DATE: December 3, 2002
TO: Darrell Bazzell, Former Secretary
FROM: Marilyn A. Davis, Director, Bureau of Customer Service and Licensing
SUBJECT: 2002 Deer Hunting Season Sales Report

Deer hunting license sales and supporting activity for the 2002 deer season has come to a successful close. What follows are the highlights of sales data and customer service efforts:

Gun Deer License Sales Comparisons 2001 vs. 2002

  2001 Sales 2002 Sales Difference  

Resident Conservation Patron

81,314

81,895

581

  

Resident Sports

86,134

75,122

-11,012

  

Resident Gun

480,078

428,724

-51,354

  

Total Resident Deer Sales

647,526

585,741

-61,785

-9.54%
 

Nonresident Conservation Patron

25

38

13

  

Nonresident Sports

279

277

-2

  

Nonresident Gun

40,710

32,889

-7,821

  

Total Nonresident Deer Sales

41,014

33,204

-7,810

-19.04%
 

Combined Total

688,540

618,945

-69,595

-10.11%

Archery license sales declined by slightly more than 19%. An analysis of data shows that slightly more than one-fifth of resident deer hunters had both archery and gun license privileges.

Archery License Sales Comparisons 2001 vs. 2002

 

2001 Sales

2002 Sales

Difference

  

Resident Archery

169,811

137,521

-32,290

  

Nonresident Archery

8,458

6,641

-1,817

  

Totals

178,269

144,162

-34,107

-19.13%

The interest in CWD prompted frequent requests from the media for updated license sales numbers. Sales were monitored and reported on a weekly basis from September through the gun season opener.

Data was quickly made available to address the interests of outdoor writers and others in the media who were covering Wisconsin’s deer hunting season. Queries to the ALIS database were launched once sales ceased at midnight on Friday, November 22 and summary data was available for Saturday press information.

The introduction of CWD rules and regulations coupled with the complexity of this year’s tagging options resulted in the need for a high level of customer support to address questions and concerns.

This year, one valid tag for Zone T hunting was included with every deer hunting license privilege that was sold. More than 181,500 bonus permits were purchased by deer hunters this year. Over 17,600 of these tags were for Zone T units, and 3,257 were issued to Farmers who qualify for free bonus permits. Bonus sales will continue through the remaining deer hunting seasons. The majority, or 63%, of bonus permits were sold over-the-counter at (non-DNR) ALIS locations. Twenty-three (23%) percent were sold by mail as part of the Hunter’s Choice/Bonus application process.

Beginning this year, hunters were given the option to complete and submit their Hunter's Choice/Bonus application online. Over 12% (13,692 customers) used this new Internet service.

ALIS performed flawlessly in the days leading up to the hunt, processing 88,613 sales transactions ($2.57M in revenue) on the Friday before the regular season opener, the highest number ever processed in ALIS in a single day.

Waiting until the last minute to buy a gun license continues to be a tradition for Wisconsin hunters. A record thirty-seven percent (37%) of all deer licenses issued in 2002 were sold within the last week before deer season.

Over 71,150 deer licenses were sold on Friday, November 22, representing eleven percent (11%) of total gun deer sales.

Deer sales will reopen on December 12 and remain open through January 31.

Gun Deer Hunting License Sales History

License Type 1995 Sales 1996 Sales 1997 Sales 1998 Sales 1999 Sales 2000 Sales 2001 Sales 2002 Sales
Gun Deer
Resident
Nonresident		 512,799
28,398		 497,990
30,512		 495,998
30,628		 491,062
32,270		 492,423
36,387		 483,419
41,604		 480,078
40,710		 428,724
32,889
Sports
Resident
Nonresident		 108,820
N/A		 104,655
N/A		 95,027
8		 91,720
14		 94,061
130		 92,014
232		 86,134
279		 75,122
277
Conservation
Patron
Resident
Nonresident		  
34,927
N/A		  
43,915
N/A		  
50,043
2		  
53,891
1		  
67,172
21		  
77,415
28		  
81,314
25		  
81,895
38
Total 684,944 677,072 671,706 668,958 690,194 694,712 688,540 618,945

Who Are Our Deer Hunters?

The data that is captured in the ALIS system helps us better understand our customers and their buying patterns and helps leverage our ability to expand and shape future services.

Of the 618,945 hunters this gun deer season, juveniles (under the age of 18) represented 11.5% of the hunting population, and 6.6% were Senior Citizens (65 years of age and older).

Female hunters represent 6.3% of the total hunters; a total of 39,100 women purchased a patron, sports or gun deer license (number includes residents and nonresidents) compared to 544,961 licenses purchased by men. A more specific breakdown by gender follows:

Approval Type

Female

Male

Unknown*

Total

Resident Conservation Patron

1,440

80,037

418

81,895

Resident Sports

3,153

70,944

1,025

75,122

Resident Gun Deer

33,906

367,105

27,713

428,724

Nonresident Conservation Patron

1

34

3

38

Nonresident Sports

6

250

21

277

Nonresident Gun Deer

594

26,591

5,704

32,889

Totals

39,100

54,4961

34,884

618,945

*Data entry required to complete customer records

Nonresident Licensed Deer Hunters

There were 39,845 nonresidents who deer hunted in Wisconsin this year (down 19% from last years total of 49,472). Excluding Arkansas, hunters came from every state in the Country. Attached is a breakdown by state identifying where our nonresident hunters reside.

The highest numbers of nonresident purchases came from residents of Minnesota (13,734); Illinois (7,815); Michigan (857); Florida (684); Iowa (671); Indiana (469); California (449); and Texas (432).

Where Licenses Were Purchased

More than 90% of gun deer licenses were sold at non-DNR locations. Again this year, Mills Fleet Farm in Appleton and Gander Mountain in Brookfield top the list of locations issuing the highest number of gun deer-related approvals (Conservation Patron, Sports, and Gun Deer).

Mills Fleet Farm locations represent 14 of the top 20 sales locations; and Internet Sales (in its first full year) ranked the 5th highest sales location. The top 20 locations include:

 

AGENT LOCATION

# Gun Deer Sales

1

MILLS FLEET FARM APPLETON

10,247

2

GANDER MOUNTAIN BROOKFIELD

7,969

3

MILLS FLEET FARM GREEN BAY WEST

7,015

4

MILLS FLEET FARM GERMANTOWN

7,013

5

INTERNET SALES - ALS

6,822

6

MILLS FLEET FARM STEVENS POINT

6,438

7

MILLS FLEET FARM OSHKOSH

5,824

8

MILLS FLEET FARM GREEN BAY EAST

5,810

9

GANDER MOUNTAIN FRANKLIN

5,498

10

MILLS FLEET FARM FOND DU LAC

5,442

11

MILLS FLEET FARM MANITOWOC

5,059

12

MILLS FLEET FARM MARSHFIELD

4,984

13

MILLS FLEET FARM HUDSON

4,814

14

MILLS FLEET FARM WAUSAU

4,778

15

DNR GREEN BAY HEADQUARTERS

4,744

16

MILLS FLEET FARM MENOMONIE

4,542

17

MILLS FLEET FARM WEST BEND

4,537

18

MILLS FLEET FARM BEAVER DAM

4,513

19

PHONE SALES - ALS

4,290

20

ALS - PHONE SALES

4,183

Among Wisconsin counties (71 of 72 excluding Menominee), the highest numbers of gun deer licenses were sold in: Dane (30,416); Brown (26,930); Waukesha (22,622); Marathon (21,548); Washington (21,513 ); and Outagamie (21,328).

A breakdown of sales by county.

Conservation Patron Customers

The popularity of the Conservation Patron license continues with resident sales at 81,895 which is slightly higher than the 81,314 mark reached last year. In 1984, the first year of the Conservation Patron license, 217 were sold.

Thirty-eight (38) non-resident Conservation Patron licenses were sold in 2002.

Over two percent (2%) of Resident Conservation Patrons and five percent (5%) of Nonresident Conservation Patrons purchased their license via the Internet.

Deer Sales By County

County 2000 2001 2002 Percent Change 2002 from 2001

ADAMS

3317

3314

2743

-17.23%

ASHLAND

4480

4374

4102

-6.22%

BARRON

12640

12457

11674

-6.29%

BAYFIELD

3472

3586

3187

-11.13%

BROWN

28502

28885

26930

-6.77%

BUFFALO

3739

3798

3454

-9.06%

BURNETT

6004

5738

5250

-8.50%

CALUMET

3128

4155

4621

11.22%

CHIPPEWA

12905

12609

11540

-8.48%

CLARK

5705

5956

5470

-8.16%

COLUMBIA

7824

7747

6829

-11.85%

CRAWFORD

4268

4401

4084

-7.20%

DANE

38458

37164

30416

-18.16%

DODGE

11031

11021

10142

-7.98%

DOOR

4151

4082

3817

-6.49%

DOUGLAS

8406

8294

6975

-15.90%

DUNN

8300

8231

7829

-4.88%

EAU CLAIRE

16226

16207

14857

-8.33%

FLORENCE

1892

1820

1661

-8.74%

FOND DU LAC

13424

13279

12460

-6.17%

FOREST

2837

2833

2587

-8.68%

GRANT

9600

9416

7943

-15.64%

GREEN

4312

4255

3317

-22.04%

GREEN LAKE

3998

4099

3757

-8.34%

IOWA

3874

3943

3086

-21.73%

IRON

1789

1679

1485

-11.55%

JACKSON

5143

5355

4969

-7.21%

JEFFERSON

7853

7703

6928

-10.06%

JUNEAU

5033

4637

3960

-14.60%

KENOSHA

8541

8135

6739

-17.16%

KEWAUNEE

3162

3143

2997

-4.65%

LA CROSSE

15607

15415

13867

-10.04%

LAFAYETTE

1557

1632

1526

-6.50%

LANGLADE

6853

7203

6736

-6.48%

LINCOLN

7792

7771

6926

-10.87%

MANITOWOC

10197

9899

9179

-7.27%

MARATHON

22848

23233

21548

-7.25%

MARINETTE

10733

10690

10040

-6.08%

MARQUETTE

3568

3514

3041

-13.46%

MILWAUKEE

26169

24788

20486

-17.36%

MONROE

8766

8824

8005

-9.28%

OCONTO

6634

6616

6234

-5.77%

ONEIDA

10023

9878

8930

-9.60%

OUTAGAMIE

23319

22902

21328

-6.87%

OZAUKEE

4381

4225

3376

-20.09%

PEPIN

3692

3571

2399

-32.82%

PIERCE

6271

6297

5454

-13.39%

POLK

10807

10543

9707

-7.93%

PORTAGE

11837

11677

10772

-7.75%

PRICE

5176

5249

4659

-11.24%

RACINE

12893

12515

10661

-14.81%

RICHLAND

4120

4161

3536

-15.02%

ROCK

17610

17474

14345

-17.91%

RUSK

4569

4453

4135

-7.14%

SAUK

11914

12116

10091

-16.71%

SAWYER

4692

4845

4643

-4.17%

SHAWANO

6296

6421

5919

-7.82%

SHEBOYGAN

11846

11806

10848

-8.11%

ST CROIX

13907

13671

12605

-7.80%

TAYLOR

6562

6505

5900

-9.30%

TREMPEALEAU

5118

5106

5759

12.79%

VERNON

4685

4922

4309

-12.45%

VILAS

4539

4533

4032

-11.05%

WALWORTH

5420

5438

4416

-18.79%

WASHBURN

5566

5605

5232

-6.65%

WASHINGTON

23268

23192

21513

-7.24%

WAUKESHA

27065

26429

22622

-14.40%

WAUPACA

13424

13602

12792

-5.96%

WAUSHARA

3731

4031

3602

-10.64%

WINNEBAGO

16260

15875

14486

-8.75%

WOOD

17856

17527

15485

-11.65%

OUT OF STATE

23127

22070

21992

-0.35%

Last Revised: Friday July 14 2006