flat up here, there's a lot of woods, marshy areas, clear-cuts in timbers,
where all the trees have been removed by logging, and brushy areas," Schultz
said. "In many areas there are real deer camps up
here."
Wiesner said one should expect to see some old
fashioned deer camps up north, with hunters putting up tents, but most use more
modern accommodations.
Other differences also separate
northern and southern Wisconsin.
Baiting (putting out
food for deer and then hunting near the bait) is permitted, on a limited basis
in northern Wisconsin, but baiting and feeding deer is not permitted in most of
southern Wisconsin, where chronic wasting disease was discovered in
2002.
CWD is a fatal brain disease of deer, elk and
moose.
"The majority of hunters do use bait in
northern Wisconsin," Wiesner said. "Wardens up here do enforce the maximum
two-gallon limit."
Schultz believes baiting is heavy
in northern Wisconsin, too, and many hunters ignore the rules and place huge
piles of corn in areas where they hunt.
Because six
hunters were murdered during a trespassing dispute in Sawyer County last
November, many people were wondering how that incident might influence the 2005
deer season.
Wiesner said many Hmong hunters seem to
be staying away from the area where the murders took place last November, but he
believes they shouldn't have to avoid the area where the incident
occurred.
"That incident is still on the minds of many
hunters," Schultz said. "I don't think anyone is nervous about hunting this
year, however, but we still hear lots of comments toward the Hmong people in the
community."
Seeing wolves, bears and even elk is
another mystique about northern Wisconsin. Even though wolves and bears have
moved farther south during the last decade, north is the place to see these
majestic animals.
"I saw an elk last year; it was
impressive," Schultz said. "I've never seen a wolf; I know they're here and
some hunters even blame low deer populations on
wolves."
Most hunters do not see any of these animals,
because their densities are low compared to the land mass in northern
Wisconsin. Bears are usually in their dens by the time gun-deer season opens,
although Wiesner believes bears go to their dens when food becomes scarce, not
necessarily when weather turns cold.
Elk are limited
to a small area around Clam Lake, in Ashland and Bayfield counties.
