Dean Bortz: Habitat-based deer units back in place in Wisconsin’s forest zones

Wisconsin deer hunters who have been begging and pleading for the DNR and Natural Resources Board (NRB) to dump the Dr. James Kroll county deer unit system and go back to habitat-based numbered units like we use to have can now be thankful.

On Feb. 26, NRB members voted unanimously to adopt a plan the puts the state’s two forest zones, northern and central, back into numbered units.

There are some huge thank-you’s to be offered here, but there first thank you has to go to a man who is no longer with us. That would be Al Horvath, of Douglas County.

NRB Chair Bill Smith was spot-on that day when he took a minute to thank Horvath for his work on getting this change started almost (a little exaggerated – it might have been two years) the day the county system was adopted. Smith and Horvath were well acquainted, but even if they weren’t Horvath would have made sure Smith understands that a county deer unit system simply can not work in Douglas County.

Or Bayfield County.

Or Ashland County.

Or Marinette County.

Or Oconto County.

Or Oneida County … you get the picture.

Why we had to suffer through 12, 13 years of this aggravation I will never understand (well, I do know why, but that doesn’t mean the county system was the right way to go on this issue), but at least now we can begin working on streamlining our deer management system in the two forest zones. I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point more of the state doesn’t join the numbered unit system.

So, yes, thanks so much to Al Horvath in getting this ball rolling. I’d also like to thank all of the CDAC members and deer hunters who took the time to attend meetings and contact NRB members and legislators on this front.

We also have to thank legislators who not only held hearings in Madison, but also across the northern counties to gather input on this desired change. In particular, I’ll applaud Chanz Green, a state Assembly representative from northwestern Wisconsin who attended CDAC meetings in his district, as well as the Feb. 26 NRB meeting, to support the concept.

Not too far behind Green are Sen. Romaine Quinn and Sen. Rob Stafsholt.

Deer hunters should also take a minute to thank Smith and NRB member Marcy West. Yes, board members voted unanimously last Wednesday to approve the emergency rule process that will allow this new deer unit plan to move forward; Smith and West have been tracking this movement since its inception.

There’s no way I can know this, but I’d bet the royalties from Jeff Nania’s fifth book (I was told last week it’s almost to the printer) that Smith and West helped the new NRB members not only understand why this change was being sought, but also why we’d be better off going the emergency rule route than going through a permanent rule process.

So, Bill and Marcy, on behalf of any deer hunters who would allow me to speak for them, thank you for your veteran guidance.

Now we go to the guy who did the heavy lifting – Jeff Pritzl, the DNR’s deer program director. I can’t even imagine the hoops, hurdles, moats and mountains Pritzl had to navigate to not only get this concept before the NRB last week, but to have it also arrive in a condition where no one (well, virtually no one – remember, there is no chortling in this space) could create any doubt this plan should be enacted.

I’ve talked about Pritzl in this space before. I don’t “know know” the guy, but I do know Pritzl to the extent where I would happily buy him his favorite brew of sarsaparilla if I ran into him at a place such as, oh, say Patsy’s in Washburn or The Big Dipper in Pike Lake (by the way, I had a fish fry at The Big Dipper last Friday with reader Terry Teeters – highly recommend the food).

And, I wouldn’t even let Pritzl first ask the DNR’s Department of Communications for permission to talk to me first. I’d just slam the frosty mug in his hand.

Getting this plan to the NRB and to get it passed with the support shown by NRB members and deer hunters could not have been easy. So, Mr. Pritzl, even though we have printed letters from readers who suggested you should retire, go ahead and stick around for a while yet – and thanks so much not only for your hard work, but your dedication to your job.

Emergency rule

One key piece to this whole deal is the fact that the NRB approved the change through the DNR’s emergency rule process.

That works in our favor in several ways – it’s in place now, meaning we will work under the new numbered unit system for all 2025-26 deer seasons starting when the archery deer season opens in September. If the NRB had gone with the permanent rule process, it might have taken three years to adopt the changes.

Couple more things about the emergency rule route:

• There is one more opportunity for public input (I think it’s within 60 or 90 days of the NRB approval) and that wouldn’t be the case if the NRB had gone permanent rule;

• We are having a mild winter so deer survival and fawn recruitment should be as good as we could hope as long as nothing changes weather-wise between now and the end of May, so it’s a great time to make this change from that standpoint;

• We have the opportunity to review unit boundaries in another three years if anything needs to be tweaked – having the plan in place now gives us the opportunity to “see how it fits;”

• This change will be in place and have a little “age” on it when it goes to the CDAC spring meetings. CDAC members will have time between now and then to get familiar with the plan and begin thinking about how these changes will play out in their areas.

There’s a whole lot more to learn about this new deer unit plan and we’ll take the time going forward to slowly pull it apart and look at the guts of it between now and September, but maybe start out by studying the map and see how it applies to your hunting area.

Just what CDACs might look like in the future, as far as fitting into the units, will be determined as we move ahead. Public and private land antlerless tags will remain in place. The Deer Management Assistance Program will remain whole.

I think this plan has a ton of potential. I can’t wait to see it get to work.