Every year, the family tradition was to drive from Chicago to Duluth to celebrate Thanksgiving with my extended family. Memories of those trips included sitting in the back of our Dodge Grand Caravan, driving on Interstate 90/94 through the state of Wisconsin. That drive seemed to take forever and one thing that kept my younger, restless self from coming completely unglued, was scoping all the cars and trucks with deer on them.

Pick-up trucks with deer in their beds were quite common, but the most entertaining scene would be the family station wagon or a late model GM Geo Metro with an 8-point buck strapped to the hood. One thing was clear: deer season was akin to religion in Wisconsin and there were followers from all walks of life.

Fast forward 15 years, same trip, different car, and I’m keeping my eyes peeled to bear witness to what this year’s hunters harvested. But there wasn’t as much to see in comparison to years ago. Were my childhood memories over inflated or was there something else happening here?

Whatever was going on, I decided to find out. So I got in touch with Jeff Pritzl, Deer Program Coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Jeff immediately set me straight. My memories were not deceiving me—the number of hunters in Wisconsin and many other states are declining.

Data from last year’s hunting season in the state of Wisconsin reveals there were 600,000 active hunters. Quite impressive for a state with a population slightly less than 6 million people. After all, more than 10 percent of the registered population are actively engaged in hunting. That is, until you look at the historical trend. In the year 2000, Wisconsin had over 700,000 active hunters.

On one hand, many hunters will see this as a great opportunity, as it translates into more game, more land and less pressure. On the other hand, given the important contribution hunters make balancing and sustaining the ecosystem, combined with the large sum of money from hunting license sales used primarily for conservation resources, the trend is something most outdoor enthusiasts would like to see reversed.

Jeff explains one of the reasons behind this trend, “We are losing the baby boomers. One has to have pristine eyesight and be in fairly decent health to take part in the sport of hunting deer. As our boomers age, our mission is to add and educate hunters from younger generations to take the place of those who have, unfortunately, been forced to ‘retire.’” According to Jeff, this is where R3 comes into play. The Wisconsin DNR defines R3 as the “recruitment, retention and reactivation” of hunters, anglers and shooting sports participants.

Jeff goes on to say, “True R3 efforts focus on the needs of individuals and the process required to ensure they start––and continue––to participate in hunting, angling, and shooting sports. The goal is to make hunting engaging to our youth through planned social events and making rules and regulations easy to comprehend.”

What are some of the ways the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is reaching and inspiring new and younger hunters? Take some time to visit Wisconsin’s online Deer Camp and you’ll quickly find out.

Whether you’re a new hunter going out for the first time or returning for another exciting hunt, this one-stop-shop website has everything you need to get started. Here are just a few of their initiatives.

Youth hunts — special seasons just for kids to enjoy

Special youth hunting weekends for wild turkey, white-tailed deer and waterfowl allow youngsters to hunt and gain valuable experience without competing against adults. These youth hunting events are scheduled one weekend before the regular hunting season and are open to residents and non-residents 15 years of age and younger.

Mentored hunting

It’s easier than ever to introduce someone new to hunting in Wisconsin. Anyone can now obtain a mentored-only hunting license and hunt without first completing a hunter education course. They must be accompanied by a licensed hunter (mentor), hunt within arm’s reach of the mentor and follow other rules. Such mentored hunts remove barriers to hunting yet still allow people to safely experience hunting in a highly controlled manner. This one-on-one mentoring opportunity gives first-time hunters a chance to try hunting and enables veteran hunters to share their passion for the outdoors and help keep Wisconsin’s hunting heritage strong.

Armed Forces hunting privileges

Wisconsin law extends many privileges for hunting to active members of the U.S. Armed Forces, Wisconsin National Guard or Reserves for both residents and nonresidents. Any resident in active service with the Armed Forces, who presents their military I.D. and leave papers is eligible for a free Small Game & Fishing License (state stamps included). All other hunting, trapping or fishing licenses can be purchased at resident rates. Resident Purple Heart recipients who exhibit proof at a DNR Service Center of having received a Purple Heart medal are eligible to purchase a Conservation Patron license for $10.

Making hunting affordable

Get a major price break on your hunting license. If it’s been 10 years since you purchased a hunting license (or a particular type of privilege included with a type of license), discounted fees are available for residents and nonresidents alike and are automatically applied when you buy a license.

At the end of our discussion Jeff added, “The deer population currently sits at 1.8 million and continues to climb with the number of deer expected to reach 2 million by the year 2030. It’s imperative that hunters continue to do their part in harvesting deer to help control over population, disease, property damage, and motor vehicle collisions.”

So what can you do? It’s simple! Get back to enjoying the outdoors. If you haven’t gone hunting in a while, go get your hunting license and deer tag. If you have already been out a bunch this year, take along a young person or novice to teach them the skills they need to have a safe, successful and enjoyable hunt. Let’s show the younger generations how beautiful the outdoors is, and the wonder of getting lost in nature!

Below is a list of links to additional resources to help you enjoy this year’s hunting season.

·https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/Education/OutdoorSkills/lth

·https://gowild.wi.gov/

·https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/Education/OutdoorSkills/R3resources

Interested in hunting or fishing a different location this season? You’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.