Bikers, hikers and skiers will need more blaze orange By Tom Held Friday, Mar 28 2008, 10:40 AM
Blaze orange should be the hot fashion color in the southern Kettle Moraine next fall and winter, even for forest users who don't tote guns. Expanded hunting seasons proposed to help control the spread of chronic wasting disease will open the state forest, including the biking and skiing trails, well before and beyond the traditional gun deer seasons. Proposed special hunts for antlerless deer on Oct. 16-19 and through much of December would put hunters in the woods during times popular with other recreational users. In particular, cross-country skiers taking advantage of the Christmas holiday would find themselves sharing the trail with outdoorsmen who carry more than a couple of poles. When it meets in April, the DNR Board will consider opening an antlerless-only season to gun hunters from Dec. 15 to Jan. 4. Other options include a Dec. 24 to Jan. 4 hunt or a Dec. 26 to Jan. 4 period, which was the recommendation of the Chronic Wasting Disease Stakeholder Advisory Group. And, as part of the proposal from the Chronic Wasting Disease Stakeholder Advisory Group, rifles would be allowed next fall in areas previously restricted to shotguns. I think Lee Borowski, an avid skier and coach from Brookfield, had a balanced take in this assessment: "No one likes to look like they're against solving the chronic wasting disease problem but also, not even the most rabid hunters want kids and families in the woods where they are hunting. "Looks like a no-win situation but that might not be true. "I'm a deer hunter myself but haven't hunted much in recent years as my wife won't have any deer in our freezer, since she fears the CWD and doesn't trust the tests. "But I have noticed that the increased deer seasons have done just about nothing to improve the problem. So, to add hunting seasons that restrict families', or anyone's, enjoyment of DNR land for little or no gain seems to be a poor tradeoff." Borowski is right about the apparent ineffectiveness of the eradication and deer herd reduction strategies. After five years, the deer numbers in the chronic wasting disease zones have increased and the disease has continued to spread. At this point, the expanded hunting seasons would appear to remain the favored option. The stakeholders group recommended the extra session over the New Year week, and the DNR Board will take up that proposal at its meeting next month. The written comment period on the proposal from the chronic wasting disease stakeholders group has ended, but residents can share their opinion with the individual board members listed here, or by attending the meeting in Madison on April 22 and 23. Anyone looking to address the board then needs to register by calling 608-267-7420. In any event, if you're taking advantage of some end-of-season sales on nordic ski wear, orange might just be your color. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
