Night Deer Hunting Goes To Court Today

A federal court hearing today over whether Ojibwe tribes in northern Wisconsin can hunt deer at night may challenge the landmark Voigt treaty rights decision made during the spear-fishing controversy of the 1980’s.

Several issues standout in this challenge:The state contends it’s dangerous to hunt deer at night, although the tribes counter that night hunting of wolves allowed in this fall’s first-ever wolf hunting season contradicts that.

But in an affidavit of DNR Chief northern Warden Dave Zebro filed in federal court last week are internal emails from last August about the night hunting negotiations.One DNR warden speculated that this has surfaced because the tribes are upset with the then-proposed wolf hunting season and that night deer hunting is quote “possible retaliation” end quote.

One conservation officer’s email reply was simply quoting again “You can’t be serious??” with two question marks after it.

Perhaps the biggest underlying issue is the tribes say treaties give them the right to hunt, fish and gather in the ceded territories surrounding reservations.That right comes from treaties ceding much of their territory to the federal government in the first half of the 19th century. The state’s point:Tribes can’t order a night hunt without the state’s consent.

In a motion filed Monday by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, he writes that tribes lack the authority to unilaterally issue a night hunt order.

The tribes say they have that right–fromthe 1983 Voigt decision.

U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb will decide on the motions.Crabb has made five decisions upholding treaty rights dating back to 1987.