BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

Holding another deer hunt this fall in Rhinelander received the backing Tuesday from the city’s Protection of Persons and Property Committee.

Committee members favored resuming the deer hunt for 2016 with rules similar to the 2015 hunt when no hunting was allowed in the city limits during the regular gun and muzzleloader seasons. The bow and arrow hunt, which would be done in accordance with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources rules and regulations as well as all city ordinances, could also be closed at other times for safety concerns at the discretion of the mayor, such as on the day of Halloween.

A change committee members favored for this year is the registration period, in which the deadline to register to be able to hunt in the city would be Sept. 9, a week and a day before the bow hunting season for deer would start on Sept. 17, rather than allow people to register for the hunt after the season would begin this fall.

Deer hunting in Rhinelander has been allowed in recent years in response to complaints from residents about the deer herd in the city limits.

In the 2015 citywide deer hunt, 16 deer were killed by the 42 hunters allowed to hunt with 24 properties where hunting was allowed. According to a report on last year’s deer hunt, 35.15 hours of total staff time had been spent on administrating the hunt in the city. The majority of the city staff time included 13.86 hours for hunter background checks and 12 hours for property checks.

The plan to resume deer hunting in Rhinelander for 2016 requires final approval by the full City Council, which has its next meeting scheduled for Aug. 8.