Posts Tagged ‘hunting’

The annual deer gun hunting season begins Saturday here in the Baraboo hills and all around Wisconsin.  A few days ago we talked about hiker safety during hunting season, today we want to remind hunters that normally don’t hike, that it may be time to put a call into your doctor.

Do you smoke or have high blood pressure?  How about high cholesterol or diabetes?  Are you over weight? How old are you? How often to you get vigorous exercise?  Read the rest of this entry »

The 9 day gun deer hunting season runs November 20th – 28th which means it’s time once again to remind hikers to play it safe out there! I put in a quick call to Devil’s Lake State Park here in Baraboo and asked them what they tell folks about hiking within the park during hunting season.  I was told that the danger to hikers at Devil’s Lake is almost nil.  The most popular trails are well within no-hunting zones including the east & west bluff trails.  That being said they also tell folk that you’re hiking at your own risk and to wear blaze orange, especially during gun seasons.  The mountain bike trail however, does go through some open hunting areas and precautions should be taken.  In fact, many nature trails here and elsewhere are on land shared by hunters.   So what can hikers & bikers do to keep safe during hunting season?  Well, here are some tips.

1. Know when the gun hunting seasons are in your area. In Wisconsin you can go here.  Don’t assume you’re safe outside of the annual 9 day deer season.  There are usually other herd control and CWD control seasons as well as black bear, and other hunting seasons that should be aware of.

2. Know where you are going and let someone know when you’ll be back. Anytime you head off into the wilderness you should let someone know where you are.  Just in case.  A bit of scouting around the area you plan to hike or a call to the local DNR office can help you decide where it’s fairly safe to hike. Stay on established trails. There are plenty of trails within protected lands, especially here in central Wisconsin.

3. Adding to the above, don’t assume that because you’re within park boundaries your safe. Hunting is allowed to various degrees within most parks in our area.

3. Wear blaze orange. I know non-hunters can feel like fools dressed in that obnoxious day glow orange color, but it’s better than being mistaken for a deer.  Be seen.   Also don’t forget to dress your dog up as well.  If you can’t find or afford specialized doggy  blaze, a cheap hunting vest will do.  Get the smallest one you can find and just put the pup’s legs through the arm holes.  You may have to do a bit of fiddling to get it to fit properly, but it will work.

4. DON”T wear brown or white. (Or black for that matter).  While most hunters take time to confirm their target, the type who shoot up stop signs when they get bored may not, and dressing like a deer is well,  not a good choice.

5. Make noise. I can’t imagine talking, signing, and crashing through the woods is going to bring cheer to every hunter you meet, on the other hand they’ll know your there.  You may want to put a bell on your shoes (and you’re pooch!).  A bit of noise will alert hunters (and bears) to your location.

7. Lastly, sometimes it’s best just to stay home. I can tell you, it’s an eeiry feeling to be out hiking on a dark, grey day and to hear guns going off around you. If you’re going to be tense anyway you may as well stay home.   We certainly recommend staying home that first weekend of deer-gun season.  It’s just a good idea.

I hope these basic tips give you something to think about.  We know how it is for regular hikers not to get out for a week or two.  You certainly don’t have to stay indoors during hunting season, just use caution.  Have fun, be safe.

We love this time of year for viewing wildlife here in the Baraboo hills region.  Now that the summer crowds have calmed down and just before fall hunting kicks off in earnest, wildlife and especially waterfowl are increasingly active everywhere as they prepare for the coming winter and fall migrations. One of our favorite spots to watch waterfowl in our area is located south east of Baraboo, near Merrimac, called Gallus Slough.  The slough is a often filled with a frenzy of wildlife activity which of course makes it popular with fisherman and hunters as well.  The area is most easily accessed from by boat from the Moon Valley landing on Lake Wisconsin. [Locate on our "Big Map"] Visitors should be aware of Wisconsin’s hunting seasons & dates and take the proper precautions when visiting this or any other natural area this time of year.

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Opinion - The Baraboo News Republic is reporting today that Wisconsin State Parks could be opened to more hunting.  The opening line of the article states, “Voters in Sauk County and elsewhere overwhelmingly supported a proposal to allow trapping and hunting in state parks during last week’s statewide fish and wildlife rule hearings.”  The problem of course, is that these “Voters in Sauk County and elsewhere” are a minority within a minority.  These are folks who attend such hearings specifically because they have an agenda in one direction or another.  They are not, as the casual reader of this article may suppose, voters as a whole, but select, activist voters. In the case of Wisconsin State Parks, this is an important distinction.

First let me say I’m not opposed to hunting in the parks. Yet, as a frequent park user I am aware of the restrictions put on hikers, bikers and other park users when hunting is allowed.  (Our local park, Devil’s Lake State Park, does allow limited hunting in some areas.) The trick is balancing everyone’s desires as much as possible while serving the best interests of the park as a whole. In reading the article I was struck by what I thought should have been some rather obvious questions that could have given balance and fleshed out such a headline as, “State parks could be opened to hunters”.   First, how many “Voters in Sauk County” actually voted? What percentage of county voters do these hearing attendees or “voters” represent?  How about on a statewide level? Who uses the parks most often and in the largest numbers, hunters or recreational users such as hikers, climbers, campers, cyclists etc.?  Are the majority of park users local residents or tourists from outside the county or state? If as I suspect local users and hearing attendees are a small minority of regular park users (certainly in our area), then how much influence should they actually have in such decisions?  I assume no more than the percentage of folks they actually represent. Public hearings are great in that they allow anyone with a concern to step up and try to sway government opinion but they are rarely representative of the public as a whole.

Now this brings up the most obvious question, “What percentage of actual park users, those most effected by such rulings, support more hunting and trapping in the parks?”  Shouldn’t we ask ALL the folks who use the parks regularly? It would certainly be easy enough. Why don’t we hand out a quick survey or ballot to everyone who buys a Wisconsin Park Sticker, Bike Pass or reserves a campsite?  You wouldn’t get responses from everyone, but certainly you will overwhelm the number of those who voted on this recent resolution. Let’s then compare numbers and opinions again. If the majority support more hunting so be it, but you know where this is going… Chances are that if you asked the majority of folks who actually frequent Wisconsin State Parks  rather than the attendees of “Fish and Wildlife rule hearings”, you may find you get another result entirely.  Sometimes a little context is a good thing. (Before things are put to a vote that actually effects us all.)