Pleasant Valley Conservancy has always been an outstanding area for deer hunting. For many years a local family hunted on the Conservancy, usually taking from 3 to 8 deer (depending on license availability and state regulations). This all changed in 2002 when chronic wasting disease (CWD) became a serious concern.

The Town of Vermont (Dane County, Wisconsin), where Pleasant Valley Conservancy is located, was the first area in the state where chronic wasting disease was discovered. Extensive studies by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) showed that this area was the center of the CWD threat. In order to stamp out the disease before it spread farther, the DNR began a program to eradicate all deer within this area. The deer hunting season was extended greatly and all deer killed were tested for CWD.

Landowners in the area were asked to cooperate with this effort, either by opening their land to hunters, or by permitting DNR sharpshooters on their land, or both. Pleasant Valley Conservancy has cooperated with this effort. DNR sharpshooters were on the Conservancy beginning in May of 2002 and extending through the summer and early fall. Once the hunting season began, the Conservancy was opened to numerous hunters, some of whom killed deer. Although DNR sharpshooters did not hunt on the Conservancy in subsequent years, several local residents were granted permits to hunt. In the extended hunting season, one hunter did kill a deer during the late snow period of early March 2006. We will continue to cooperate with the DNR in this effort to control CWD.

All deer killed in our area must be checked in at the DNR station on Route 78, a few miles from the Conservancy.

The DNR has made a major effort to determine the extent of the CWD epidemic. Since the epidemic was recognized, the DNR has tested thousands of deer for CWD, of which approximately 2% have been positive. The map below (from January 2005) shows the locations of deer which tested positive.

Further information can be found on the DNR web site: dnr.wi.gov (click on "Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin")

Before the CWD eradication program began, the deer density in our area was about 35 per square mile. Eradication efforts reduced this density to 28 per square mile by 2004. However, eradication efforts have not continued at the same intensity and in 2006 the deer density is back up (33 per square mile). (Data are from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.)

We continue to see deer daily at Pleasant Valley Conservancy, generally in the early morning or late afternoon. Deer trails across the snow are always seen. Deer presence is also evident from effects on some of our flowering plants and they seem to prefer certain species. We have noticed two species in particular that are heavily grazed by deer: ox-eye sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) and Illinois trefoil (Desmodium illinoense). Also, the long-bracted green orchid (Coerloglossum viride) seems to be a special favorite. We have found only a single plant of this attractive plant at Pleasant Valley, and every year its flower head was eaten as soon as it was fully open. In 2004 we protected this plant with a wire cage and were able to get this plant through to seed set.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have an extensive program on deer behavior and population dynamics. Deer are being instrumented with radio transmitters, so that their movements can be tracked. These researchers have tracked instrumented deer through Pleasant Valley Conservancy property.