Post by Ron on Mar 8, 2013 6:25:15 GMT -6
I have been thinking lately about the very antiquated deer registration system in WI and looking at how other states are accomplishing deer registrations. It seems WI is alone in only allowing in-person registration. I don’t know about other bowhunters but I find it inconvenient to take my deer on road trips for the sole purpose of registering it in front of some teenaged girl at a gas station that doesn’t want anything to do with me or my deer since she has customers to deal with. Not to mention that sometimes we bowhunters don’t recover our deer until after the registration stations have closed for the day. The purpose of reistration is to report the harvest to the state. That can be done in variety of ways.
Opening weekend last year was in the 80 F. We do not gut our deer in the woods and take them back to the farm to gut, wash and cool. That is the first trip our deer take in the back of my truck and I would just as soon that be the only trip since I would like to get that deer cut up and on ice ASAP. There has to be a better way to report that harvest to the state.
WI allows turkey and goose hunters to register their birds via phone in and online services and the DNR agrees that system is working so why not extend that ease and convenience to deer hunters? Other states allow deer hunters to use a tele-check system like WI already allows for turkey hunters so the technology already in place and according to the DNR, working well.
Yesterday the DNR held a moderated online chat for people to ask questions and the question about deer registration came up a few times. Here are the questions and DNR replies.
Question: “ How close is the DNR to a call in registration for deer similar to geese?”
DNR answer: “We evaluating telecheck and how to balance havest information (age/sex) and law enforcement needs with the telecheck option. There is a team working on this now.”
Question: “Will deer registration continue at stores or will I have to register online? “
DNR answer: “We will be addressing the question of tele-check through out the deer trustee report public meetings. There has been no decision made whether or not we will be requiring hunters to register their deer using a different method other than in-person registration. I suggest you take the up-coming deer trustee report survey which will launch be live soon. Check out the deer trustee report page by going to dnr.wi.gov and keyword search "deer trustee report" the survey will be located there once it is live. “
Question: “Is there any talk about calling in your harvested deer rather than bringing it to a station. Illinois seems to have success.
DNR answer: “ We will likely go to a system where hunters can either call in to register their deer or register online.”
Question: “Are businesses who register deer being consulted about in person registration? Are they worried they would loose revenue?”
DNR answer: “We have been talking with registration stations. Some have let us know that they will miss the revenue while others have said they won't mind. As part of an electronic registration system, kiosks located at old registration stations may be used, resulting in revenue still coming into these stations.”
Here is another reply from the DNR in regards to additional ways to register deer: “We anticipate eventually going to some form of electronic registration system for deer registration. As with all of the recomendations, we will only move forward with this recomendation with public support. An electronic registration system will make it much easier for hunters to register deer.”
And
“An electronic registration system was a recomendation made in the report. States that have swtiched from in-person registration to an electronic version have seen similar registration rates between the two systems. In some cases, a higher percentage of deer may be registered with Telecheck because it it easier to register a deer. Wardens will still be looking for violations in registration.”
So with this in mind, I am considering a citizen resolution in my county for the spring hearings that asks that the DNR and NRB improve the registration process by adding two additional ways for hunters to register their deer. Those methods would be phone and internet and based on the comments from the DNR they are already anticipating this change and have even figured out that kiosks at current registration stations would allow those people without a phone or the internet to register their deer.
So who would like to assist me in this improvement to deer registration? All you need to do is take this resolution to your county meeting. The more counties it gets passed in the more likely it is to be advanced to next years statewide questionnaire. If you would like to be part of this change, reply here or send me a PM and I can get a resolution sent to you. All you need do is print it, sign it and take it to your meeting.
Opening weekend last year was in the 80 F. We do not gut our deer in the woods and take them back to the farm to gut, wash and cool. That is the first trip our deer take in the back of my truck and I would just as soon that be the only trip since I would like to get that deer cut up and on ice ASAP. There has to be a better way to report that harvest to the state.
WI allows turkey and goose hunters to register their birds via phone in and online services and the DNR agrees that system is working so why not extend that ease and convenience to deer hunters? Other states allow deer hunters to use a tele-check system like WI already allows for turkey hunters so the technology already in place and according to the DNR, working well.
Yesterday the DNR held a moderated online chat for people to ask questions and the question about deer registration came up a few times. Here are the questions and DNR replies.
Question: “ How close is the DNR to a call in registration for deer similar to geese?”
DNR answer: “We evaluating telecheck and how to balance havest information (age/sex) and law enforcement needs with the telecheck option. There is a team working on this now.”
Question: “Will deer registration continue at stores or will I have to register online? “
DNR answer: “We will be addressing the question of tele-check through out the deer trustee report public meetings. There has been no decision made whether or not we will be requiring hunters to register their deer using a different method other than in-person registration. I suggest you take the up-coming deer trustee report survey which will launch be live soon. Check out the deer trustee report page by going to dnr.wi.gov and keyword search "deer trustee report" the survey will be located there once it is live. “
Question: “Is there any talk about calling in your harvested deer rather than bringing it to a station. Illinois seems to have success.
DNR answer: “ We will likely go to a system where hunters can either call in to register their deer or register online.”
Question: “Are businesses who register deer being consulted about in person registration? Are they worried they would loose revenue?”
DNR answer: “We have been talking with registration stations. Some have let us know that they will miss the revenue while others have said they won't mind. As part of an electronic registration system, kiosks located at old registration stations may be used, resulting in revenue still coming into these stations.”
Here is another reply from the DNR in regards to additional ways to register deer: “We anticipate eventually going to some form of electronic registration system for deer registration. As with all of the recomendations, we will only move forward with this recomendation with public support. An electronic registration system will make it much easier for hunters to register deer.”
And
“An electronic registration system was a recomendation made in the report. States that have swtiched from in-person registration to an electronic version have seen similar registration rates between the two systems. In some cases, a higher percentage of deer may be registered with Telecheck because it it easier to register a deer. Wardens will still be looking for violations in registration.”
So with this in mind, I am considering a citizen resolution in my county for the spring hearings that asks that the DNR and NRB improve the registration process by adding two additional ways for hunters to register their deer. Those methods would be phone and internet and based on the comments from the DNR they are already anticipating this change and have even figured out that kiosks at current registration stations would allow those people without a phone or the internet to register their deer.
So who would like to assist me in this improvement to deer registration? All you need to do is take this resolution to your county meeting. The more counties it gets passed in the more likely it is to be advanced to next years statewide questionnaire. If you would like to be part of this change, reply here or send me a PM and I can get a resolution sent to you. All you need do is print it, sign it and take it to your meeting.
