Hunters will find new boundaries, good bucks in Northern Forest Zone

Northern Forest Zone changes

In the Northern Forest Zone (NFZ), after years of hunters asking for unit boundary changes, 2025 marks the year they will get their wish. In 2014, the state moved to using county boundaries as Deer Management Unit (DMU) after the deer report stated there were too many DMUs that were too small to facilitate proper management. However, in the NFZ, there has been a push for several years to return to more of a habitat-based unit system.

Over the last year, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) worked to make the change happen. The DMUs are larger, in many cases, than with the old system. The boundaries also came back with a new numbering system. Hunters should be aware of those DMU changes before heading out and when reporting their harvest. A map of the new DMUs in the NFZ can be found on the DNR website dnr.wi.gov.

Mild winter

With the mild winter last year and the almost non-existent winter of 2023-24, deer health in the NFZ has been called superb. Some big, healthy bucks have been shown around social media and pub parking lots through bow season so far and, according to the DNR deer program specialist Jeff Pritzl, numbers are trending about the same as last year through the rut. He said it remained to be seen how things would play out during the gun-deer season, with the rut being over by opening weekend. However, he felt positive that this year would favor hunters overall, and expected to see good numbers of deer harvested.

Early and continued scouting, of course, will still raise the odds of success for hunters, Understanding land management changes that make changes in deer movement, and understanding those changes, no matter how small they may be, can be key to putting venison in the freezer or a mount on the wall this year. With a wide variety of good deer habitat across the Northwoods, hunters should find ample places to put in their hunting effort. 

Baiting and feeding

Hunters should be aware of feeding and baiting bans that are in place across the state as well. Feeding and baiting of deer is prohibited in both Oneida and Vilas Counties due to the finding of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)-infected deer in those counties. Iron and Price Counties, at the time of this writing, are not under a baiting and feeding ban, however. Hunters should check local regulations and the DNR website for local ordinances to determine whether baiting is legal where they are hunting.

The baiting and feeding ban was put into place by state statute. Statute dictates that any county in which a deer tests positive for CWD in either the wild herd or a captive herd, will have a feeding and baiting ban put into place for three years. Any county within a 10-mile radius of the harvest site of that CWD-positive deer will also be under a baiting and feeding ban for two years. The ban is reset with each subsequent positive test result. Pritzl said many hunters are not in favor of the baiting and feeding ban, but it would take legislation to change that. For that reason, he said, those hunters should contact their legislators and ask them to make a change to that law.

CWD considerations

CWD is an always fatal neurological disease in cervids such as white-tailed deer. By now, most hunters have heard of CWD and the attempts by researchers to learn more about the disease and any potential impacts to humans. At this time there is no conclusive proof that the disease could mutate to affect humans. However, it is in the same family as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is a prion disease that does affect humans. There is no treatment or cure for any prion disease. For that reason, the Department of Health Services (DHS) recommends people not eat meat from a CWD-positive deer, which mirrors their long-standing stance the humans should not consume any part of an animal that appears sick, or that tests positive for various diseases.

Deer may be infected with CWD for many months before showing clinical signs of the disease. Both Vilas and Oneida counties are listed as priority sampling counties by the DNR. Researchers ask that hunters harvesting deer in priority counties have their deer tested for CWD. Any hunter, however, can have a deer tested. There are self-service kiosks. Area processors can also help hunters who wish to have their deer tested. See the sidebar to this story for CWD sampling locations.

Be safe with tree stands

One quarter of hunters have reported a fall or near fall from an elevated hunting stand over the years. In the excitement of climbing into a stand on opening morning, or climbing down after targeting a big buck, it can be easy to let some safety rules slip, especially for hunters who have, “done this a million times.” However, skimping on safety can have disastrous consequences. Pritzl said this year he was hoping to see an even safer hunt than last year. Last year there was only one non-fatal fire arms accident through the nine-day gun deer hunt, and this year he hoped that number would be zero. 

Hunters are reminded to unload fire arms before climbing into or descending from elevated stands and to always use a haul line to bring a weapon up into the stand or to lower it back to the ground. Hunters should also use a fall-arrest system when hunting from an elevated blind. 

Other tips offered by the DNR to help keep hunters safe include selecting a tree that is substantial enough to support the weight of the hunter and gear, read and follow manufacturer’s recommended procedures, and using a short tether between the hunter and the tree when seated in a tree stand. Hunters should also let someone know where they will be hunting and when they plan to return. Having a fully charged cell phone can also help a hunter if they should become injured or disoriented in the woods.

Those looking for more information, or to ensure others have the safety information they need, can find an online tree safety course on the DNR website by looking up “Tree stand safety.”

Consider donating to the deer donation program

Pritzl also encouraged hunters who are able to donate to the state’s deer donation program. For those hunters who are in a place where they have more tags than they might otherwise fill, the deer donation program is a great way to give back while enjoying arguably one of the sporting pursuits with the deepest heritage in the state. 

Alternatively, hunters with friends or family who would like some venison for their freezer, but who do not have the means to hunt, often share their bounty with those they know.

Hunters wishing to keep the head and/or antlers for mounting may do so, even when donating a deer.

Donated deer will be distributed at Camp American Legion, the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry, the Lakeland Pantry and the Vilas Food Pantry.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].