Once the gun deer season is over, I find myself unclenching when I drive – just a bit. I think we all get a false sense of security that we don’t have to watch for deer on the roadside as vigorously at that point. But then you see your first deer and find yourself pondering if “enough” deer were taken this year or not. After talking with the friendly folks at our local collision center, the damage that deer hits do to vehicles here is tremendous. So I know I’m not alone in my concern!
With that concern in mind, I wanted to find out how it all shook out this year. After looking at the number of deer taken, I offer an enthusiastic “high five” to the hunters. Nice work! Here’s what happened in our area. In 2014, there were 4801 deer taken during the 9-day season and in 2015, there were 6358 taken. Even though both Burnett and Douglas Counties had higher numbers than the previous year, Washburn County was the largest part of that success.
I also thought it was interesting to find out there were 612,377 licenses issued this year in the State of Wisconsin and over 23,000 of those were first time hunters. It’s good to see the tradition continue! – Wanda Boldon