Monday, October 12, 2009

Elktoberfest 2009

I just got back from an RMEF banquet a few hours ago where I had given a very short talk about the fundraiser that I am going to be doing for the RMEF. It went very well, there was a lot of interest from the attendees. The individuals that were putting on the banquet were wonderful with their willingness to help me promote my cause. Much thanks to them!
I can't wait to get deeper into this fundraiser! Tonight was first time I have been to a banquet, since coming up with my idea, and it was great to be surrounded by a lot of people who feel the same way about giving back to the outdoors as I do, and around people who understand why I am doing this!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Ironman 2010: Wildlife Conservation drive

Hey all! I recently signed up to compete in the Ford Ironman Wisconsin triathlon in September 2010. For those of you who are unaware of what the Ironman consists of, it is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. The race will take place on 9/12/2010.
I have decided that I want to give back to the sport that has helped mold me into the man I am today, Hunting. I have chosen to give back by my efforts to raise money, through donations, to support wildlife conservation. All donations that are made will be 100% tax deductible and are going towards preserving what we are most passionate about, the outdoors! The dreams that we are able to fulfill year after year would not be possible without the hard work put forth by so many individuals and foundations, foundations that are supported and kept up due to donations, both physical and monetary. The ability to give back in this way is an honor for me and will be felt by all who donate.
In the next couple of months I will be finalizing the details of the donation process to ensure that every donation is recognized by the government. Much thanks to all who give back and spread the word about this great cause.

Please let me know if you are interested in making a donation in the coming months!

Tyler

Wisconsin DNR proposes a 16-day gun season

In the recent months, the Wisconsin DNR has proposed the possibility of extending the regular gun-deer season from 9 days to 16 days.
I am baffled by this. When CWD first came around they made the gun-deer season the better part of a month and a half, and that didn't accomplish what they wanted, so they brought in snipers to shoot as many deer as possible. That wasn't enough, so then they went back to the traditional 9 day season.
The only thing the DNR is succeeding at is taking the fun, camaraderie, and excitement out of hunting. I remember when the whole family would get together the night before the opening day and play cards, eat, and talk about what the next day may bring. I would look forward to these times more than I would Christmas. That has since all but disappeared due to extending the seasons, putting all kinds of rules and regulations into our hunt that was never there before, and shooting mass amounts of deer.
Hunters no longer have to hurry up and get into the woods that opening weekend because they have numerous days to harvest their deer. With that amount of time brings procrastination, which leads to not getting out into the woods like you may have wanted, which in turn leads to no deer shot. Maybe they are thinking that with every week they add on to the 9 day season, each hunter would shoot twice as many deer as they had the previous week. That is not at all the case, if I want to shoot three deer this season I am going to shoot only three deer, no matter how many day's I have to hunt.
There are a lot of hunters who do not want to shoot doe, my dad is one of them, and since the DNR has brought about the Earn-a-Buck program, people like my dad are now forced to shoot an animal that they don't want to, but they have to in order to harvest that buck-of-a-lifetime. This is the sole reason my dad doesn't hunt much anymore! To me that sounds unethical and inhumane. I promise there are a large number of outdoorsman who feel the same way.
I am beginning to think that the DNR doesn't care about hunters, the people who pay their salaries through license sales and donations. The DNR needs to listen to the people who spend all their free time in the outdoors; people who know how many deer are on their property or how many are in their area. There are a lot of counties that have seen a large decline in population and a number of counties that are still above their carrying capacity, so what does the DNR propose to solve this problem? Shoot as many deer as you can!! I'm pretty sure that will not solve anything except reducing the overall population. If you talk to hunters who haven't seen a deer in the last couple years they would tell you that the last thing that needs to happen is increased deer kills. Look at my situation for example, I am still pretty fortunate to have a good deer population on our farm, a few years ago we would invite people out to shoot doe, now...we are telling hunters not to shoot any unless they have to. It's not that we don't have good number's, its that we know the numbers are decreasing and we want that to halt.
I feel that this proposal to increase the length of the deer season would do nothing but discourage hunters even further. It would take away that remaining camaraderie and excitement that is still scarcely in the hearts of us true outdoorsman. I encourage all outdoorsman to attend as many of the hearings as possible, and let them know how you feel. Below are the dates and locations of these hearings:

-October 14, Crivitz - Crivitz Village Hall, 800 Henriette Ave.
-October 15, Onalaska - Onalaska High School Field house, 700 Hilltopper Place.
-October 21, Madison - Lussier Family Heritage Center - Main Level, 3101 Lake Farm Road.
-October 21, Rhinelander - James Williams Middle School, 915 Acacia Lane.
-October 21, Ashland - Ashland AmericInn Conference Center, 3009 Lakeshore Drive E.
-October 26, Appleton - Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton Campus, Room C190, 1825 North Bluemound Drive.
-October 26, Eau Claire - Chippewa Valley Technical College auditorium, Room M103, 620 W. Clairemont Ave.
-October 28, Pewaukee - Waukesha County Technical College, Room C051/C057, 800 Main St.
-October 28, Spooner - Spooner High School Auditorium, 801 County A.
-November 3, Stevens Point - Portage County Courthouse Annex, Conference Room 1, 1462 Strongs Ave.

Declining WI deer population

I came across this great post on Wisconsinoutdoors.com, this article was a composition of facts, stats, and data about the shrinking deer population in Wisconsin from 2004-2009. The link to the post: http://wisconsinoutdoor.com/smf/index.php?topic=2826.0