Wisconsin deer hunting season will be buck-only. The state goes back to an old tradition that has been observed since 1915. The DNR said that 19 central and northern forest zones will be buck-only to allow the deer population to recover. Counties that are buck only are Ashland, Burnett, Douglas, Bayfield, Florence, Iron, Forest, Jackson, Langlade, Lincoln, Oconto, Oneida, Rusk, Taylor, Vilas, Price, Sawyer, Wood and Washburn. Reservations that are buck only this season are Bad River Reservation, Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, Red Cliff Reservation, and Lac du Flambeau Reservation.
Bill Hogseth, a wildlife biologist from the DNR, said that the buck only ruling is scheduled for the 2014 deer season. It has been approved by the Natural Resources Board. He added that the severe winter made hunters and the general public to be concerned about the deer population. The regulation would give the population the chance to recover.
Hogseth said that the decision was based on research. He added that there is a multi-year project in northern Wisconsin with the use of radio-collared deer. The DNR saw that around 30 percent of the fawns died last winter due to starvation.
The regulation will not scare off people from hunting in Wisconsin. The DNR said that it is a common misconception that deer hunters shoot more than one deer per season. According to the statistics from last year, 90 percent of Wisconsin licensed gun and archery deer hunters shot zero or one deer. 
Some northern Wisconsin business owners are worried that the new restrictions could hurt their bottom line. The nine day gun deer season is one of the busiest times for resorts, bars, and sporting goods shops in the area.
The deer herd has been reduced by the two harsh winters that made the Natural Resources Board to come out with the new rule to allow hunters to only take bucks in 19 central and northern counties.
