Navigation

Column: Kevin Naze

  • WILD THINGS: Not All Classrooms Have Walls

    By ,

    Trees have always had a special place in my outdoor adventures.  Long before using them as ambush sites in hopes of eventually serving wild game on a dinner plate, trees were for climbing so high that my mother – watching the last of her eight kids throw caution to the wind – might have needed […]

  • Wild Things: State Natural Resources Board Approves Whitefish Emergency Rule

    By ,

    A seven-year effort led by Northern Door commercial fisherman Charlie Henriksen is finally coming to fruition on Green Bay. Wisconsin’s seven-citizen Natural Resources Board (NRB) unanimously approved an emergency rule allowing an increased quota for whitefish this season in commercial fishing Zone 1 (Lower Green Bay) during an online meeting April 14.  Henriksen, president of […]

  • Wild Things: No Boat Ride for Bass in Sturgeon Bay Tournament

    By ,

    After a pandemic-driven one-year absence, the Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament is back with a new, on-the-water weigh-in. Generous donations from John Hynes of West Shore Outfitters and Fisheries Forever of Green Bay, along with several smaller donations, provided money to purchase 105 Brecknell scales – the same type that the Major League Fishing and FLW […]

  • Wild Things: Ideas on New Life for Old Line and Baits Could Net Thousands

    By ,

    Keeping waste fishing gear out of waters and landfills is important because line and baits that are disposed of improperly can harm fish and wildlife.  If you’ve got a great idea for recycling old fishing line and soft baits, here’s your chance to reel in some serious cash: The BoatUS Foundation is looking for the […]

  • Wild Things: Door County Shoots for Three Free Tags

    By ,

    Kewaunee County goes for four for 2021 deer season Deer hunters in Door and Kewaunee counties will again have ample opportunity to target whitetails this fall. The Kewaunee County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC), which earlier this year voted to aim to maintain the herd at current levels, gave a preliminary recommendation to award four free […]

  • Wild Things: Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tourney Returns

    By ,

    Participate April 15-17 off the Door/Kewaunee peninsula After a one-year hiatus caused by the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament is back on for 2021. This year’s contest – the 33rd – is set for April 15-17, with fishing allowed on Green Bay and Lake Michigan waters off Door and Kewaunee […]

  • Wild Things: Spring Fishing, Bird Migration Highlight Late March Outdoors

    By ,

    Spring’s arrival this weekend means that more fishing and birding opportunities are just around the corner. Lake Michigan tributary anglers are finding the first wave of spawn-minded rainbow trout in the deeper runs, and northern pike and walleyes are migrating toward Green Bay’s creek mouths and nearshore shallows. Brown trout and an occasional laker have […]

  • Wild Things: COVID-19 Doesn’t Stop Shoppers but Guts Second Spring Hearing

    By ,

    For the second straight year, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have announced that the annual spring hearings will be online only because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With case numbers falling rapidly and big-box stores packed with hundreds of shoppers every hour, it’s hard for this writer to understand why a […]

  • Wild Things: Jeff Pritzl Named DNR’s New Deer Program Specialist

    By ,

    A face familiar to northeast Wisconsin hunters has been chosen to replace Kevin Wallenfang as the Department of Natural Resource’s (DNR) Deer Program specialist. Jeff Pritzl has been a wildlife biologist for nearly three decades, and about half of that time in Door, Kewaunee and Manitowoc counties. For the past 14 years, he’s served as […]

  • Wild Things: LaBarbera Selected to Lead Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

    By ,

    After 18 years of building the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (WWF) into the largest conservation organization in Wisconsin, Executive Director George Meyer announced Tuesday that the group has hired Mark LaBarbera to replace him in July. Meyer, who is retiring from the WWF position this summer, spent three decades with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). […]

  • Wild Things: NRB Approves Short Window for Winter Wolf Hunt, Trapping

    By ,

    Will the legal battle over wolves ever end? The on-again, off-again plan to manage gray wolves has taken more twists and turns than the curvy section of Highway 42 near Northport. Wolves have been delisted and relisted as federally endangered species five times during this century alone, and none of them due to declining populations. […]

  • Wild Things: Perch, Pike, Trout and ’Eyes

    By ,

    Whitefish not the only game in town Ice anglers have a smorgasbord of species to choose from when heading out onto the frozen waters of Green Bay. A terrific deep-water fishery for whitefish is the focus of many trips, but they’re certainly not the only possible catch. If you don’t mind sorting through smaller ones, […]

  • Wild Things: DNR Reconsiders, Suggests Split of Door Deer-Management Units

    By ,

    Jeff Pritzl, the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Northeast District wildlife supervisor, said the wheels are in motion for Door County to be split into multiple deer-management units. “We know a lot of hunters wanted the split on the table, and now it is,” Pritzl said. The DNR’s Deer Advisory Committee – a group of […]

  • Wild Things: DNR Misses the Boat on Dividing Door North-South

    By ,

    When it comes to deer and deer hunting, there’s no way to make season recommendations that will please everyone. But if you’re one of the more than 300 hunters who provided written comments on the Door County Deer Advisory Council’s (CDAC) preliminary three-year population objectives and unit boundaries, you might feel doubly frustrated this week. […]

  • Wild Things: Time to Split Door for Deer?

    By ,

    CDAC to vote virtually Jan. 25 Is there enough support for Door County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC) members to vote to split the management unit north and south? We’ll find out Monday night, when CDAC members meet via Zoom or phone to finalize three-year goals on what direction they’d like to see the local deer […]

  • Wild Things: Free Fishing Weekend Jan. 16-17 Offers Cold, Hard Opportunity on Ice

    By ,

    A mostly mild start to January is expected to give way to more winter-like weather during the coming weeks, much to the delight of ice anglers and others who enjoy a walk on the wild side. This weekend will be Wisconsin’s annual Winter Free Fishing Weekend: an opportunity for both residents and nonresidents who don’t […]

  • Wild Things: Wolf Debate Heating Up as State Eyes Management

    By ,

    Gray wolves lost protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Monday, offering lethal control options to states suffering losses of livestock, pets and wildlife. But a Wisconsin hunting and trapping season will happen in 2021 only if expected legal challenges from animal-activist organizations are unsuccessful. “We’re prepared. We’ve managed wolves before,” said Keith Warnke, administrator […]

  • Wild Things: More Than 7,000 Deer Taken from Kewaunee/Door Peninsula in 2020

    By ,

    Kewaunee and Door county hunters have trimmed more than 7,000 whitetails from the peninsula this season, and they’re not finished yet. The antlerless-only firearm deer “holiday hunt” runs through New Year’s Day, and the bow and crossbow deer season has been extended through Jan. 31. All hunters – except those taking part in a late Canada […]

  • Wild Things: Holiday Deer Hunt on Its Last Legs?

    By ,

    Deer committee hears concerns If you’re a fan of late gun deer-hunting opportunities and still have tags open, there will be an opportunity to try for some venison Dec. 24-Jan. 1. Both Door and Kewaunee counties are included in the “holiday hunt”: a nine-day, antlerless-only season designed to reduce the herd in specific farm zones.  […]

  • Wild Things: Forestry Concerns Cited as Council Votes for Fewer Deer

    By ,

    For the third time since forming in 2014, the Door County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC) wants hunters to try to decrease the peninsula’s whitetail herd. “With the lack of forestry regeneration, it’s still totally evident there’s too many deer on the landscape,” said council member John Propsom of Sturgeon Bay. The Door CDAC – which comprises […]