The nine-day gun deer season that wrapped up this weekend got off to a slow start, according to preliminary figures from the Department of Natural Resources.
Those figures show a total of 90,281 deer registered for this year’s opening weekend, compared to 110,797 in 2013 — a decline of 18.5 percent. The harvest of bucks was down 9 percent, and antlerless deer down 27 percent.
Up north, Ashland, Forest, Iron, Price , Sawyer and Vilas counties had a decrease of more than 40 percent. In central Wisconsin, Chippewa County was down 30 percent, and Marathon County was down 26 percent.
Stay informed on the latest news
Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.
DNR Conservation Warden Chelsey Collette said that rain and dense fog played a big part in the slow start.
“The weather always plays a huge role,” said Collette. “We had, obviously, some crazy weather this year in this area of the state. Rain, snow, fog — we had a little bit of everything, so that’s going to play a big role in people’s harvest success.”
Harvest figures for the entire season are not yet available.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
