The student chapter of The Wildlife Society at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) is teaming up with deer management professionals at Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to initiate a pilot deer population monitoring project in ten deer management units scattered throughout the state.

According to Adam Murkowski, a junior from Marathon majoring in wildlife management and vice president of The Wildlife Society, this pilot program incorporates student/citizen monitors, DNR personnel, and the Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol.

"We believe this pilot project may give the DNR better statistical ratios of fawns to does, and bucks to does, in these ten deer management units," he said. "If we can improve upon real deer recruitment data, this could help guide future data collection."

Deer management units that will take part in this pilot citizen monitoring project beginning this July and ending in September include districts in the counties of Sheboygan, Washington, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Calumet, Marathon, Wood, Portage, Clark, Jackson, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Rusk, Sawyer, Oneida, and Forest.

"Our pilot project is an attempt to compare this data collection methodology with current DNR practices," said Murkowski.

"Additional data collected by the public is a good way for Wisconsin citizens to participate in responsible deer management, said Keith Warnke, big game biologist for the DNR’s Bureau of Wildlife Management. "Several years of commitment will be necessary in the development of a solid database from which the results can be evaluated to identify trends."

The Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol has agreed to be a part of this pilot project by volunteering both time and aircraft. The Wildlife Society will pay for all fuel costs. Warnke and the DNR are helping to oversee this collaboration.

The goal is for this citizen monitoring project to be replicated as a long-term project. There are over 130 deer management units statewide. Student observations, both in automobiles and in the air, will begin this July.

The Wildlife Society’s faculty adviser is Eric Anderson, professor of wildlife ecology in the College of Natural Resources. The society’s mission is to provide students opportunities to engage with other members, chapters and sections throughout the country. In addition, they respond to needs and issues that could affect wildlife, its habitats and needs. It encourages high standards of scholarship and research while encouraging understanding of resource management sciences.

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