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As most of us in the area
are aware, the area soldiers who deployed last February as part of the Red
Arrow Brigade Combat Team are either back home with their families or are in
the process of demobilizing and will be home soon. This was the largest
operational deployment of Wisconsin National Guard Troops since World War
II. As part of their service stretched over last fall, many of these
soldiers missed not only time with their families and friends, but also the
opportunity to hunt in last fall’s gun deer season. This past December,
Senator Vinehout and I were contacted by several returning soldiers who
asked for our help in finding a way to allow those returning veterans the
means to do so.
I was able to speak with Sgt. Kevin Johnson of Buffalo County, who also
serves as the Buffalo County Veteran’s service officer about the idea.
Although the time frame was short, I told Sgt. Johnson that the Senator and
I would see what we could do. I contacted the Wisconsin DNR and found them
to be very supportive of the idea. At the time of initial contact with the
DNR, it seemed to be that the best option would be to author legislation to
create a special hunt from February 4th-7th, 2010 for the returning troops.
However we started to run up against a relatively short legislative window.
There were no committee hearings scheduled until after the New Year and the
time it takes to schedule the necessary committee hearings, vote the bill
out of committee and then schedule a floor vote was proving to be difficult.
There were also concerns expressed by some other outdoor user groups about
scheduling a deer hunt well outside the traditional deer hunting season and
about issues involving an antlerless harvest as many, if not most of the
bucks would be starting to lose their antlers.
What Senator Vinehout and I have been able to do is to find a way to allow
our returning soldiers to hunt without having to create special legislation.
By working with the DNR, we have made arrangements to utilize the existing
crop damage system to allow the returning troops an opportunity to hunt deer
this year. The department will work to link landowners who have crop damage
caused by nuisance deer with returning soldiers interested in deer hunting.
This will give the returning soldiers flexibility and not lock them into a
single weekend hunt. They can go out and hunt any time between now and
September of 2010. A time period convenient for the veteran and the
landowner.
Returning service men and women should also feel free to contact us
regarding this or with any other concerns or questions as they seek to get
their lives back to normal. To all our returning troops, WELCOME HOME and
HAPPY HUNTING.
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