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Harvestable Wildlife Plan

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore » Harvestable Wildlife Plan » Document List

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is one of the few park areas where hunting and trapping are specifically authorized in the legislation that created the park. Currently, deer hunting is limited to a muzzleloader hunt during the month of October on three islands. Hunting for other species and trapping is allowed consistent with current state regulations. Although this approach has worked in the past, recent events require the park to explore other management options. Most importantly, there has been a recent colonization and rapid increases in populations of deer on islands that historically had few to no deer. These islands retain a vegetation community that was once common, but has become extremely scarce elsewhere in the upper Midwest due to over-browsing by white-tailed deer. Canada yew, an important component of these communities is nearly gone from the mainland. Current levels of deer harvest have not been sufficient to keep deer numbers low enough to prevent damage to these other park resources. The park has worked with both state and tribal cooperators to identify various alternatives that will address deer management issues, as well as the management of other species that can be hunted or trapped within the park. A draft document that describes these alternatives, as well as associated environmental consequences of each, is available for public review until December 29, 2006.

Contact Information

Julie Van Stappen, Branch Chief, Natural Resources