"Dr. Deer" recommends more passive approach to CWD in Wisconsin

Governor Walker’s so-called “deer czar” has issued some recommendations about changing deer hunting in Wisconsin.

Walker picked Texas researcher James Kroll as his whitetail deer trustee, and is paying Kroll 125-thousand dollars to review DNR deer herd management practices. Kroll and his team have just issued numerous suggestions, and he says if all or most are implemented , more hunters will be satisfied.

Kroll says some key suggestions include changing a deer population estimate model to a regional or statewide assessment of whether the deer herd is increasing, shrinking or stable. Kroll also recommends a deer management assistance program to get local teams working with landowners and other key groups. Kroll also wants a more passive approach to controlling chronic wasting disease among deer in a key management zone, focusing on detecting outbreaks more quickly and reacting decisively. George Meyer of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation likes much of Kroll’s report. But Meyer says

the plan to go passive on CWD is a bad idea.

Meyer urges the DNR to hold many public input session for hunters and others, if the department moves ahead with any proposed rule changes stemming from the deer czar’s report. Democrats say DNR staff have been prevented from commenting on Kroll’s work, but DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp says her agency is ready, willing and eager to get started on making deer hunting better in Wisconsin.