UPDATED Monday, December 17, 2012 --- 4:36 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A federal judge has blocked Wisconsin's Chippewa tribes from hunting deer at night for this season.
A commission that administers the bands' off-reservation rights authorized tribal hunters to go after deer at night in November. The move runs counter to the state's ban on the practice, but the commission and the tribes argue they could operate outside that ban because the state allowed wolf hunters to take to the woods at night.
But U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb issued an order Monday saying the tribes overstepped their authority when they issued the authorization without state approval.
Tribal attorney Colette Routel didn't immediately return telephone and email messages.
Copyright 2012: Associated Press
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UPDATED Thursday, December 13, 2012 --- 11:22 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin's Chippewa bands are trying to convince a federal judge hunting wolves at night is more dangerous than hunting deer after dark.
Lac de Flambeau attorney Colette Routel got Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources hunting safety expert Tim Lawhern to testify during a hearing Thursday that shining deer makes them freeze in place and easy to kill, but wolves flee when exposed to light at night.
The Chippewa have authorized tribal hunters to go after deer at night in response to the state's new wolf hunt. The DNR has asked U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb to rule that the state's longstanding prohibition on night deer hunting extends to the tribes.
The hearing was expected to conclude later Thursday.
Copyright 2012: Associated Press
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UPDATED Wednesday, December 12, 2012 --- 7:00 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Arguments over whether the Wisconsin Chippewa can hunt deer at night are scheduled to continue on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb two weeks ago declared the state's ban on night deer hunting extends to tribal hunters, scuttling the Chippewa's request until Wednesday's hearing.
Witnesses for both the Chippewa and the state testified all day Wednesday. Crabb did not say if she would rule from the bench following the expected conclusion of testimony on Thursday or at a later date.
The organization that oversees the Chippewa's off-reservation rights last month quietly authorized tribal hunters to hunt at night, known as shining.
The state Department of Natural Resources has banned night deer hunting for decades out of safety concerns.
Copyright 2012: Associated Press
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UPDATED Wednesday, December 12, 2012 --- 2:15 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A federal judge is hearing arguments over whether the Wisconsin Chippewa can hunt deer at night.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb two weeks ago declared the state's ban on night deer hunting extends to tribal hunters, scuttling the Chippewa's request until Wednesday's hearing.
The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, the organization that oversees the Chippewa's off-reservation rights, last month quietly authorized tribal hunters to hunt at night, known as shining.
The OK was given for night hunting in the so-called ceded territory, a 22,400-acre swath of northern Wisconsin the tribes handed over to the federal government in the 19th century.
The state Department of Natural Resources has banned night deer hunting for decades out of safety concerns.
The judge didn't indicate during Wednesday's hearing when she would rule.
Copyright 2012: Associated Press
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Posted: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 -- 6:05 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments over whether the Wisconsin Chippewa can hunt deer at night.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb two weeks ago declared the state's ban on night deer hunting extends to tribal hunters, scuttling the Chippewa's request until Wednesday's hearing.
The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, the organization that oversees the Chippewa's off-reservation rights, last month quietly authorized tribal hunters to hunt at night, known as shining.
The OK was given for night hunting in the so-called ceded territory, a 22,400-acre swath of northern Wisconsin the tribes handed over to the federal government in the 19th century.
The state Department of Natural Resources has banned night deer hunting for decades out of safety concerns.
Copyright 2012: Associated Press
