2012 Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey
OutdoorHub 09.14.12
The Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey will go live online beginning September 15, the opening day of the 2012 deer season. This will be the fourth year of the survey which asks deer hunters to report their field observations of a variety of wildlife species, hunting conditions and hours spent pursuing game. Deer hunters’ efforts have produced valuable information for estimating abundance and distribution of many of Wisconsin’s wildlife species. Results of previous years are available online.
The past three years, Wisconsin deer hunters have reported a total of 37,000 hunting trips encompassing 218,000 hunting hours. Trips have been reported from all 72 counties in all years. Statewide, deer hunters averaged seeing 0.32 deer per hunting hour in 2011, up from 0.28 deer per hunting hour in 2010. The most frequently observed species other than deer were turkeys.
Hunters can find survey instructions, record sightings, and view survey results online by keyword searching ‘deer hunter wildlife’ on the WDNR homepage [dnr.wi.gov]. A tally sheet is also available for times when hunters do not have access to the internet or a computer. Hunters should record all of their hunting activity throughout the deer season, even if no wildlife sightings were made. The survey period begins September 15 and runs through January 2013.
Trail Camera Photos Wanted
The Wildlife Surveys group is also interested in photographs of rare or endangered species hunters may have captured on their trail cameras. Photos can be emailed to Wildlife Management. This information will help document their existence and location within the state. Trail camera photos can be viewed in our online trail camera gallery.
