Guns on the Trails? It’s Hunting Season.

Earlier this week I went for a hike out on Devil’s Lake State Park’s Steinke Basin Trail. Walking up the gravel road, I met a couple who were hiking with their dog. (On leash! Thanks, guys!!) They were coming back to the parking lot because there was a dude with a gun on the trail. A hunter, I would assume. (Although deer gun season doesn’t start until Saturday.) I continued on and didn’t see the hunter on the trail.

At the end of my hike, I returned to the parking lot just as another hiker was heading out toward the east on the trail. This guy didn’t have his dog on a leash and the pooch had run far ahead of him so he was hurrying to catch up. I wanted to let him know that letting his dog run off-leash this time of year was risky, but he and his dog were gone in no time. (People have learned that on Steinke Basin, no one will call you out for off-leash dogs)

Hunting? Really?

Wisconsin has a deeply ingrained hunting culture, but the truth is, more and more people simply don’t hunt. In fact, the majority of park users don’t hunt. They don’t know when the seasons are (Which is hard enough if you do hunt!) and many don’t realize that people can hunt within Wisconsin State Parks including Devil’s Lake State Park.

Hunting is allowed

At Devil’s Lake State Park hunting is allowed in the majority of the park. There is a map that hikers can use to figure it out. Well, sort of. The map is generalized. It’s not obvious to all hikers that hunters can hunt right up to 100 yards from the West Bluff Trail or East Bluff Woods Trails. While that might not be an issue for some, for others it’s a deal-breaker.

Hunting is also allowed on Roznos Meadow and on Steinke Basin. In Steinke Basin, the map, suggests there is no “100-yard” protection for much of the Steinke Basin Loop and parts of the Uplands trail. (Notice the gray along the trail in Roznos, but not Steinke Basin loop.)

Deer Gun Hunting Season

This year in our area Deer Gun Hunting goes from Nov. 23 – Dec. 1 and is allowed in the park. There is also a December 4-day antlerless hunt which again is allowed. But that’s not all of course. Here is what we can glean from the Hunting Map;

Gun and archery hunting and trapping are allowed in the open areas of
the property from Nov. 15 – Dec. 15., except that hunting with legal archery methods is allowed through the Sunday nearest Jan. 6. Trapping is not permitted in closed areas as noted on this map or within 100 yards of any designated use area, including trails.

In Sauk County, there is also an “Anterless Holiday Hunt” from Dec. 24 – Jan. 1, 2020. I have asked if this will also be allowed in the park, but have not received a reply.

Letting Park Users Know

In my experience, most parks and public lands do a great job letting folks know that there is hunting within their parks and post signage on outlying trailheads to catch the folks who don’t see it on TV or websites, etc.

However, and this is what always fetches me some blowback, the fact is that there was no notice on the Steinke Basin trailhead when obviously hunting was going on this week. As of this post, there is no mention of hunting on the park’s official current conditions webpage either. Thing is, it’s wrong to assume everyone knows about hunting in our parks and when and where it takes place. The majority of park users may know of “hunting” in a general sense but not in detail. Again, many don’t know that hunting is allowed in Wisconsin State Parks. Many will never see a hunting and trapping zone map. We also need to recognize that people do use Steinke Basin and Roznos Meadow all the time and in ever-growing numbers. We need to inform them at the point of entry to the trail, not just the day-use areas or the visitor center.

I hope that by posting this more park visitors will know that there is hunting going on in the park, which is good for hunters and non-hunters alike, and that maybe someone will start posting notices again on the outlying trailheads before someone or their dog gets hurt.