After a rise in the number of deer living within the Rhinelander city limits nearly a decade ago city council and the police department set up a procedure to thin the heard. That same method will be in place for a second consecutive year; that’s according to City Administrator Kristina Aschenbrenner.
Last year’s city wide bow and arrow hunt had few participants and low deer harvest numbers, so city council questioned Monday night if bringing back the hunt would be worth it. Aschenbrenner says the city agreed to bring the hunt back, but changes have been made to the program…
“…we are cutting off the application date for persons to hunt and properties on September 9th. This is going to then allow staff to work on those permits, get them issued and not have to continue to work on them for future month’s piece mailing them one at a time.”
The city-wide hunt began in 2006. Hunters harvested 157 deer during the city hunt from 2006 through 2009. By 2009 that number had dropped to 18, prompting officials to cancel the hunt in 2010. The following two years had shortened hunts and the hunt was canceled for 2013 and 2014.
Aschenbrenner says the application period will be open within the next couple of days. Applications can be found online or are available at Rhinelander City Hall.
