Category: Fishing and Hunting
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Wild Things: For Third Straight Year, DNR Meeting Vote Is Online Only
by Kevin Naze, [email protected] COVID-19 has sacked the annual Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) fish and wildlife hearings and county Conservation Congress (CC) spring meetings for the third straight year. Normally conducted in person, voting will again be done online. Members of the public will soon be able to submit citizen resolutions to be considered. […]
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WILD THINGS: DNR Updating Wolf Management Plan
More than 15,000 people completed a public survey on Wisconsin wolf management in 2021. Randy Johnson, large-carnivore specialist with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), told state Natural Resources Board members this week that the input – which is summarized and available on the DNR’s wolf-management page – wasn’t intended to represent attitudes of state […]
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Report Highlights Impact of Outdoor Recreation
Outdoor recreation generated $689 billion in economic output in 2020, according to a report from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis. In Wisconsin, the outdoor-recreation industry contributed $7.8 billion to the state’s GDP, including $569 million from boating, $17 million from canoeing and kayaking, and $309 million from cycling. The RV economy generated another […]
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Wild Things: Whitefish, Wolves and Bears on NRB Meeting Agenda
The state Natural Resources Board (NRB) meeting on Jan. 26 in Madison will include discussion of changes to the Green Bay whitefish commercial quota, the proposed number of black bear permits for the fall hunt and an update on gray wolves. It’ll be the first in-person NRB meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Data shows […]
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WILD THINGS: Early-Season Ice Is No Time to Risk Offshore Exploring
No ice is safe ice. No matter how many times that Department of Natural Resources mantra is repeated by agency safety specialists and conservation wardens, it still seems to fall on deaf ears. With most of central and northern Green Bay still open water last weekend, a powerful offshore wind blowing out of the south […]
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is hosting Free Fishing Weekend Jan. 15-16 to promote the fun and excitement of winter fishing. Anglers may fish state waters where there is an open season, and no fishing license or trout and salmon stamps are required. All other fishing regulations apply, such as observing limits on […]
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WILD THINGS: Ice-Fishing Season Is Underway, but Anglers Can’t Go Everywhere
With no January thaw in sight, ice anglers are getting a belated Christmas gift: hard-water fishing hot spots that are firming up fast. All the usual early-season access areas are worth a look, including out of Dyckesville, Sugar Creek, Little Sturgeon, Sawyer Harbor, Sturgeon Bay and on protected nearshore areas inside Northern Door bays and […]
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WILD THINGS: Colder Air, More Snow Create Mixed Blessing for Outdoor Recreation
Weather forecasters are calling for colder air New Year’s Eve and the possibility of a snowstorm New Year’s Day – a mixed blessing for those who love winter on the Door County peninsula. Fresh snow overnight Monday was helpful to those who love tracking wildlife, and it could serve as a base for getting cross-country […]
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WILD THINGS: Door, Kewaunee County Report 6,300-Plus Whitetails
If you haven’t had to hit the brakes lately while driving at night in deer country, you might want to thank a hunter. As of Dec. 13, Door and Kewaunee County bow, crossbow and gun deer hunters had combined to trim more than 6,300 whitetails from the landscape. That means fewer run-ins with vehicles and […]
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WILD THINGS: One Cold Night Not Enough to Kick Off Ice Fishing
The first single-digit temperatures of the season Tuesday put a thin skin of ice on some area fishing holes, but it’s nowhere near safe yet. It’s a different story in the far northern reaches of the state, where anglers have been able to walk on protected bays the past two weeks. High temperatures in the […]
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WILD THINGS: Crossbows May Be Steering Big Drop in Gun Deer Harvest
The rise in the popularity of crossbows looks to be driving a big decline in recent gun deer harvests, including a 7.9% drop in the nine-day season statewide this year. Preliminary figures showed 84,952 bucks and 90,715 antlerless, for a total of 175,667. Locally, Door’s buck kill of 1,045 was up 11.8% over 2020, but […]
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Two of Six Gun Deer Hunt Accidents in Door County This Year
Wisconsin’s gun deer hunt season concluded with Door County the site of two of the six gun-related accidents that took place across the state between Nov. 20 and 28. The first of those local accidents happened on private land when a 40-year-old male placed his hand on the muzzle of his rifle after he had […]
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Wild Things: Plenty of Chances for Venison Remain as Gun Deer Seasons Continue
If you’ve yet to pull the trigger on a chance for some venison steak, stew meat or hamburger, you’re in good company. Social-media feeds stacked with photos of successful hunts are fun to look at, but they don’t necessarily paint an accurate picture on what’s happening across the county, region or state. In fact, only […]
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Tracking the 2021 Deer Harvest
Through Nov. 15, Door County hunters had registered 586 bucks and 407 antlerless deer, for a total of 993. That included 652 with crossbow, 279 with bow and 62 during the youth gun hunt. Kewaunee County hunters had reported 433 bucks and 298 antlerless, for a total of 731. That included 440 with crossbow, 229 […]
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WILD THINGS: Fear the Deer? COVID-19 Hype Mars Gun Hunt Opener
Just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get more bizarre this hunting season, the state’s Department of Health Services (DHS) issued a press release Monday that went viral. Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there’s no evidence that wildlife are a source of COVID-19 illness for people – or that people […]
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WILD THINGS: No Shortage of Whitetails, but Ammo? That’s Another Story
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff members talked all things white-tailed deer and answered questions from reporters across the state last week during a virtual media briefing on the upcoming gun deer hunting season. Eric Lobner, director of the DNR’s Wildlife Management Program, said that somewhere around 875,000 licenses allowing bow, crossbow and gun deer […]
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WILD THINGS: Deer Running Day and Night As Rutting Bucks Seek Mates
There’s no better time to spot mature bucks than during the November whitetail breeding season. That’s exciting if you’re an archer or crossbow hunter with an open tag, but it’s far less so if you’re just trying to get somewhere safely on a rural roadway. Vehicle-deer collisions always peak during the first few weeks of […]
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Gun hunting season begins Nov. 20 Though I haven’t gone hunting in more than 15 years, I still have fond memories of waking up before dawn, gearing up with my dad and uncle, and heading out into the woods. I can vividly remember climbing into my tree stand and sitting quietly for hours as the […]
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WILD THINGS: Deer Activity Picking Up As Mating Season Nears
Pictures of mature whitetail bucks are appearing with increasing regularity on social media these days as the annual rut, or mating season, heats up. Though the peak tends to occur during the first two to three weeks of November, pre-rut activity can be very strong from mid-October on. Now’s the time to try a light […]
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Wild Things: Time to Get Sighted In for Youth Gun Deer Hunt
If you’ll be mentoring someone during this year’s youth gun deer hunt, now’s the time to dial in for a better shot at success. Cooler air and the first hints of fall color are getting kids and adults excited for the Oct. 9-10 hunt, which offers those age 15 and younger an opportunity to get […]