Northern Wisconsin Big Woods...

[Mountain_Life]

Definitely doable, less and less hunters every year but the wolves are doing some damage.

Meh. There's wolves here but they've been here for a long time. Bears kill a lot of fawns in the spring, I think they kill a lot more deer than wolves. Hard winters without food is what really impacts the deer herd.

The wolves are what everyone likes to point to but I don't think they are the biggest issue.

 

[Balderdash]

Meh. There's wolves here but they've been here for a long time. Bears kill a lot of fawns in the spring, I think they kill a lot more deer than wolves. Hard winters without food is what really impacts the deer herd.

The wolves are what everyone likes to point to but I don't think they are the biggest issue.

Pretty stark difference in our area pre wolf vs post. And, the winter severity indexes here were much harsher years ago when there were far more deer. The logging is going strong in our area as well, so I don't believe it to be a habitat issue like it could be in other areas.

Not saying that the wolves are the only factor, but they are certainly a major factor. Those of us who've witnessed he area pre and post wolf without a lot of other changes can't ignore the obvious, no matter how often we're told that wolves aren't the issue.

 

[Mountain_Life]

How's your bear population?

 

[Balderdash]

Strong, but not mo

How's your bear population?

Strong, but they've been around for a long time. I can't say if there's more or less than say 25 or 30 years ago, but judging from the amount of sign and sighings I see while bird hunting now vs then, I'd say thebear population is pretty similar.

 

[Mountain_Life]

I can't speak for all areas. But in Ashland and Bayfield counties I just don't think that wolves are the biggest factor. Or even one of the biggest. I think bears, cars, winter and hunters all kill more than wolves.

 

[well_known_rokslider]

I've heard reports from buddy's that say the wolves are everywhere to never seeing any. There are still deer to be had if you're interested in the romantic big woods, flannel, lever gun in a wood canoe adventure. If you'd really like a chance at a 120" buck I'd say look more towards the public land further south. Not as mystical of an experience but there's plenty of opportunity

 

[FranklinBluth]

I can't speak for all areas. But in Ashland and Bayfield counties I just don't think that wolves are the biggest factor. Or even one of the biggest. I think bears, cars, winter and hunters all kill more than wolves.

Have hunted Bayfield County going back to the mid 1990s - our annual camp was off of 237/405...The increase in the wolf population has directly correlated with the drop in deer population north of Hwy 2. I don't think this is even moderately controversial to any of the other hunters we've talked to over the years. Our deer camp has dwindled over the last decade, as have many others in the area as the deer population has nosedived. I still love going up there but it's not what it once was.

The whole "winter is harder on deer than wolves" is misdirection - wolves actually compound a harsh winter situation in northern Wisconsin because they can get at the deer easier when the snow gets deep and the deer are stressed. And with wolves around, the ability of the deer population to quickly rebound is significantly reduced. It makes the population lows lower while also reducing the rate of increase as well.

And when you think about the factors you've listed here, an increased wolf population is the one factor that changed significantly over the last 30 years. Bears, weather, cars, hunters...all trends that are fairly constant or even slightly more favorable to the deer population in that timeframe.

You're not wrong that wolves have been around for awhile - we often found tracks around our camp during the 90's when we'd come back from Thanksgiving. I think the first wolves we actually saw in person date back to the mid 2000's sometime during one of the fall early doe seasons back in the "t" zone days. But it wasn't until the mid 2010s that the wolf sign and sightings became common.

Not calling for the total eradication of wolves - just some management to bring things back into a better balance.

 

[Mountain_Life]

I agree that some wolf control is really needed. They aren't helping the population of deer, that's for sure. I'm definitely not here to protect them.

I don't just come here for an annual hunt. I live here. I thermal hunt predators year round, so I see a lot of wildlife on a regular basis. The reason that I say wolves aren't as big of a factor as most people make them out to be is this: on the large private pieces where they provide good year round food and habit, the deer numbers are as high as I've seen anywhere in the state. And there's plenty of wolves right there with the deer. The wolves don't just randomly cruise the entire region, they have areas that they spend most of their time in and that's usually where a lot of deer live. Once you get away from winter food sources and open fields, the deer number drop drastically. That's why I've drawn the conclusion that winter food is a big factor. Possibly it's easier for deer to escape wolves in open farm land? I haven't considered that.. The deer numbers have increased noticeably since about 2012-2015 in the farmland areas. We've had some heavy snow years but they haven't been as late into the year.

I didn't mean to turn this into a wolf debate. I was just sharing my observations. Go south if you're looking for a better chance at killing a buck though. Less wolves, less winter, easier terrain features, better food.

 

[Mountain_Life]

@FranklinBluth I'm not disagreeing with your observations though. It's a common understanding. I wonder if the deer have started to learn how to escape the wolves over the years. Have you hunted here recently? In the last 5+ years the deer numbers have definitely increased. It may be worth a new effort in your annual camp.

 

[Balderdash]

I agree that some wolf control is really needed. They aren't helping the population of deer, that's for sure. I'm definitely not here to protect them.

I don't just come here for an annual hunt. I live here. I thermal hunt predators year round, so I see a lot of wildlife on a regular basis. The reason that I say wolves aren't as big of a factor as most people make them out to be is this: on the large private pieces where they provide good year round food and habit, the deer numbers are as high as I've seen anywhere in the state. And there's plenty of wolves right there with the deer. The wolves don't just randomly cruise the entire region, they have areas that they spend most of their time in and that's usually where a lot of deer live. Once you get away from winter food sources and open fields, the deer number drop drastically. That's why I've drawn the conclusion that winter food is a big factor. Possibly it's easier for deer to escape wolves in open farm land? I haven't considered that.. The deer numbers have increased noticeably since about 2012-2015 in the farmland areas. We've had some heavy snow years but they haven't been as late into the year.

I didn't mean to turn this into a wolf debate. I was just sharing my observations. Go south if you're looking for a better chance at killing a buck though. Less wolves, less winter, easier terrain features, better food.

I think it also has sometning to do with the wolves feeling safer on big sections of public forest land vs on private ground where there's usually more human presence.

I read a study years ago about moose in MT, IIRC. After wolves were back, most of the moose to be found were hanging close to towns and human dwellings. Once you got a few miles from town there wasn't much left in areas that had previosly held a lot of moose. Its pretty similar in our area of the north woods with deer; there's deer on the edge of town and around the lakes with cottages, but get a few miles out into the woods and it gets pretty thin. I put a lot of miles on while bird hunting, so not basing my assessment on a small geographic area.

 

[FranklinBluth]

@FranklinBluth I'm not disagreeing with your observations though. It's a common understanding. I wonder if the deer have started to learn how to escape the wolves over the years. Have you hunted here recently? In the last 5+ years the deer numbers have definitely increased. It may be worth a new effort in your annual camp.

I think you're right on with your assessment of the private land south of 2 - almost bought an 80 by Mason back in 21 and there were deer everywhere down there (almost like the old days). But the national forest just hasn't come back.

I still come up to Bayfield County at least once a season to hunt and check out all the old spots, look for tracks, see where everyone is camped, etc. Time is limited now when I'm back during deer season so we do spend more time hunting further south. If I could convince our group to go up there for the season again, believe me I would.