Image by Claudia Castro via Flickr
MADISON – State wildlife officials are again asking Wisconsin deer hunters to report what they are seeing or not seeing while they are out pursuing deer.
Coinciding with the start of the archery deer season, the Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey goes live online beginning September 17, the opening day of the 2011 deer season. This will be the third year of the survey which asks deer hunters to report their field observations of a variety of wildlife species, hunting conditions and hours spent pursuing game.
“Deer hunters’ efforts have produced valuable information for estimating abundance and distribution of many of Wisconsin’s wildlife species” said Jes Rees, Department of Natural Resources wildlife survey technician. Results of previous years are available online.
“We ask that all deer hunters consider participating in this survey effort. All they need to do is record the date, number of hours, county, deer management unit, weather conditions and the type and number of animals observed during each day of deer hunting,” says Rees. “Hunters can also enter their email address along with their observations and I will send them an email summary of their hunting activity at the end of the survey period.”
Hunters can find survey instructions, record sightings, and view survey results online at the Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey webpage. A tally sheet is also available for times when hunters do not have access to the internet or a computer. Hunters should record all of their hunting activity throughout the deer season, even if no wildlife sightings were made. The survey period begins September 17 and runs through January 2012.
The Hunter Wildlife Survey overlaps another citizen-participation survey currently underway. Operation Deer Watch started Aug 1 and runs through Sept. 30. The primary objective of Operation Deer Watch is to determine trends in deer reproductive success by reporting does and fawns seen together during the late summer and early fall.
Trail Camera Photos Wanted
The Wildlife Surveys group is also interested in photographs of rare or endangered species hunters may have captured on their trail cameras. Photos can be emailed to Wildlife Management. shawn.rossler@wisconsin.gov This information will help document their existence and location within the state. Trail camera photos can be viewed in our online trail camera gallery (exit DNR).
Questions about the Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey, accessing the tally sheet, reporting your observation, or the results of the survey, can be referred to Jes Rees at (608) 221-6360.
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