Earn-a-Buck Information for 2008
MADISON -- Eight deer management units that did not have earn-a-buck regulations in 2007 are now designated as earn-a-buck (pdf;
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/hunt/deer/eabfaq.pdf (EAB) units for 2008, bringing the total number of non-Chronic Wasting Disease EAB units to 35.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/CWD/ This is the same total number of non-CWD EAB units as in 2007. An equal number of units dropped from EAB to Herd Control Unit status following the 2007 hunt.
The new-for-2008 Earn-a-Buck units are 59D, 60B, 72, 72A, 73A, 73B, 73D and 74B.
Complete list of Earn-a-Buck units for 2008
This year, units 22A, 54B, 54C, 59B, 59C, 59D, 59M, 60B, 60M, 61, 61A, 62B, 63A, 64, 64A, 64M, 65B, 66, 67A, 67B, 68A, 68B, 72, 72A, 73A, 73B, 73D, 74A, 74B, 77C, 77D, 80A, 80B, 80C, 81 and all CWD DMUs (units or portions of DMUs 54B, 70, 70A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, 70F, 70G, 71, 73B, 73E, 75A, 75B, 75C, 75D, 76, 76A, 76M, 77A, 77B, 77C which are located in the CWD eradication and herd reduction zones) are EAB units.
EAB units are also listed along with a 2008 Deer Season Structure Map
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/hunt/deer/dmu.htm and the 2008 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/regs/ Hard copy versions of the 2008 regulations will be available approximately mid-August.
Prequalification for the new EAB units
Hunters who shot an antlerless deer in one of the eight new EAB units last year (during the 2007-2008 deer hunting season) are pre-qualified for a buck authorization sticker and should check on line to see if they are included in the pre-qualification database.
http://prodoasint.dnr.wi.gov/prod1/pk_cwd_eabfront$.startup Those hunters will receive a buck authorization sticker in the mail in mid to late August. The stickers will be valid in any 2008 EAB or CWD unit.
Prequalification allows hunters to hit the woods with a buck authorization sticker in their pocket on opening day of the archery season, provided they shot an antlerless deer in a EAB unit during the prior season. Gun deer hunters can use a buck authorization earned during the previous season, during the current archery season, or during the 2008 October antlerless gun hunt in any CWD or EAB unit.
Hunters who registered an antlerless deer in 2007 in any of the units that were designated as earn-a-buck units (EAB) or CWD management units for 2007 do not need to check the pre-qualification database. Those DMUs had earn-a-buck requirements last year and hunters should have received their buck authorizations stickers at the time they registered their antlerless deer.
For those hunters who did not use that sticker last fall, it is still valid for the 2008 season and can be used in any EAB or CWD unit. This green sticker is labeled “2007-2008 Earn-A-Buck Unit Buck Authorization”.
Purple colored buck authorization stickers, earned in previous seasons, have now expired and are not valid for the 2008 season.
Hunter who believes they should be in the prequalification database but can’t find their records should follow instructions on the prequalification database page or call the DNR Info Line for help 1-888-936-7463. Hunters are urged to act early as stickers can only be delivered by surface mail.
Hunters who used all their buck stickers last fall or did not shoot an antlerless deer from any of these units last fall will need to shoot an antlerless deer in a 2008 EAB unit this year to be authorized to harvest a buck in any 2008 CWD or EAB unit.
Summary of 2008 buck authorization
With the exception of the two-day October Youth Gun Hunt or a hunt that is noted as “antlerless only,” hunters must be authorized to harvest a buck in EAB or CWD units during any gun, muzzleloader or archery season.
There are three ways a hunter can be authorized to harvest a buck:
# Harvest and register an antlerless deer from an EAB or CWD unit and receive a Buck Authorization Sticker from the deer registration station. The buck authorization can be used to tag a buck at a later time.
# Use a Buck Authorization Sticker received during the 2007-2008 season to harvest and tag a buck.
# Tag a lawfully harvested antlerless deer in an EAB or CWD unit, then tag a buck, registering them together.
The EAB requirement does not apply to hunters with a Class A or C disabled hunting permit and certain members of the U.S. Armed Forces during any gun deer season. For full details consult the 2008 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations or call the DNR InfoLine at 1-888-936-7463. This exemption does not apply to archery hunting.
