SEASON STRUCTURE/RULE CHANGES
In 2008, 56 units are designated herd control units, including five state parks, 35 are designated Earn-a-Buck units, including six state parks, and 22 are designated regular units, including one state park.

A two-year trial moratorium on the October antlerless gun hunt expired last year. Because the minimum 2-to-1 harvest ratio of antlerless to antlered deer wasn't met in four of five regions, October gun hunting will return in most herd control and all Earn-a-Buck units. This may not be popular with bowhunters, but the good news is that it will occur earlier than prior years, from Oct. 16-19, instead of the end of the month.

"Part of the reason for having the four-day antlerless-only season in the middle of October is to reduce conflicts from bowhunters who prefer to hunt during the early part of the rut, usually the last week of October," Warnke said. "The earlier October gun hunt should also provide hunting opportunities for many deer hunters who prefer warmer conditions."

CWD UNITS
Several changes in CWD units may affect bowhunters. Hunters in the CWD units will likely have a new season framework based on a proposal adopted by the Natural Resources Board last April. The herd reduction zone and the herd eradication zone have been combined into a single management zone.

A holiday firearms season is from Dec. 24 through Jan. 4 for CWD units. Earn-a-Buck rules apply and bowhunters may continue to hunt as long as they comply with blaze orange requirements.

One rule change may affect bowhunters who use ground blinds for bow and gun hunting on state land. This season, all portable ground blinds used on state land during the gun deer season must have a minimum of 144 square inches of blaze orange that is visible from all directions. Additionally, ground blinds left unattended during the day on state lands must display the owner's DNR customer ID number or name and address in a conspicuous location near the entrance. So, if you plan to use your ground blind to bowhunt right up until gun season, remember to retrofit it with the necessary blaze orange.

EARN-A-BUCK AND PREQUALIFICATION
Earn-a-Buck regulations are in effect in 35 deer management units outside the CWD management zones. EAB requires a hunter to first shoot an antlerless deer before shooting a buck.

Prequalification was introduced in 2006 in response to hunters' concerns about having to pass up a buck because they hadn't shot an antlerless deer first. Prequalification allows a hunter to harvest an antlerless deer in any EAB or CWD unit and receive a buck that may be used in the current year or the next year in any EAB unit in the state.