# Feelings run hot on WI deer-feed ban



## Tom Morang (Aug 14, 2001)

Feelings run hot on deer-feed ban
State to act on stemming wasting disease

By LEE BERGQUIST
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: June 23, 2002


Deer come to Dick Simon's resort near Park Falls for a handout.


The state Natural Resources Board this week will vote on new deer hunting regulations for fall to help control the spread of chronic wasting disease. Some regulations will apply to a 361-square-mile "intensive harvest zone" around the area where infected deer have been found. Other rules will apply to a 10-county "management zone" in southern Wisconsin.

Simon bought 50 tons of feed for deer last winter. He purchased 75 tons the year before for the hundreds that congregate on his 2,600 acres during the winter.

The abundance of feed, a dearth of snowmobiles and no hunting have turned Simon's property, called Boyd's Mason Lake Resort, into a deer-friendly place where the whitetails walk between the cabins, and some will eat out of your hand.

"They have a great life going, as far as a wild animal is concerned," Simon said.

But deer feeding and its cousin - the practice of baiting sites with food to attract deer to shoot them - could be coming to an end in Wisconsin.

The Natural Resources Board meets Tuesday and Wednesday in Racine and will vote on a proposal to ban feeding and baiting of deer across Wisconsin.

The proposed ban, recommended by the staff of the Department of Natural Resources, is part of Wisconsin's early efforts to control the spread of chronic wasting disease.

Other recommendations include an unprecedented killing of 25,000 deer in a 361-square-mile region of Dane, Iowa and Sauk counties, and cutting 50% of the deer population in a surrounding 10-county area.
Increasing the risk?

DNR staff members say feeding and baiting add food sources that pull many deer through winters, exacerbating an already heavy deer population. By bringing deer together, feeding and baiting heighten the risk of transmitting infectious diseases, the DNR says.

Staff members point to studies of deer and elk infected with chronic wasting disease in the West that suggest the fatal disease is spread through deer-to-deer contact, contamination of food or from saliva, urine or feces.

News last week that an elk on a Manitowoc County farm had contracted bovine tuberculosis "underscores the fact that we are not bulletproof in Wisconsin," said Tom Hauge, the DNR's point man on chronic wasting disease.

Deer once weathered the winters on whatever vegetation they could find. But over the past 20 years, the trend of feeding the animals has grown, according to Scott Craven, a University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecologist.

"Bird feeding is the most popular wildlife interaction there is, and this is an extension of that," Craven said.

Techniques vary, from throwing a handful of feed on lawns to using farmlike feeders that attract deer in droves.

Illegal in many states, baiting has become a common, though controversial, hunting technique in Wisconsin.

"As a hunter myself, I am not interested in hunting over bait," Craven said. "But it is a personal issue."

A DNR study says that 40% of bow hunters, who need to get within 20 or 30 yards of their target, use bait to get closer. Deer hunters who bait have been known to illegally dump truckloads of food - anything from corn to pumpkins - near a hunting stand to assure a better shot.
A volatile issue

Whether Wisconsin should ban feeding and baiting has engendered strong emotions among hunters and people who live close to Wisconsin's teeming deer population.

"My phone is ringing off the hook," said Natural Resources Board member Catherine L. Stepp of Racine. "I love that. It excites me that people take time in their busy lives and get involved."

Board member James E. Tiefenthaler Jr. of Waukesha expressed doubt about a statewide ban on baiting and feeding.

"When you read and study the reason for banning it, there is no proof that this will stop the disease - and that's a given," he said.

The statewide ban feeds a "Chicken Little" mentality that venison is not safe anywhere in Wisconsin, said Tiefenthaler, a hunter himself who baits. That could drive hunters out of the woods this fall and drive up the deer population the state wants to reduce.

"I am scared to death that we are frightening people too much," Tiefenthaler said.

The World Health Organization has said there is no scientific evidence that the disease can infect humans. But the agency says no part of a deer or elk with evidence of the disease should be eaten.

Chronic wasting disease, first discovered in Wisconsin in late February, is similar to the mad cow disease that hit Europe.

Until it was discovered in Wisconsin, the disease had been found in the West but had not been discovered east of the Mississippi River. So far, the state has discovered 18 deer that tested positive, but Wisconsin officials fear the disease could spread and decimate the state's deer population.
Livelihood at stake

Bill Ernst will drive more than 300 miles Tuesday to tell board members a ban is wrong.

With no evidence that chronic wasting disease is close to him, Ernst said that the DNR is overreacting and could put him out of business: He owns a feed store in Butternut, in Ashland County, and $250,000 of the store's $400,000 in annual revenue comes from deer feed.

Ernst queried four other feed mills within 40 miles and found that nearly 400,000 bushels of corn were sold to feed deer last winter.

"It's gotten to be a way of life around here," said Ernst, noting that customers typically buy 50 or 100 pounds at a time. "The DNR is totally blowing this out of proportion."

Resort operator Dick Simon does not bait, and he has widely dispersed his feed boxes so deer are less apt to congregate.

Many of his customers come to his resort because of their up-close-and-personal contact with deer. Simon has been watching the deer so long that he knows their habits and pecking order, and one aging doe is still wearing a tracking collar from a research project that took place more than a decade ago.

"We do it for a combination of business and pleasure," Simon said. "Whether the DNR likes it or not, we are doing something that, in our gut, we feel helps animals."

In case feeding is banned, Simon has planted a crop of grasses on which deer could forage during the winter.

Rob Wegner understands the emotional attachment of turning the woods into a veritable petting zoo.

The former editor of Deer & Deer Hunter magazine, Wegner moved to a forested spot in Iowa County in 1983 and started buying several hundred pounds of shelled corn a week as a magnet to woo deer and other wildlife to his yard.

"I learned over a 10-year period that it was essentially wrong," said Wegner, author of "Legendary Deer Camps." "You create an unnatural situation that creates an overabundance of wildlife - you have squirrels just laying in the feed."

Property owners today are doling out more feed near Keith McCaffery's home in Rhinelander than an entire DNR feeding initiative did in the winter of 1950-'51, when 1,151 tons went to deer across central and northern Wisconsin.

"There is way too much food that is being introduced to the deer population," said McCaffery, a retired deer research biologist for the DNR. "This animal is too marvelous to screw around with."
No support in '91

The DNR tried to stop baiting in 1991 - the year it was banned in Minnesota - but the agency could not get support from leaders in the hunting community. The issue came up again as part of a study in 2000 on the state's deer herd, but DNR board members balked at a ban on baiting.

"You have board members on both sides," said DNR Secretary Darrell Bazzell. "Something is going to change from the current policy. The question is whether there is enough support for a statewide ban."

Board member Tiefenthaler said he will introduce a compromise measure that would eliminate baiting and feeding in the 361-square-mile zone where officials want to eliminate all deer and the broader 10-county region where they want to reduce the deer count by 50%.

For the rest of the state, he recommends allowing 2 gallons of food for feeding every 24 hours. The food would have to be tossed on the ground.

Baiters are now limited to 10 gallons of feed. Tiefenthaler would limit baiting to 5 gallons that would have to be tossed on the ground.

"I don't want to jump the gun for the rest of the state and just do something as a feel-good thing," he said.

The Natural Resources Board will begin its meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Radisson Inn Harborwalk in Racine.


Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on June 24, 2002.


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## Pinefarm (Sep 19, 2000)

Tom, who can we contact in the WDNR to express OUR concerns. Because they have not only have the responsibility for their own herd with this present situation, but they also have a duty, as biologists, to do everything in their power to stop it's spread into neighboring states.


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## Fierkej (Dec 21, 2001)

For questions or comments about Chronic Wasting Disease, send mail to: 
[email protected]
Jean


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## Fierkej (Dec 21, 2001)

FOR RELEASE: June 25, 2002 

CONTACTS: Tom Hauge, (608) 266-2193
Steve Miller, (608) 266-5782
Bill VanderZouwen, (608) 266-8840
Bob Manwell, (608) 264-9248

Natural Resources Board approves emergency rules addressing chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer

this is on the Wisonsin website
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/news/rbnews/2002/020625co.htm


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## Tom Morang (Aug 14, 2001)

DNR serious about ban
Some say they won't stop feeding deer

By Jessica Bock
Wausau Daily Herald
[email protected]

RINGLE - Until he gets caught, Jeff Wendt says he will continue to feed deer each night, despite a statewide ban approved Tuesday by the Natural Resources Board.

Wendt is probably not alone, officials say, and the state Department of Natural Resources is counting on residents to help enforce the ban it hopes will stop the spread of chronic wasting disease. Biologists have told the DNR that feeding creates unnatural concentrations of deer that can make it easier for the disease to spread.


Tip line

To report a deer-feeding violation to the Department of Natural Resources, call 1-800-TIPWDNR.



The DNR will investigate every lead on people who are feeding deer, said Tom Harelson, chief conservation warden with the DNR. Wardens will continue to do routine and possibly even aerial checks for residents still feeding deer after the ban goes into effect, he said. Violators could be fined $200 or more, Harelson said.

With only 153 wardens statewide, Harelson recognizes it will be tough to enforce the ban. That's why the DNR wants residents to realize its importance.

"We believe this can help stop the disease," he said. "And that's something everybody should be concerned about."
The ban should go into effect within a week, said Brad Koele, assistant deer ecologist with the DNR office in Madison.
"Once this is effective, it will be enforced," Koele said. "As much as feeders like watching the deer, it's something we have to do for the health of the herd."
Owners of land, resorts and restaurants use grains, vegetables and mostly corn to lure deer into view.

Wendt, who uses spotlights in his yard to watch deer feed, was shocked when he first heard the DNR was considering a ban. He said he's read a lot on chronic wasting disease and isn't convinced deer feeders help spread the disease.

"I'm very disappointed this passed," said Wendt, who enjoys watching the deer so much that he feeds nearly 60 pounds of corn to about 25 deer on his property each day.

Some deer feeders already stopped before the ban passed Tuesday. Hospice House at Comfort Care and Hospice Services in Wausau replaced the area it used to feed deer outside with a flower garden for patients to enjoy, staff member Betty Kleppe said. Hospice House fed deer because it was nice for patients to watch but stopped a few months ago because of chronic wasting disease, she said.

Diners at Iozzo's Italian Food on Camp Phillips Road enjoyed watching deer feed through windows at the restaurant near the Eau Claire River. The ban probably would affect the restaurant more if the number of deer at the feeder hadn't dropped recently, owner Jim Iozzo said.

Customers often would be so entranced by the deer that they would sit at their table watching after they were finished eating, Iozzo said.

"I used to have to go outside and scare away the deer so tables would open up," he said.

Lately, Iozzo mainly feeds other small wildlife, such as squirrels.
Residents still are allowed to feed birds and small wildlife as long as the food is inaccessible to deer, the DNR says.
The ban, once signed, will be effective for 150 days and could be extended until Sept. 1, 2003.

Not feeding deer is a sacrifice that has to be made, said Bill Vander Zouwen, a DNR official who coordinated rule development for the emergency plan.
"We all value deer whether we watch them or hunt them," he said. "But it's more important to do anything we can to prevent this disease than it is to view deer out the window, as nice as it is."


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## Tom Morang (Aug 14, 2001)

DNR hopes feeding ban helps cut spread of CWD by daryl youngstrum

Daily News staff

Some Northwoods residents reacted defiantly when the Natural Resources Board announced Tuesday it would ban the feeding of deer statewide but, in the long run, the ban is the thing to do, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) deer ecologist Keith McCaffery said.

The DNR has long advocated a total or partial ban of the feeding of deer, McCaffery said. "This action (by the Natural Resources Board) is long overdue."

The ban, which goes into effect next week, carries a $200 fine for violators. The Natural Resources Board took the action in an effort to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among the state's deer herd.

"We believe this can help stop the disease," DNR chief conservation warden Tom Harelson said. "And that's something everybody should be concerned about."

"As much as feeders like watching the deer, it's something we have to do for the health of the herd," DNR assistant deer ecologist Brad Koele said.

Harelson said that the DNR will investigate every tip about people who are feeding deer. Wardens will continue to do routine and possibly even aerial checks for residents still feeding deer after the ban goes into effect.

McCaffery said that the feeding ban is only one measure that can be taken to slow the spread of CWD. "We have determined several steps that could be taken to help protect the herd from CWD. A ban on feeding and baiting of deer is one step. The ban will not solve the problem in itself, but combined with other measures we hope it will have a positive impact," he said.

McCaffery equates "feeding" and "baiting" of deer for hunting purposes.

"Both feeding and baiting have the same effect on the herd in that they encourage 'artificial' assembly of deer. Deer are social animals who come together and travel together naturally, but when large amounts of food are present they will assemble in unnatural numbers," he said.

"We don't actually know how CWD is transmitted, but any time you artificially concentrate deer you are creating an atmosphere for disease. We have anecdotal information from Colorado that deer that are concentrated in a small area are more likely to exhibit signs of the disease."

McCaffery says that feeding of deer has also contributed to the continuing problem of deer/car crashes.

"What we have done with the unrestricted feeding of wild deer is created a third season for large numbers of deer/car crashes. We have always had a spring season and a fall season when many deer are feeding on the lush grasses that grow along the roadsides, but by feeding deer during the winter we have created a third time of the year when deer and car accidents are likely," he said.

"People are not foolish. They build their houses close to the roads so they don't have to plow snow. Then they put their deer-feeding hoppers right behind the houses so they draw the deer to the roads."

"Most people don't realize how much artificial feed is out there," McCaffery added. "If one person puts out a bucket (two gallons) of feed each day for the 150-day winter feeding season, that amounts to a ton of feed in a year. If ten people in a small area feed deer at this rate, that amounts to ten tons of corn or grain. That will attract a lot of deer."

McCaffery believes that after the initial adjustment to not feeding deer, Northwoods residents will comply with the ruling willingly. "Right now, the norm is to feed deer and enjoy watching them feed. What we are hoping for is a change in 'normative' behavior."

"Hopefully, people will understand the seriousness of the problem and be willing to do something to protect the herd," McCaffery said. "It is time for us to redefine what is normative behavior regarding feeding and baiting deer."

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