Republican legislators in Wisconsin introduced a bill to prohibit doe hunting in the northern part of the state for several years to preserve and grow the population in the region.

GOP state Reps. Chanz Green, Angie Sapik, Rob Swearingen, and Calvin Callahan and Sen. Romaine Quinn introduced the legislation on Wednesday. It would ban the hunting of antlerless deer for four years. The goal is to encourage the does to reproduce and bolster the population, which would give more hunters targets in the future.

“We want future generations to enjoy the tradition of hunting in Northern Wisconsin, and this bill is a good start to making that happen,” the lawmakers said in a memo seeking co-sponsors, per the Associated Press.

Hunters in the Northern Forest Hunting Zone, which includes roughly the northern third of Wisconsin, have complained for several years that the antlerless deer population has been dwindling. 

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In November’s nine-day gun season, hunters killed 14% fewer bucks in that zone compared to the region’s five-year average, according to harvest total data from the state Department of Natural Resources. The doe harvest totals in the zone were down 27.2% from its five-year average.

Natural resources officials have blamed the harsh 2022-2023 winter in the reduction in doe and buck numbers, while hunters believe wolves are to blame for the dwindling populations, per Fox 11.