Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill Saturday that makes Wisconsin the 20th state to join the Wildlife Violator Compact.
Under the compact, the suspension of hunting and fishing privileges in one member state is effective in all the others. Doyle, a Democrat, said the Republican-authored bill will help block known poachers from abusing Wisconsin's natural resources.
Doyle signed another bill into law Saturday that requires the state Department of Natural Resources to run a program designed to control double-crested cormorants. The law is designed to comply with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service order that several states, including Wisconsin, control the bird, which can damage fish, plants and wildlife habitats.
Doyle also signed several other wildlife-related bills into law Saturday, including measures that will:
-Allow Wisconsin to accept hunter safety certification from other countries that have more stringent standards for certification.
-Permit hunting in school forests as long as the hunting isn't within 1,700 feet of the school and only during an open season for an animal.
-Allow night fishing with a bow and arrow, if the DNR establishes an open season for taking rough fish with the weapon.
-Allow state agents and landowners to shoot deer from vehicles in chronic wasting disease zones until June 30, 2010. The state had allowed that practice in CWD zones in the past but the regulation permitting it expired on June 30, 2004.
The bill also allows people to hunt deer in CWD zones without a license. The DNR must craft eligibility requirements and application requirements to obtain the exemption.Associated Press via Duluth News Tribune
