Frederica Freyberg:
We turn now to Wisconsin Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Frank to talk about the Asian carp problem as well as questions on another topic, low numbers in the latest deer hunt in Wisconsin. Thanks very much for being here.

Matt Frank:
Great to be here. Thanks.

Frederica Freyberg:
The state of Michigan is filing suit to close the locks. Are you advising our governor to do the same?

Matt Frank:
We're looking at what Michigan is doing. We've been working on this issue to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan for a long time. Several years ago, Gov. Doyle led the effort to contribute to Illinois to put up barriers on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to stop the carp from moving toward the Great Lakes. We sent a crew down just the last couple of weeks to do the treatment on the river and we're going to continue to work on this. Our main goal obviously is to do the things on the ground that we need to do to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, is DNA of Asian carp the only evidence that they are above this barrier? What are our biologists saying about that?

Matt Frank:
Well, the DNA evidence is a new development. We are working with researchers. They found trace DNA between the barrier and the lake. The good news is that this past week part of the operation included netting above the lake. We work with some fishermen and there was a big team, multistates, and the U.S. fish and wildlife service all working together. Over 800 fish recovered, and there was no Asian carp in that fish. So that's a good thing. That doesn't cause us to stop our efforts because we know Asian carp are below the barrier in a major way. So we need to keep these efforts up.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, fishermen in Art's piece said that invasive species in the Great Lakes are already hurting their industry. Will the enforcement of ballast water regulations come too late to stop these invasives?

Matt Frank:
Well, unfortunately we've had a number of invasives introduced to the Great Lakes and also come into our inland water in Wisconsin from international shipping and that damage has already occurred. They've been here. We're working on control. But it is not too late to stop the introduction of new invasives. Wisconsin has been leading the way to have ballast water regulation. Just a few weeks ago, we came out with our Wisconsin permit to make sure that there's treatment technology onboard these ships so that any invasives can be destroyed before there's any ballast water discharged. In the end, however, we still believe the best solution is a national solution. We communicated with the Coast Guard to urge a very strong national standard. There should be one strong standard on the Great Lakes. Shippers shouldn't have to comply with different standards in different states. But the fact is we need action, and we need to do this now. This has been going on a long time. We're happy that the Coast Guard is moving ahead, but we need to get a strong standard in place.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, on to this white-hot deer hunt issue. Sen. Russ Decker has criticized the DNR’s wildlife management team. He said, “After a second consecutive terrible deer hunting season, the worst since 1982, the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, Matt Frank, should replace the big game wildlife management team and if he does not, then the board should.” What is your reaction to Sen. Decker?

Matt Frank:
Let me say that deer hunting is one of the great Wisconsin traditions. Generations of Wisconsin citizens have enjoyed the hunt here for a long time. And our goal at the DNR is to make sure we continue to enjoy the hunt. We ask our staff to do a very difficult job. We are here to manage the deer sustainably so that they're available for enjoyment not only now, but for our grandchildren. We also ask them to manage the deer herd in a way that protects other things that are also important in Wisconsin, things that are actually set by the legislature. For example, forestry. If the deer population is too high, our forests can't regenerate, and forests support 68,000 family-supporting jobs in this state. Forestry is the major employer in 23 counties. Agriculture. We spend $3 million a year to reimburse farmers for deer damage. So we have to balance all these things.

Frederica Freyberg:
But are you saying then that a nearly 30 percent reduction in the deer harvest in the last deer hunt is exactly the way your management team wanted it?

Matt Frank:
Well, here's the perspective. In 2000, which is the year of the greatest harvest, we had over 600,000 deer harvested. The year I was born, in 1956, the state total harvest of deer was about 66,000. We're not trying to get back to that number, but the point is 600,000 we believe is a number that is not sustainable. We can't sustain it in terms of our forest, our agriculture, our public safety. Last year we had 15,000 car accidents and 10 fatalities because of deer. In terms of what happened this year, there are parts of the state where, yes, the population is too low. In the north and the northeast the deer population is below the goals that it should be at and we are working hard to get the population back up. Other areas of the state, the population remains too high. Now, it's a little early to really determine where we landed after this season because we have to look at all the numbers. We've got some preliminary numbers. But we want to look at the harvest numbers for the entire season and then we'll make decisions accordingly as we move ahead.

Frederica Freyberg:
Because there were plans for a 16-day hunt next year, and that's been kind of put on the table?

Matt Frank:
Well, we've done a number of things. We know there's been hunter frustration out there, and we believe we do have a commitment to the hunters of this state. It's a great tradition. And that's a tradition we want to keep going. And hunters have said to us, for example, last year they were really tired of earn-a-buck. That's a policy that was very unpopular. Before you could harvest a buck, we asked them to harvest an antler-less deer. We backed off that policy in a lot of the state this past year. We were looking for an alternative, we asked for hunting groups to provide input. A 16-day hunt was proposed. Based on the preliminary numbers, we thought it would be a good idea to back off that proposal at this point and take a hard look at where we're at. 

Frederica Freyberg:
I've heard calls for like a blaze orange tea party to turn out in protest.

Matt Frank:
Our staff works hard at this. We're asking them to do — to reach all these goals, to make sure we continue to have a strong deer hunting tradition. Many of our staff hunt themselves. You know, the fact is, people feel passionately about this issue in this state. It's one of the reasons that this is a great tradition in our state. And we welcome input from hunters, from legislature, the natural resources board, the public at large, our foresters, our farmers. We need to listen to everybody and make sure we move ahead with a good set of policies.

Frederica Freyberg:
Sec. Frank, thanks very much.

Matt Frank:
Thank you.