Uppity Wisconsin

Last night I counted 77 deer in about a 20 acre field. They were munching on the baby barley
and tender alfalfa shoots. My neighbor at church said there are so many deer they are scaring
away the turkeys. I thought turkeys and deer could live together.
Most folks around me are thinking about turkeys. But today I am thinking about deer.
In my neighborhood there are way too many deer.
This is not true up north. Hard winters and over hunting on public lands have decreased the deer
population.
But in our part of the state those babies are multiplying.
The DNR has a challenge counting deer and figuring out how best to manage the state’s herd.
The Conservation Congress is working hard and voting on possible ideas. At a public hearing in
Madison, scores of citizens offered suggestions.
Last week bus loads of people dressed in camouflage and blaze orange came to Madison to talk
about hunting. The Senate Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Forestry and Natural
Resources and the Assembly Fish and Wildlife Committee held a joint hearing on deer
management.
More than 700 people attended the hearing which filled the committee’s hearing room to
overflowing. Many had to monitor the proceedings over loud speakers set up in two other