Chapter NR 10

NR 10.39 History History: CR 21-078: cr. Register July 2022 No. 799, eff. 8-1-22.

NR 10.40 NR 10.40 Disabled hunters; special hunt authorizations.

NR 10.40(1) (1) Purpose. Pursuant to s. 29.053 (3), Stats., the natural resources board establishes this section to provide additional recreational hunting opportunities to the citizens of Wisconsin and to establish procedures for conducting special hunts that will encourage greater hunting participation by persons with physical and visual disabilities.

NR 10.40(2) (2) Definition. “Special gun deer hunt” means a department authorized local firearm season for deer conducted outside the regular gun deer hunting seasons established under s. NR 10.01 (3) (e).

NR 10.40(3) (3) Special gun deer hunts.

NR 10.40(3)(a) (a) Application requirements.

NR 10.40(3)(a)1. 1. All applications to conduct a special gun deer hunt shall be on department forms and be submitted to the designated department office for the county within which the hunt will be conducted by the date established by the department on the form.

NR 10.40(3)(a)2. 2. All applications shall include:

NR 10.40(3)(a)2.a. a. The authorization of the host landowner to conduct a special gun deer hunt; and

NR 10.40(3)(a)2.b. b. A legal description of the lands on which the hunt is to be conducted.

NR 10.40(3)(a)3. 3. The applicant shall provide a final list of the names, addresses and Class A or C permit numbers of all participating hunters and the names of their designated assistants to the department by September 1.

NR 10.40 Note Note: Application forms may be obtained at department region and service center offices.

NR 10.40(3)(b) (b) Participation limits. No person may participate in more than one special gun deer hunt in the same calendar year and all participants must possess a valid gun deer license and either a valid Class A permit, valid Class B permit which authorizes hunting from a vehicle that is issued for more than one year, or valid Class C permit issued pursuant to s. 29.193 (2), Stats., that was issued on or after August 9, 1989.

NR 10.40(3)(c) (c) Participant selection. No person may be refused participation based on their age, race, religion, color, disability, sex, physical condition, development disability, creed, sexual orientation or national origin.

NR 10.40(3)(d) (d) Dates. All special gun deer hunts shall be conducted during the 9 consecutive day period that begins on the first Saturday of October.

NR 10.40(3)(e) (e) Hunter participation limits. The department may not authorize a special gun deer hunt if the number of participating hunters is less than 3.

NR 10.40(3)(f) (f) Rule compliance. Unless otherwise provided by the department, all disabled hunters and accompanying persons shall comply with all hunting rules and laws applicable to the regular gun deer season specified under s. NR 10.01 (3) (e). The bag limit is one buck deer per valid gun buck deer harvest authorization and additional antlerless deer per current valid antlerless deer harvest authorization. An antlerless deer harvest authorization that is issued under s. NR 10.104 (7) may be used by a participant in this special hunt in any unit statewide on public access lands or private land. Other hunters, hunting on the lands described on the application during the special gun deer hunt, shall comply with the highly visible clothing requirements in s. 29.301 (2), Stats., except waterfowl hunters.

NR 10.40 Note Note: Highly visible clothing meeting the requirements of s. 29.301 (2), Stats., must be worn by all disabled hunters and accompanying persons. Participants must use their regular gun deer season license and harvest authorization.

NR 10.40(3)(g) (g) Authorizations to assistant. The designated assistant of the special gun deer hunt participant may use a firearm while retrieving a deer shot by a participant provided the assistant possesses a current valid deer hunting license.

NR 10.40(3)(i) (i) Posting requirement. The applicant shall post, at intervals not to exceed 100 yards, the boundary of all lands open to public hunting at least 7 days prior to the start of the hunt with a notice that indicates the dates on which the special gun deer hunt will be conducted on those lands and the dates and hours during which hunting by nonparticipants is prohibited. All such notices shall be removed by the applicant within 2 days of the close of the special gun deer hunt.

NR 10.40(3)(j) (j) Reports. If requested by the department, the applicant shall complete a special gun deer hunt report on forms supplied by the department.

NR 10.40(3)(k) (k) No fees. The landowner or applicant shall not charge any form of a fee to a person participating in a special gun deer hunt.

NR 10.40(5) (5) Disabled turkey hunts on private lands.

NR 10.40(5)(a) (a) Application requirements.

NR 10.40(5)(a)1. 1. All applications to conduct a disabled turkey hunt on private land shall be on department forms and be submitted between September 10 to December 10 of the year prior to the hunt to the department office designated on the application form for the county within which the hunt shall be conducted.

NR 10.40(5)(a)2. 2. An application shall include all of the following:

NR 10.40(5)(a)2.a. a. The written authorization of the host landowner to conduct a disabled turkey hunt; and

NR 10.40(5)(a)2.b. b. The turkey management zone and a legal description of the lands on which the hunt is to be conducted, including government lot or quarter-quarter section, section, township, range and county; and

NR 10.40(5)(a)2.c. c. A list of the names, addresses and Class A permit, valid Class B permit which authorizes hunting from a stationary vehicle that is issued for more than one year, or C permit numbers of all participating hunters and the names of their designated assistants.

NR 10.40 Note Note: Applications may be obtained from department regional offices and the department license section. The department license section address is 101 South Webster St., P.O. Box 7924, Madison, WI 53707.

NR 10.40(5)(b) (b) Participation limits. No person may hunt in more than one disabled turkey hunt in the same calendar year and all special hunt permit applicants shall possess a valid turkey hunting license and stamp and either a Class A permit, valid Class B permit which authorizes hunting from a stationary vehicle that is issued for more than one year, or C permit as defined in s. 29.193, Stats., that was issued on or after August 9, 1989. Participants may hunt only on the land described in the application and only during the time period described in the application. A person who is on the list of participating hunters for a disabled turkey hunt may not apply for a permit through the regular spring turkey hunting drawing in that year.

NR 10.40(5)(c) (c) Participation selection. No person may be refused participation based on their age, race, religion, color, disability, sex, physical condition, developmental disability, creed, sexual orientation or national origin.

NR 10.40(5)(d) (d) Dates. Each disabled turkey hunt shall be conducted during any one of the 5 day time periods listed in s. NR 10.01 (2) (f) 1. The dates of the disabled turkey hunt shall be listed on the application.

NR 10.40(5)(e) (e) Hunter participation limits. The department may not authorize disabled turkey hunts once the number of participating hunters exceeds a total of 1,000 statewide in a calendar year. The department shall approve applications in the sequence in which they are received.

NR 10.40(5)(f) (f) Rule compliance. Unless otherwise provided by the department in a written condition of the application approval, all disabled hunters and designated assistants shall comply with all hunting rules and laws applicable to the regular spring turkey season specified under s. NR 10.01 (2) (f) 1.

NR 10.40(5)(g) (g) Authorizations to assistant. The designated assistants of a disabled turkey hunt participant shall possess a valid hunting license for hunting of any species and may use the participant’s firearm in compliance with s. NR 10.09 (1) while retrieving a turkey shot by a participant hunter.

NR 10.40(5)(h) (h) Other hunting prohibited. No person other than the disabled turkey hunt participant may hunt on the lands described on the application during the disabled turkey hunt.

NR 10.40(5)(i) (i) Reports. If requested by the department, applicants shall complete a turkey hunt report on forms supplied by the department.

NR 10.40(5)(k) (k) No fees. The landowner or applicants shall not charge any form of a fee to a person participating in a disabled turkey hunt.

NR 10.40 History History: Cr. Register, July, 1990, No. 415, eff. 8-1-90; cr. (4), Register, June, 1991, No. 426, eff. 7-1-91; am. (3) (e), Register, May, 1993, No. 449, eff. 6-1-93; am. (3) (d), Register, August, 1996, No. 488, eff. 9-1-96; am. (4) (a), (d) and (e), Register, October, 1997, No. 502, eff. 1-1-98; cr. (5), Register, August, 1999, No. 524, eff. 9-1-99; am. (3) (f), Register, September, 2000, No. 536, eff. 10-1-00; correction in (3) (f) was made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register January 2002, No. 553, eff. 2-1-02; CR 05-017: am. (3) (b) and (f), r. (3) (h) Register October 2005 No. 598, eff. 2-1-06; 05-031: am. (4) (b) 1. Register October 2005 No. 598, eff. 11-1-05; CR 05-086: am. (3) (f) Register June 2006 No. 606, eff. 7-1-06; correction in (3) (f) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register November 2008 No. 635; CR 09-015: am. (4) (a), (b) 2., (5) (a) 2. c. and (b) Register October 2009 No. 646, eff. 11-1-09; CR 09-024: am. (5) (e) Register May 2010 No. 653, eff. 6-1-10; CR 10-051: am. (3) (f), (g), (4) (g) Register December 2010 No. 660, eff. 1-1-11; CR 13-108: r. (4) Register August 2014 No. 704, eff. 9-1-14; CR 13-071: am. (3) (f) Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15; CR 16-035: am. (3) (a) 1., (e) Register July 2017 No. 739, eff. 8-1-17; correction in (3) (a) 1. made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register July 2017 No. 739; CR 18-005: am. (3) (f) Register September 2018 No. 753, eff. 10-1-18; EmR1902: emerg. r. and recr. (3) (f) eff. 1-18-19; CR 19-005: r. and recr. (3) (f) Register September 2019 No. 765, eff. 10-1-19; CR 19-146: am. (3) (c), (5) (c) Register June 2020 No. 774, eff. 7-1-20.

NR 10.41 NR 10.41 Wildlife disease management.

NR 10.41(1) (1) Purpose. Pursuant to s. 29.063 (1), Stats., the natural resources board establishes this section to provide guidelines for the department to manage chronic disease in wild cervids in this state.

NR 10.41(2) (2) State parks and other closed areas. State parks, refuges and closed areas identified in chs. NR 11 and 45 may be opened to deer hunting to assist in the control of CWD.

NR 10.41(3) (3) CWD-affected area.

NR 10.41(3)(a) (a) Establishment. The department may establish a CWD-affected area around the location of known positive cases of CWD.

NR 10.41(3)(b) (b) Population objectives. Entire counties, or portions of counties, located within the boundaries of a CWD affected area shall be managed toward a population objective established after seeking comment from county deer management advisory councils under s. NR 10.104 (5).

NR 10.41(3)(c) (c) CWD affected area. The CWD-affected area consists of the counties identified on the department’s website after following the procedures established in par. (f).

NR 10.41(3)(d) (d) Population monitoring. The department shall monitor deer populations in a CWD-affected area with information obtained by surveys that may include registration data and aerial surveys.

NR 10.41(3)(e) (e) Harvest authorizations. Pursuant to s. NR 12.06, the department may issue free deer hunting permits or harvest authorizations to hunters or landowners, lessees, occupants or their duly authorized agents of a single parcel of land at least 5 acres in size, all within the CWD-affected area, which authorizes the individual to hunt deer in the CWD-affected area or a portion of the area.

NR 10.41(3)(f) (f) Expansion of the affected area.

NR 10.41(3)(f)1. 1. The department may include additional counties or portions of counties in the CWD affected area where and when additional CWD-positive deer are found. The department may add adjacent counties or portions of counties if they are within a 10-mile radius of the known location of a captive or free-roaming domestic or wild animal that has been tested and confirmed to be positive for CWD.

NR 10.41(3)(f)2. 2. Affected area expansion under this subsection shall become effective upon issuance of an order by the secretary of the department and publication in the official state newspaper. In addition, a notice of the order shall be provided to newspapers, legislators, and hunting license outlets in the area affected.

NR 10.41 History History: CR 03-016: cr. Register August 2003 No. 572, eff. 9-1-03; CR 04-020: r. and recr. Register August 2004 No. 584, eff. 9-1-04; correction in (3) (e) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register September 2004 No. 585; CR 08-013: am. (1) (b) and (3), cr. (3) (b) and (f), r. (4) Register August 2008 No. 632, eff. 9-1-08; CR 09-024: am. (3) (b) 1. Register May 2010 No. 653, eff. 6-1-10; CR 13-071: r. and recr. Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15; EmR1902: emerg. am. (3) (e) eff. 1-18-19; CR 19-005: am. Register September 2019 No. 765, eff. 10-1-19; correction in (2) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register April 2022 No. 796.

NR 10.42 NR 10.42 Official state duties. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit or hinder the department and its employees, duly authorized agents, or contractors from performing their official duties relating to control of disease in deer and elk.

NR 10.42 History History: Emerg. cr. eff. 7-3-02; CR 03-016: cr. Register August 2003 No. 572, eff. 9-1-03.

subch. II of ch. NR 10 Subchapter II — Deer Management Assistance Program

NR 10.70 NR 10.70 Purpose. This subchapter is adopted to implement the deer management assistance program under s. 29.020, Stats. The program is established to help landowners to achieve deer and other management objectives at a localized level and collect biological data that supplements statewide data, and to build relationships between landowners, hunters, and the department.

NR 10.70 History History: CR 13-071: cr. Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15.

NR 10.71 NR 10.71 Definitions. In this subchapter:

NR 10.71(1) (1) “Cooperative” means an association of individual property owners or their representatives who are not organized as a business entity but are organized for the purposes of managing deer and other wildlife resources, whose properties are located within one-half mile of another property in the cooperative, and whose members have agreed to participate in the deer management assistance program under this subchapter.

NR 10.71(2) (2) “Authorized representative” means the person a landowner has designated to act and make decisions on the landowner’s behalf for purposes of the program, including but not limited to, granting access to the landowner’s property for department staff to conduct on-site consultation visits.

NR 10.71(3) (3) “Program primary contact” means a person who is primarily responsible for submitting program enrollment applications and fees, scheduling meetings with department staff, and sharing information with landowners or their authorized representatives in a group cooperative or when there is more than one owner of an individual property.

NR 10.71(4) (4) “Medium to large property” means a property of 640 acres or larger.

NR 10.71(5) (5) “Small to medium property” means a property of at least 160 acres but smaller than 640 acres.

NR 10.71 History History: CR 13-071: cr. Register July 2015 No. 715, eff. 8-1-15.

NR 10.72 NR 10.72 Deer management assistance program levels.

NR 10.72(1) (1) Level 1. The first level for participation in the deer management assistance program is designed to increase communication with landowners and hunters. The department shall provide all of the following to Level 1 participants:

NR 10.72(1)(a) (a) Deer management assistance program educational resources.

NR 10.72(1)(b) (b) Opportunities for assistance from department employees including wildlife biologists and foresters.

NR 10.72(1)(c) (c) Annual program reports.

NR 10.72(1)(d) (d) An opportunity to attend annual workshops organized by the department or its partners.

NR 10.72(1)(e) (e) Assistance with projects that have scientific value.

NR 10.72(1)(f) (f) Information on forming program cooperatives.

NR 10.72(1)(g) (g) Assistance with information for participation in other conservation programs.

NR 10.72(2) (2) Level 2. The second level for participation in the deer management assistance program is for small to medium properties with basic management goals. A property owner or cooperative of owners or their authorized representatives must apply to the department for Level 2 participation in the deer management assistance program. Participants shall provide deer harvest reports and the department may require collection of additional data and attendance at an annual meeting or workshop sponsored by the department or its partners. The department shall provide all of the following to Level 2 participants who provide the information required in this section:

NR 10.72(2)(a) (a) One on-site consultation visit by a wildlife biologist and a forester.

NR 10.72(2)(b) (b) A management plan with habitat and deer harvest recommendations developed individually for the enrolled property or cooperative.

NR 10.72(2)(c) (c) Antlerless permits established under s. NR 10.104 (9m) when appropriate based on harvest recommendations developed under par. (b).

NR 10.72(2)(d) (d) Annual reports summarizing data collected by the property owner or cooperative.

NR 10.72(3) (3) Level 3. The third level for participation in the deer management assistance program is for medium to large properties with complex management goals. A property owner or cooperative of owners or their authorized representatives must apply to the department for Level 3 participation in the deer management assistance program. Participants shall provide deer harvest reports and the department may require collection of additional data and attendance at an annual meeting or workshop sponsored by the department or its partners. The department shall provide the services established in sub. (2), together with all of the following, to Level 3 participants who provide the information required under sub. (2):

NR 10.72(3)(a) (a) Assistance with deer population monitoring.

NR 10.72(3)(b) (b) Technical assistance and design recommendations for habitat and property management activities.

NR 10.72(3)(c) (c) Additional site visits that may be needed to provide detailed management recommendations.

NR 10.72(4) (4) Public land.

NR 10.72(4)(a) (a) The department may cooperate with the managers of national, state, county, or municipally owned land which is open to the public for deer hunting.

NR 10.72(4)(b) (b) The program coordinator, biologist, and forester shall work together with public access land managers and hunters to enroll properties and recommend harvest quotas.

NR 10.72(4)(c) (c) Local public input sessions conducted by the enrollee shall be used to identify site-specific management concerns and to review antlerless harvest quotas. Property specific antlerless tags established under s. NR 10.104 shall be issued to harvest antlerless deer on enrolled public properties.

NR 10.72(4)(d) (d) The program coordinator, biologist, forester, and local property manager shall work together to promote wildlife habitat improvement projects on properties where quality habitat is limited.