Letter to the Editor

The DNR opened up a couple of parks on the peninsula to deer hunting this year. Whitefish Dunes and Potawatomi State Parks.

The rationale was that an overpopulation of deer within the park boundaries had serious consequences for the regeneration of trees and native understory plants.

DNR foresters determined that there was no regeneration at all. Nada. The deer have been browsing everything in sight.

The hunt did a pretty good job of thinning the herd.

It also generated an angry letter that was published in the Door County Advocate.

Here it is:

What could those people have been thinking? Whoever made the decision to open up deer hunting in Potawatomi State Park in the manner it was, and say it was needed because of over-browsing by the deer, must rarely walk through those woods.

I've been walking through Potawatomi Park's woods five or six times a week for the last 14 years, 2 1/2 miles on the east end. The ground cover is, to a large extent, shaded by the tall tree canopy. This leads to slow, sparse or no growth.

Park deer have an abundance of acorns, pine cones, and select forbs and berries to feed on. It is an excellent habitat. Deer hunting there must have been like shooting fish in a barrel, no challenge at all.

Normally during deer season and just before, deer from outside the park will run into the park for sanctuary. The deer population in the park during deer season can easily triple and quadruple in size. Deer know when they are being hunted, and this leads to some temporary overpopulation.

Most of the park's regular deer were born and raised there. They were mainly doe with little fear of humans. They had select browsing areas for different times of day. These ground cover areas are not very large, because the park's real herds are actually quite small and food variety is in abundance.

A permanent overpopulation is not at all healthy because of the disease transfer potential and real over-browsing problems, and deer cannot just be trapped and transferred to another place; they will die if this is done.

Right now the wooded areas of the park have the appearance of a well-managed woods. It is not an overgrown tangled mess, and only certain areas are browsed. The original park plan called for thinning of the herd, not wholesale slaughter. It that little park herd needs to be thinned, there are selective ways of doing so.

Alternative deer management programs or at least a reasonable program should be considered. After all, park deer are a scenic and natural resource and one of the things that attract visitors.

Jim Brown
Gardner


Dear Mr. Brown...

Are you a forester or a biologist? What's that you say? You're not? I didn't think so either.

About that sparse growth and 'well-managed appearance'. The reason it looks so tidy and manicured to you is because nothing is there. The shade-loving trees like sugar maple and hemlock and even the trillium get eaten by the deer. Those poor plants never have a chance at getting a start in life.

A properly managed forest should have a vigorous understory. Sure, I know that this may be an affront to your delicate sensibilities - but I'm going to share a secret with you. Are you ready?

It's OK for a forest to look tangled and overgrown.

You see, lots of other of God's creatures need that cover to live and prosper. If the deer eat them out of house and home then certain bird, mammalian and reptile species shall all be gone along with the understory. I always say that a good tangle is a sure sign of a healthy forest.

I know all of this may sound complicated - but stuff needs to be growing and developing so that we will have young new trees ready to replace the older mature trees some day. Otherwise your grandchildren and great grandchildren will not have a forest.

You talk of alternate and reasonable management programs but offer nothing substantive as an alternative.

Let me help you out.

How about a proper balance? A balance of herbivory and deer.

One last thing. None of those deer are going to go to waste. They're going to be eaten by the hunters and their families or will go to the network of food pantries to feed other hungry families.

You need to chill dude.

Your pal,

Swamp Gas

PS - Deer don't eat pine cones.

Trespasser?

Fresh tire tracks on a part of the trail that is rather secluded.

This is an on-again, off-again problem. Someone can drive-in on the gravel town road up at the north property line.

They can shine or shoot something from the comfort of their truck.

They would be a half mile from the nearest house.

What should I do?

What would you do?

How To Build A Deer Stand

Start with a small to medium sized camper trailer














Tow it to a suitable location














Install a bunch of second hand utility poles in the ground














Raise the trailer using the tractor loaders















Raise trailer as high as you can and fasten securely















Stand back, drink beer and admire work















Add a deck so you can sit outside. Drink more beer















Install a nifty stairway for easy access















Drink more beer and admire view

Build It And They Will Come

Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm feeling rather thankful today.

I have a terrific family, a terrific life, a terrific job and I live in a terrific country.

It just doesn't get much better than that.


I was out hunting this afternoon and after sitting (and following a long walk) ended-up at the ancestral campsite.

I made myself comfortable on the bench and immediately concluded that someone should tidy-up the disheveled fire ring. I got to thinking that I should have packed some fire starter. As cold as it was a nice campfire would have been welcome.

I waxed-philosophical about how hunting has changed over the years.

Back in the day the deer only had two ways to sneak across the cultivated fields. A strategically-placed hunter stood a reasonably good chance of picking-off a deer with a high-powered rifle and decent optics.

That has all changed.

More than a decade ago all of the tillable acreage was taken out of production and planted into permanent cover. Namely warm-season grasses and forbs and trees. More than 40,000 trees. First, one pond followed by a second pond - to compliment the intermittent creek. The Frau and I figured that if you build it they will come. The critters that is.

We built a vast plot of mast-bearing trees along with the cover they provide and some fresh water resources. There are some clover plots planted into small portions of roughly three miles of trails and firebreaks.

In the ensuing years the hunting has vastly improved. Grouse, woodcock, turkey and deer. Even the doves.

Which is why I often hunt with only a .12 GA slug gun. Iron sights for rapid target acquisition. Many deer are now killed within only fifty yards or so.

Last year I shot two deer with a rifle. The year before I killed two with my bow. This year I am deerless.

Far from depressed over this - philosophically-speaking - I'm kinda happy to pass on some shots and see some of the other guys bag a trophy of their own.

The Frau and I are glad we built it.

We've enjoyed countless recreational opportunites here at The Platz. We've brought a number of new hunters into the fold and made many new friends.

We have much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Presidential Pardon

Obama pardons turkey...






Obama Outlines Moral, Philosophical Justifications For Turkey Pardon

The Hand Writing is on the Wall

There is a bar in southern Door County where you will find written on the wall:

www.VerrückterDeutscherCampingplatz.com Door County, Wisconsin, USA - Where the strong survive and the weak are killed and eaten

Each member of camp signed their name.

We asked first. And the owner provided the Sharpie marker. You can't miss it - it's written in red ink.

Deer Camp - Out Comes the Jägermeister

Those are my buddies Wise Guy and Android.

They've both been away from camp for a year. Wise Guy took a year-off and regretted it. Android was posted to Asia on business.

Between the two of them they knocked-down three deer opening morning. Android's dad, Sid, shot two more in the afternoon.

Age 72 and 26 they represent the oldest and the youngest members of our camp.

Anyone who kills a deer has to do a shot of the Jager.

Camp rule you know.

Opening Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the deer opener and I sure hope I have an opportunity to put the crosshairs on this dandy buck.

What a hog!

I cannot believe all the different bucks photographed from this single location.

If I have time this weekend I'll post some photos from camp and provide an update on what's happening here at the Platz.





click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

Rumble!

One of three burst images before the camera timed-out for a preset interval What I believe I have captured is a couple of bucks sparring.

Looks like antlers in the blurred image below along with someone's hindquarters in the lower right corner.

First time I photographed a fight at a single bar.

This might also explain why we found the camera knocked askew.

click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

Nice deer.

But his head gear is rather beat-up. His face looks a bit banged-up too.

So far the rut has cost this fella a significant portion of his rack.

This is the spot. Plenty of different bucks moving through here on a regular basis.

A smart hunter would probably position a ground blind somewhere near here, eh?

click on image to enlarge

Do It Yourself Budget

The online version of the New York Times rolled-out an interactive tool where you can fix the federal budget.

It certainly doesn't include an entire range of options - but it does all you to make a nip or a tuck and possibly some augmentation here and there.

Go here and have some fun with it.

Countdown to the Deer Opener

One of only a handful of daylight pictures this young buck is traversing a well-worn deer trail.

After we replaced the memory card in the camera last Saturday Girlfriend and I repositioned the camera so as to capture the traffic on the trail.

If you look carefully you can see the freshly rubbed tamarack sapling in the image below.

click on image to enlarge

Don't Look At Me - I Have An Alibi

Swamp gas blamed for deadly hotel blast...

Countdown to the Deer Opener

Too funny!

This spike horn buck looks just like a deer caught in the headlights.

I'd bet that if he manages to survive another couple of years he'll be sporting some fine head gear.

This is a hot spot.




click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

A third buck. Different from the previous two.

This is apparently a rendezvous point for the fellas. Kind of like a singles bar for deer.

Nice size deer. Too bad the image is blurred.




click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

This picture was taken only fifteen minutes following yesterday's deer. This guy is kind of a runt.

He's been showing-up on the trail camera as a regular. I also had him in my sights the opening day of bow season.

He caught a break that day as I'm hoping to fill my bow tag with something bigger.

click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

A couple of weeks ago Girlfriend and moved the game camera to a new location. We strapped it to a tree overlooking a freshly rubbed tamarack.

We were curious to see what we might get a picture of.

We fetched the memory card from the camera this morning and sure enough there were ninety shots taken over the last thirteen days.

Here is the first of a series I'll post between now and the gun deer opener a week from today.

Cannot see for sure the size of this fella but it looks like a nicely formed set of antlers.



click on image to enlarge

The Price of Admission

This week the Dallas Cowboys fired head coach Wade Phillips.

The coach was released after the team started the season with one victory and seven losses. This is unacceptable for the Cowboys, who in 2009 charged fans an average of $159.65 per ticket. That’s the highest average ticket price ever for an NFL team.

Today, the average cost of a single ticket to an NFL game is just over $76.

Where can you find the cheapest ticket? The NFL’s lowest priced seat is $15, charged by the Minnesota Vikings.

Labs

At great risk of hurting Girlfriend's feelings...

Thursday Morning Music

Whodunit?

I have many, many dozens of nest boxes situated around various locations here at the Platz for my cavity-nesting songbirds.

Somebody has been gnawing on the entrance holes.

Anybody have any idea who is responsible?

More Kayaks

I'm telling you there are kayaks everywhere.

Are there this many people kayaking nowadays or are people sporting these on their vehicle as some sort of status symbol?

The Rut is On

Last week the Frau and I spent the better part of a day killing invasive buckthorn.

It was also a good opportunity to do some deer scouting.

Oooh baby. There is sign everywhere.

Well worn trails like the one you see below and rubs everywhere. Why is it always the tamarack and walnut trees that the bucks flail on?

We moved the trail camera to a rub and scrape line to see if we can catch a picture of the perpetrator.

click on images to enlarge

Top Ten War Movies - #1

While not as technically compelling or stark in its portrayal of combat as Saving Private Ryan this was the first movie to portray the invasion of northern Europe from both an Allied and German point of view.

This adapatation of Cornelius Ryan's book The Longest Day featured an all star cast that included familar screen personalities such as: Eddie Albert, Paul Anka, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Fabian, Mel Ferrer, Henry Fonda, Peter Lawford, Roddy McDowall, Sal Mineo, Robert Mitchum, George Segal, Rod Steiger, Robert Wagner and John Wayne.

Whew!

There was a host of better-known actors representing France, Britain and Germany too.

Released in 1962 Darryl Zanuck's production took two years to make. Filmed in France in black and white it does a good job of incorporating WWII vintage film footage. The use of sub-titles adds to its authenticity.

My dad took me to see this movie at the Uptown Theater in Milwaukee.

I was impressed.

If you like history be sure to read some of Cornelius Ryan's works.

What is Close to the Ideal Hunting Sport

Got the following email the other day.

I spoke to Randi and he reports that the beans are harvested and the corn combines are going 24-7.

The fields are virtually dry and he predicts that this will be the most accessible season in the last few years.

He has 2 houses for us as we have 14 guys this year.

Some last minute details. Arrive Doland, SD on Thursday. Hunt Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Depart on Monday. Plan on arriving in Doland around 6pm.

It's about a 10 hour trip from Milwaukee so plan on leaving around 7:30am. Randi's Refuge is a farm on the north (right) side of Highway 212 just outside of Doland. If you reach Doland, you went too far.

If you get there before the rest of the gang, just hang out at Randi's. He's got a great set up in the barn. Or you can go into town and hang out one of the 2 bars.

Smile For The Trail Camera

Even more deer. Young bucks that we let walk last year.

All kinds of doe too.

Plenty of deer sign.

The Supper Club

Earlier this month I had business dealings in Rhinelander, WI.

Having not been to Rhinelander in decades my Frau accompanied me.

When you are 'up-nort' you absolutely have to seek-out a supper club in the backwoods.

The Al-Gen is just the ticket.

Constructed of logs during the late 1920s and decorated with mounts of fish and deer and topped-off with cool neon signage.

I suggest the walleye preceded by the hand-dipped onion strings. And maybe an adult beverage on the rocks.

If you go there - tell them Gas sent you.