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CLARK CO. HUNTERS #1
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 -- 1:55 pm
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
More deer were shot in Clark County than anywhere else in the state during the recent 9-day gun-deer season.
Preliminary counts from the DNR show Clark County hunters bagged 9,534 deer. The harvest was still down about 11% from 2007.
Waupaca County, which held the top spot last year, had the second-biggest harvest of the year, with 8,792 deer; Jackson County was third with 8,002.
Harvest retreats to 2002 levels
Meanwhile, state hunters harvested fewer deer this year than any year since 2002.
That year, chronic wasting disease kept many deer hunters out of the woods.
The state Department of Natural Resources reports 276,985 deer were killed during the nine-day hunt, which ended Sunday.
About 21% fewer bucks and 18.5% fewer antlerless deer were shot by hunters.
The agency said one reason for the drop this year is that pre-season estimates of 1.7 million deer statewide were probably not accurate; last year’s harsh winter probably led to a smaller herd.
Officials say if Tuesday's early estimates hold, the DNR will reduce the number of deer management units with earn-a-buck in 2009.
There was some good news, the 2008 season was third-safest on record for hunters - eight were injured with firearms and one was killed.
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