Sporting Heritage Bill Aims to Help Wisconsin Sportspersons

Tomorrow, Nov. 19, marks the beginning of regular gun deer season, but there may be even more good news headed for Wisconsin’s outdoor sportsmen and women.

As the number of hunting and fishing licenses have dwindled over the last decade, we're hoping to restore Wisconsin’s tradition of outdoor sports with the Sporting Heritage Bill. The Assembly passed the legislation earlier this month and it's now being considered in the Senate. The bill would increase benefits for current hunters, fishers, and trappers, as well as first-timers. Some of these benefits include:

• A reduced fee for people seeking first-time licenses. Those who have not purchased a license within the last decade are also eligible for this lowered fee.
• Adult hunter and trapper education courses.
• The opportunity for teens to receive half of a high school credit for successfully completing a DNR safety program.
• Rewarding existing hunters and trappers with a credit toward their next DNR license purchase when they recruit new outdoor sportsmen and women.

Hunting has a major economic impact on our state. It supports 25,000 jobs and according to a 2006 study, it had an economic impact of $1.4 billion on our state economy.

What also hasn't diminished is the necessity of managing our deer herd population. Recently, Governor Walker appointed Dr. James Kroll as Wisconsin’s Whitetail Deer Trustee. Working independently of the DNR, Dr. Kroll is responsible for evaluating and reviewing the deer herd management practices in Wisconsin. He's a resource for our state’s outdoor sportsmen and women, and any feedback of his services can be sent directly to DEERTRUSTEE@Wisconsin.gov.

Governor Walker has signed a law that terminated the divisive Earn-a-Buck program. Hunters are no longer required to shoot an antlerless deer before shooting a buck; however, hunters will have to tag a doe before shooting a second buck. The bill also eliminated the special gun deer seasons in October. A more traditional hunting agenda was proposed that did away with the antlerless hunt in October and will allow the first deer to be either male or female in the Chronic Wasting Disease management zone.

If you need clarification about hunting and fishing regulations or have questions concerning firewood transportation, here's the DNR's customer service hotline.

Call Toll-Free 1-888-WDNR INFo (1-888-936-7463); e-mail csweb@wisconsin.gov; chat available at http://dnr.wi.gov/contact; 7 am – 10 pm, 7 days per week.

Have a great weekend and be safe out there!