SPECIAL NOTE...THE FOLLOWING PROPOSAL WAS SUBMITTED TO THE WISCONSIN STATE BUDGET PROCESS AND APPROVED. GO TO OUR HOME PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS ON APPROVED BUDGETED FUNDING.
THE FOLLOWING LETTER WAS SENT TO OUR GOVENOR JIM DOYLE, 132 WISCONSIN STATE LEGISLATORS IN MADISON, AND A NUMBER OF WDNR PERSONEL;
My name is Lee Dudek, founder and volunteer coordinator for the Hunt For The Hungry (HFTH) program. Hunt For The Hungry is a voluntary, charitable program that allows deer hunters to donate venison to area food pantries and shelters to help feed needy families throughout the state.
Our regional deer donation program is based out of Green Bay, and primarily serves Northeastern Wisconsin. We started deer donation in our area 11 years ago. Early in 2000, the Wildlife Damage Abatement and Claims Program (WDACP) of the DNR asked us to help them develop a "statewide" deer donation program. HFTH partnered with WDACP, the USDA, and the DNR to help start the Wisconsin Deer Donation program in the fall of 2000.
During the first five years of the program, nearly 35,000 deer have been donated, providing close to 1,600,000 pounds of processed ground venison for food pantries that serve thousands of needy families all over the state. The program has become a very popular and effective deer management tool to help reduce deer numbers, ranking as one of largest deer donation programs in the country. Wisconsin Deer Donation clearly is a program that benefits everyone, hunter and non-hunter alike. There is great potential for continued growth and benefits for the future.
The Wildlife Damage Abatement and Claims Program (WDACP) currently administers the statewide deer donation program under its regulations and rules. The costs for the administration of the program and for the processing of donated deer have been paid from the surplus revenues in the WDACP crop damage program the past five years. The revenues to WDACP are "hunter-generated" dollars from license sales and antlerless deer bonus tag sales.
During 2002 and 2003, significant funds were removed from WDACP by the DNR and legislature to pay for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) costs. Nearly $6 MILLION in crop damage funding was removed from the WDACP fund to pay for CWD. The removal of surplus funding in WDACP has not only hurt the crop damage program, but has put deer donation in real jeopardy for the future.
That is why I am writing to you.
The biggest obstacle to deer donation's future is the funding that will be needed to administer the program and pay the 120+ participating venison processors around the state for the processing of donated deer. With uncertain revenue projections for the WDACP, deer donation's future under the current rules and regulations and funding source is questionable. We must find a way to secure deer donation's future, a reorganization that requires a more reliable source of funding for 2005 and beyond.
Recently, the state of Maryland passed legislation to add $1 to the cost of every bow and gun deer license sold in that state. That $1 goes directly to a special fund designated for deer donation only. A similar $1 from every Wisconsin bow or gun deer hunting license would not only pay for deer donation during the regular deer hunting seasons each fall, but would provide the funding required to pay for deer donation all year long. I believe this modest request would have overwhelming support of the generous sportsmen and women in this state.
To be successful, deer donation also needs to be reorganized with new rules and regulations that would allow for the processing of donated deer all year long. The deer herd population in Wisconsin will continue to require significant reductions. With deer donation available to deer hunters and farmers all year, I am convinced many more crop damage deer permits would be filled and the deer populations would be better managed. Every donated deer is one less deer causing damage and danger on our roadways.
Additionally, with more secure funding in place that would continue to be provided by deer hunters, I would also recommend that the WDACP remain involved in the administration of the Wisconsin Deer Donation program. They already have the network of participating processors in place, as well as other important contacts to make the program work. I would continue to serve as a spokesperson for the statewide deer donation program, working through the media to promote deer donation statewide.
With your help, deer donation can become one of the most popular and most accepted efforts assisting not only deer management in Wisconsin, but adding to the rich heritage of deer hunting in our state as well. Deer hunting takes on an all-new meaning when the deer hunter becomes a "food provider" for those who cannot hunt and will benefit from the caring generosity of deer hunters.
Simply put: eliminating the deer donation program is not an option!
Please help me make sure deer donation reaches its full potential in Wisconsin in the years to come by taking this proposal and submitting a new plan for the Wisconsin Deer Donation program.
Any assistance you can provide to solidifying the future of Hunt For The Hungry and the Wisconsin Deer Donation Program would be greatly appreciated by thousands of hunters, charitable organizations, and people in need who benefit from this program. I would be glad to talk with you in the near future to discuss the ideas I proposed above. Please give me a call at (920) 498-1522 or (920) 655-1284 with any questions or suggestions.
Thank you for all your help, and God bless you.
Sincerely,
Lee Dudek
www.huntforthehungry.com
