Stevens Point News

Main Menu

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times

logo

Stevens Point News

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times
CommentaryOutdoors
Home›Commentary›Up the Creek: The tradition of deer hunting

Up the Creek: The tradition of deer hunting

By STEVENS POINT NEWS
November 21, 2018
1167
0
Share:

By Ken M. Blomberg

When I was a young lad, the eve of the annual deer hunt was cause for sleepless nights and stomach aches. Like the night before Christmas, expectations ran high and dreams swirled in my head. I literally trembled in anticipation until the alarm clock rang opening morning.

My first season was in 1969 and father and I hunted the Nicolet National Forest near Langlade. Self-taught nimrods, we managed to stay out of the way of more experienced hunters and enjoyed ourselves immensely. I was driven by the desire to become a hunter. Dad‘s participation was a labor of love – the love for his only son.

That first year, we joined a half million gun hunters, whose expectations were low, killing just 98,000 animals. Hunter success matched expectations in the national forest, where deer populations were estimated at six per square mile in the fall. It took six seasons before I killed my first buck.

Nearly 50 seasons have come and gone. Wildlife officials warn hunters to expect shooting fewer deer this year than last – a campaign to keep hunter expectations low as hunter numbers continue to drop, the herd adjusts to heavy harvests in the past, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) implications and hunters adjusting to changing hunting traditions.

Low expectations? I only have to think back fifty years when just seeing a deer while hunting was noteworthy of discussion back at the café. Today’s hunter recalls a few years ago, when we were told to harvest does like there was no tomorrow. Apparently, we have succeeded – the evidence that less deer grace the landscape is all around us.

Insurance companies announced continued increases in car-deer crashes. According to the state department of transportation, “The number of reported deer crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled peaked in 1994. In 1996, the rate declined sharply, tapering off through 2003, with a further decline to an average of 30 crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2006, 2007 and 2008.” The last decade has resulted in a steady increase in those numbers as the herd rebounded.

A more dramatic sign can be seen in the woods.  For the first time in memory, while grouse hunting over those same years, I saw numerous young cedars sprouting in northern forests.  Baby balsam and spruce are appearing in large numbers in our woods along the creek. Once over-browsed woodland understories are making a comeback.

This week, our home along the creek once again became the destination for relatives and close friends joining us for opening weekend.  And when my head hit the pillow on the eve of the annual deer hunt, I slept like a log – with dreams drifting back in time to 1969, when my dear departed dad and I began this journey.  To a time when the hunt caused anxiety, stomach pains and a sense of wonderment.

Kinda like falling in love.  I thought you might understand.

Tagsblomberg
Previous Article

Bannach Elementary Celebrates 2018 National Blue Ribbon ...

Next Article

Commentary: Strange things going on in Madison ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • CommentaryNewsOutdoors

    Ken Blomberg: “Up the Creek”

    August 3, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • NewsOutdoors

    Up the Creek: Coffee as Tradition

    August 10, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • OutdoorsTop Feature

    Up the Creek: Ruffed grouse hunting season begins next month

    August 16, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Outdoors

    Up the Creek: Puppies and Happiness

    August 23, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • CommentaryOutdoors

    Up the Creek: Ruffed Grouse hunting season is on the horizon

    September 7, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Outdoors

    Up the Creek: Bird migration is near overall peak

    September 20, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS

Leave a reply Cancel reply

High School Sports

Go to High School Sports

Free SP Newsletter

  • Sports

  • Commentary

  • Chargers sneak by Amherst with goal-line stand

    By Jacob Heid
    September 18, 2023
  • Cardinals use second half to pass by Rosholt

    By Jacob Heid
    September 15, 2023
  • Nicolet National Bank senior spotlight: Sam Carpenter, Pacelli cross country

    By Jacob Heid
    September 15, 2023
  • Cardinals rally to beat Hornets in conference thriller

    By Jacob Heid
    September 13, 2023
  • Kazda nets two to put Falcons past Pacelli

    By Jacob Heid
    September 8, 2023
  • Pat Wood

    From the publisher: Christmas and Hanukkah

    By Kris Leonhardt
    December 24, 2022
  • Ice fishing contest Reels in $1,500 for Portage County Literacy Council

    By Taylor Hale
    March 17, 2022
  • Kemmeter Column: County celebrates year after quarantine

    By Taylor Hale
    July 12, 2021
  • Isherwood Column: Great engineering projects two

    By Taylor Hale
    July 11, 2021
  • Shoes News Graphic

    Show Column: Odd Jobs

    By Taylor Hale
    July 9, 2021

About Us


The Portage County Gazette is published every Friday by Multi Media Channels. It is locally-owned, locally-operated and locally-written. Subscriptions are $64 annually, delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.


To subscribe, go www.shopmmclocal.com/product/portage-county-gazette or call 715-258-4360

  • PO Box 408, Waupaca WI 54981
  • (715) 343-8045
  • News editor: [email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×