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The board allowed managed hunts in 2006 and 2007 to reduce the herd on the island, located in southwest La Crosse County. In all, 63 deer have been shot, and a task force monitoring the herd estimated the population was down to 60 deer after the 2007 hunt.
At one point, the island’s deer population was roughly estimated at 200, though surveys right before and after the 2006 hunt put the population at “well above 100,” according to a report to the board Thursday.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Ron Lichte told the board the deer at Goose Island are looking healthier, and have fewer liver parasites. There have also been fewer car-deer crashes on Hwy. 35, and the habitat is in better shape because of less browsing, he said. Chronic wasting disease has not been found in any of the deer killed, he said.
But Lichte said further herd reduction is needed. The task force isn’t recommending a specific population, but noted in its report to the board that the DNR sets a population goal of 20 deer per square mile in this area. Goose Island is about one square mile.
For more on this story see Saturday's La Crosse Tribune.
