Deer czar appointed, now on to the promised review

Gov. Scott Walker on Oct. 3, 2011 named James C. Kroll, a deer management professor from Texas, as the state's new whitetail management trustee.

That is, the "deer czar.”

A news release from the state Department of Administration said that Kroll will "provide the state with an independent, objective, and scientifically based review of Wisconsin"s deer management practices.”

Kroll's recommendations could have a considerable impact on deer hunting -- an important part of Wisconsin culture and tradition -- in future years.

For years, the state Department of Natural Resources, with input from the Conservation Congress, has worked to balance the desire of hunters to bag a deer with the concerns of others, including farmers worried about crop damage and safety advocates worried about the number of car-deer accidents.

Kroll is a professor at Stephan F. Austin State University where he is also the director of the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management and Research.  He uses the nickname "Dr. Deer” to promote his blog, television appearances on hunting shows and magazine articles. The news release announcing his appointment called him the "world's foremost expert in modern deer herd management.”

Asked about that assertion, DOA spokeswoman Carla Vigue offered this: "I should have included a qualifier ‘one of the."" As in he is ‘one of the world's most foremost experts in modern deer herd management.' ”

She added:  "He has published nearly 300 technical and popular articles on this topic and has appeared in many books, magazines, journals and television programs as a respected expert.”

The state provided this resume for Kroll.

Among the most notable items are his work with the Campbell Group, an organization which provides "hunting club management assistence.”

The resume says Kroll holds a PhD in from Texas A&M University but doesn't list his area of study.

Kroll's web site says he has spent "35 years debunking popular misconceptions about America's
favorite big game animal -- the white-tailed deer.” It adds that Kroll "has helped landowners from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border manage deer. His cutting edge research includes the use of infra-red triggered cameras as early as the late 1970s.”

State spokeswoman Vigue said Kroll had some experience in Wisconsin, advising private landowners. However, Kroll"s 37 page resume provides no indication of any work in Wisconsin.

During the campaign last year, Walker promised to "appoint a Whitetail Deer Trustee, an outside independent expert to revise our deer counting system."

Walker's positions on deer management have been guided, in part, by Greg Kazmierski, a member of the Hunters Rights Coalition, a lobbying group and longtime critic of the DNR.  Kazmierski owns Buck Rub Outfitters Ltd. in the Town of Delafield, a store that caters to bow hunters. Earlier this year, Walker appointed Kazmierski to the Natural Resources Board.

Kazmierski urged Walker to hire a deer czar. As a member of the DNR board, he will play a key part in putting Kroll's recommendations into place.

Deer trustee Kroll was hired by the Department of Administration -- rather than the DNR whose work he will review -- but he will be paid by the DNR. His contract is for $125,000. His report is due June 2012.

So where does that leave the promise?

During the campaign, Walker promised to appoint a deer trustee to "revise” the state's deer counting system -- moves that could dramatically affect the deer hunt in upcoming years. With the hiring of Kroll, Walker has completed the hiring part of that promise.

We'll see what revisions come from Kroll's work.

Until then, the promise remains In the Works.