Deer hunting is one of Wisconsin’s most valued traditions. It brings families and friends together year after year to enjoy each other’s company and spend time in the outdoors, and it brings nutritious food to the table. Last year, about 650,000 licensed hunters ventured into the Wisconsin woods to try their luck at bagging a deer.

In recent years, people hunting in some of Wisconsin’s wilder areas have shared their hunting spots with gray wolves. The gray wolf, or “timber wolf,” as it is sometimes called, was once common in the state. Between 3,000 and 5,000 wolves roamed Wisconsin prior to European settlement, but they were extirpated by 1960.

In 1973, passage of the Endangered Species Act gave the wolf federal protection, and in the following decades wolves returned on their own, a form of natural recovery. Today, based on data gathered from field surveys, tracking transects, and radio collaring studies conducted by the Department of Natural Resources, the 2005 late winter count shows between 425 and 455 wolves in Wisconsin.

With the restoration of this large predator come questions about its possible effect on deer hunting. Some people wonder whether gray wolves pose too much competition for game. It’s a valid concern — wolves do eat deer, and one of the reasons wolves are doing so well here is because deer are so plentiful. A close look at the numbers, though, will reveal that Wisconsin deer hunters receive more competition from cars and weather than from wolves.

Going into this year’s deer-gun season, there are 1.4 million to 1.5 million deer in the state, enough deer to go around. In fact, many people believe there are far too many deer here, even though several of the deer management units in northern Wisconsin are within 20 percent of the state’s population goals. Too many deer can cause problems ranging from garden destruction to the spread of alarming diseases like tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease.

Some research tells us that a healthy adult gray wolf can consume 18 to 20 deer each year. With the current population, roughly 9,100 deer would be eaten by wolves in the state this year. On the other hand, according to the DNR, last year hunters in Wisconsin harvested 519,388 deer, the second most productive deer hunt on record for the state.

Winter weather plays a huge part in deer mortality as well. Deer can be stressed by cold conditions, and deep snow can hinder them from feeding. Weather can also impact deer movement patterns. An extremely cold or warm hunting season may cause deer to move less during the day, reducing hunters’ opportunity to visually see them. This can give the false impression that there are not many deer around.

Finally, vehicles are a substantial factor in deer deaths. More than 45,000 deer were hit by vehicles in the state during 2004, nearly five times more than were killed by wolves. Wolves, weather and humans all play a part in the life and death of our large deer herd.

Mary Silver is a fellow at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute in Ashland, Wis.