It's clear Wisconsin's elected leaders don't give a hoot about what hunters want.

When the Wisconsin Legislature ended its session March 13, deer baiting and feeding remained sacred across much of the state and the Department of Natural Resources secretary's post remained under the governor's thumb.

Both failures came despite heartfelt efforts by our largest, strongest, most legitimate hunting organizations to persuade lawmakers to do the right thing. Those groups would be the Conservation Congress and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

The Congress and Federation supported the DNR's bid to ban baiting/feeding statewide. They also supported Senate and Assembly bills to again empower the Natural Resources Board to hire and fire the DNR secretary.

At least the DNR secretary issue got past the talking stage. The Senate bill passed 21-12, but the Assembly version died in the Rules Committee, never reaching the floor for a vote. This, even though Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem), was one of the Assembly bill's 42 co-sponsors and is vice-chairman of the Rules Committee.

Meanwhile, the DNR never found a legislator to author a deer baiting/feeding ban. After the Congress, Federation and the DNR's chief warden, Randy Stark, persuaded the Board to back the ban in May 2007, the agency thought it had enough facts and popular support to sway lawmakers.

Forget that.

Lawmakers ignored their door-knocks or snoozed through their presentations. Even when the phone rang at 3 a.m. with news that bovine tuberculosis had infected wild deer and at least four cattle herds in northwestern Minnesota, lawmakers simply jammed their thumbs into their ears and chanted "We won't be quarantined, We won't be quarantined" until the caller hung up.

In contrast, because Minnesota's agriculture officials fear that deer could spread TB to more cattle or dairy herds, Gov. Tim Pawlenty last week warned law-breakers they face fines or jail if they feed deer.

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin DNR is proposing that hunters in the chronic wasting disease zone be cited if they transport deer they shoot from the zone. They fear bones, lymph nodes and spinal fluids could spread CWD if dumped in rural areas instead of landfills. Although those risks are mostly theoretical, the precaution seems reasonable.

But why restrict deer-carcass movements that might spread disease, but allow baiting and feeding, which is known to spread parasites, TB and possibly CWD, to name a few saliva-carried plagues?

If taking unnecessary risks with Wisconsin's deer and our agricultural industry doesn't scare legislators straight, what will? Maybe you're overlooking the obvious: you and your votes.

Nothing in the lawmakers' experience tells them they'll gain votes by outlawing baiting and feeding, or lose votes by letting governors choose DNR secretaries.

It isn't enough to pack legislative hearings, recite landslide victories on advisory questions and quote Aldo Leopold while invoking our outdoors legacy. Hunters, anglers, trappers and other conservationists should realize that most lawmakers don't share their passion for wild things and our natural heritage. No matter what they claim, their actions prove otherwise.

Nearly 13 years have passed since lawmakers let governors appoint the DNR secretary. Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) has written seven bills since then to return the power to the DNR Board. Meanwhile, nearly five years have passed since it was illegal to bait or feed deer statewide. We can't even get a lawmaker to write a bill to ban the practices, let alone ignore it.

It's time to realize that it's a rare letter to the editor that sparks legislative action. We should also realize the Conservation Congress and Wildlife Federation can't hold fundraisers, endorse candidates and stage political rallies.

The ballot box is the one thing we haven't tried. Wisconsin holds elections in every Assembly district and half of the Senate districts in November. If you don't make our outdoor heritage, natural resources and the health of our agricultural industry major issues between now and then, don't blame lawmakers.

That's the thing about democratic government. Eventually, we're responsible for its health.