Robert Holsman, assistant professor of wildlife at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), was awarded an $18,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to survey 2,000 hunters in and around the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) eradication zone in southwestern Wisconsin.

The grant, "Identifying factors that influence hunter effort among Wisconsin gun hunters," is a collaborative effort between UWSP and the DNR. The study took place during last fall�s gun hunting season, which ran from October to December in the area where CWD has been discovered. Approximately 1,000 surveys were filled out by hunters who took part in the hunt within the eradication zone. Another 1,000 surveys were completed by deer hunters in surrounding counties outside the eradication zone. According to Holsman, the survey is an attempt to look at opinions and behaviors of Wisconsin�s deer hunters to assist the DNR in controlling CWD.

Holsman constructed his survey with input from Jordan Petchenik, DNR social scientist, DNR deer managers and other members of the research team. Each hunter was encouraged to fill out the survey as well as keep a diary. The objectives of the project are to establish a baseline of hunter effort for future trend studies, to test a model to compare hunter effort in deer management units of varying population densities, and to test the effect of deer density within management units as well as other relevant variables including years hunted, bounty incentives, tradition and hunt-related motivations.

"The study is crafted to monitor deer hunter response to CWD and its management by the DNR," said Holsman. "Wisconsin�s deer hunters have been asked to take a chance on the DNR�s strategy to drastically reduce the deer population in the affected area. Each hunter�s survey/diary gives us an opportunity to measure how deer hunter effort changes as harvest opportunities become more difficult in the CWD eradication zone."

UWSP natural resources graduate student, Ryan Meinerz of Milwaukee, is assisting Holsman throughout the project. A 1995 graduate of Martin Luther King Jr. High School, he has a bachelor�s degree from UW-Milwaukee. Meinerz� work is being funded by UWSP�s College of Natural Resources.

A native of Fond du Lac, Holsman earned bachelor�s and master�s degrees from UWSP in 1989 and 1995 and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Prior to joining the faculty in 2002, Holsman worked as a visiting faculty member at MSU.

Preliminary survey results will be available this spring.