Hunters sound off on Earn-a-Buck

KAUKAUNA - In each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, they poured in by the hundreds Monday night - hunters seeking a voice and the Department of Natural Resources lending an ear.

“It's extremely important,” said DNR conservation warden Jason Happe, who works in Outagamie County. “We try to promote as much fishing and hunting as we can and this is a great way to get input.”

The lines, surveys and busy pencils found across the state are all part of the annual DNR and Conservation Congress meetings. The congress advises the DNR and says the hearings try to gauge public feeling on a variety of wildlife and gaming issues.

But, hunters packing Outagamie County’s meeting at River View Middle School in Kaukauna say there's one issue in particular they want to target: Earn-a-Buck. Last week, the DNR proposed a one-year hold on the program in most counties. Hunters say the move falls short.

“I'm not satisfied until they eliminate it completely, then I'll be happy,” hunter Jim Haber said.

Like many, Haber is hoping the questionnaire will make his feelings clear. Haber says the DNR needs to face the facts: herd numbers are down.

“We're losing young hunters,” he said. “They go in the woods and they aren't going to sit in the woods and watch the tweety birds. They can do that at home.”

“My dad took me hunting when I was a kid and I think it's a great tradition to pass on to the youth,” Jean Iribarren of Appleton said.

The DNR says the lower numbers are the result of a tough winter. But, many landowners aren't buying the argument. Property owners in Manitowoc, Kewaunee and Calumet counties are threatening to close land to protect the herd.

“I'm for it,” Steven Ninneman of Hortonville said. “I'm glad the pressure was finally on because the Earn-a-Buck was too much.”

While hunters were eager to weigh in on the issue, DNR wardens say they aren't sure whether the statewide meetings will shape the programs future.

“That's going to be hard to say,” Happe said. “We'll definitely take what the public has to say about it and then take that for consideration next year.”

Many hunters say they planned to go to Madison Tuesday to share their views about the Earn-a-Buck program with state lawmakers.