MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Woodchucks would no longer be a protected species in Wisconsin, under a bill that’s being drafted by a state Assembly Republican.

De Pere Representative Andre Jacque proposes a hunting season for woodchucks that would run from March through December. Hunters and trappers could take unlimited numbers of the critters.

UW-Madison professor emeritus Scott Craven said woodchucks were protected for decades because they got scarce – and they were needed to keep digging burrows and provide much-needed shelter for other animals.

Now, woodchucks are fairly common.

Sporting enthusiasts overwhelmingly favored a woodchuck hunting season during the spring conservation hearings in 2009.