Wisconsin’s bald eagle population continues to reach new heights as 2018 nest surveys revealed a record number of nests statewide and Walworth County confirmed its first documented nest in at least a half century, according to results released in the 2018 Wisconsin Bald Eagle Nest Survey. ... Read more
BLACK EARTH CREEK, DANE COUNTY — Wisconsin’s early catch-and-release trout season was uncharacteristically sunny and warm, air temperature reaching 50 degrees by noon. The weather, as much as catching fish, grabbed the attention of most anglers.
Salt and sand contribute greatly to lake, river and stream pollution. Once it’s spread on parking lots, streets, sidewalks and driveways, it’s on its way to the nearest surface water and cannot be recovered.
MADISON — The Wisconsin Conservation Congress plans to ask outdoor lovers this spring whether state wildlife officials should again offer bounties for deer infected with chronic wasting disease to get a better read on the disease’s prevalence and control its spread.
On Saturday, Feb. 16, the Madison Area Woodland Owners Conference will feature presentations focusing on Snapshot Wisconsin, a state wildlife program; preparing for a meeting with your forester; forest harvesting — methods and more; pruning to improve your woods; and fantastic fungi — movers…
To hear Marieke “Rieke” Kuchenbecker talk of home in Berlin, Germany, might give most outdoors men, women and children shivers, or worse.
Trout anglers remember last summer, when nature threw a wave at them with record high water. Last summer trout fishing and catching had just begun to “get good” and then the high waters hit. Many put their flyrod away for the year.
The 14th annual Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival will show Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley. The festival shares the impact and importance of Wisconsin’s winter wildlands through a collection of short films.
New Zealand mudsnails, an invasive species of snail, have recently been verified in two new streams in Dane County, prompting the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to ask anglers to help prevent the spread of this organism to other water bodies.
SPRING GREEN — Most ice anglers do not give much thought to scouting winter fishing holes, but Buddy Hynek of Lone Rock, via La Crosse, planned ahead when he relocated.
Wisconsin’s white-tailed deer can serve more than a recreational outlet for nearly 600,000 hunters, including some from 33 foreign countries.
Our property has been in the family for many decades now, and we have made our fair share of mistakes. Some of these are related to working with contractors for timber harvests and other tasks we needed done. We have tried in the past going with handshake agreements, and many times those hav…
First awarded in 1997, the annual Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Hunter Ethics Award recognizes the hunter whose action are emblematic of Wisconsin’s hunting heritage — which is not about trophy bucks or number of pheasants — of an outdoor tradition enjoyed responsibly, respectful…
BARNEVELD — The 2019 gun deer season opens Nov. 23, six days later than the 2018 season opened.
Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary near Sarona will host a Winter Solstice Hike from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21.
The five-year Southwest Wisconsin CWD, Deer and Predator study is entering its third winter of capturing and collaring adult deer, bobcats and coyotes.
AUBURNDALE — Hands on learning and real life lessons are two reasons Auburndale science teacher Jim Farrell started doing water testing on Mill Creek 13 years ago.
The application period for vacant County Deer Advisory Council seats is open through Jan. 15.
People looking for a holiday gift that keeps giving throughout the year can give outdoor enthusiasts access to some of the most scenic areas found in Wisconsin that offer thousands of miles of trails, hundreds of nature hiking opportunities and dozens of beaches, with a 2019 Wisconsin state …
The public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the draft Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. The plan provides guidance to public outdoor recreation policy and planning decisions and is used in allocating recreation-related grants administered by the Department of …
A informational class on improving hunting land for whitetail deer will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 11, at Luck School.
Wisconsin’s nine-day gun-deer hunting season saw a 6.9 percent increase in the number of deer registered this year compared to 2017.
BARNEVELD — Kim Meier, 62, ended his career in the Army while in Alaska and then went to work at the U.S. Postal Service in Wasilla, Alaska. One might imagine all the hunting opportunities in the 49th state would satisfy his quest for wild meat.
Wisconsin’s 2018 gun-deer season opened Nov. 17 with a hush of snowfall in some areas of southwest Wisconsin. An inch or more sky down fell quieting and covering deer habitat with a white blanket providing added safety, good sighting for participants, and when necessary, a surface to imprint…
Starting Dec. 17, 2018 campers booking a campsite at Wisconsin State Park System properties will be using a new, improved — and less expensive — reservation system.
BARNEVELD — Mike Zintz, a 72-year-old man from Madison, hunts deer almost exclusively with archery equipment, including a climber tree stand.
CHIPPEWA FALLS — After several years of tracking a prized deer, Joshua Gawrysiak shot the “buck of a lifetime” Nov. 10 in the northeast corner of Chippewa Falls.
With nearly 600,000 gun deer hunters handling slugged shotguns, muzzleloaders, rifles, and various types of archery equipment, it behooves us to review the four rules of firearm safety before donning hunter orange caps and coats.
Each year, hunters, meat processors, and food pantries help families in need by working closely with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and its partners to donate thousands of pounds of venison to food pantries.
Before taking part in upcoming hunting seasons or placing feed for wildlife, hunters and wildlife enthusiasts should be sure to check the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website and verify which counties currently prohibit wildlife baiting and feeding activities.
BAYFIELD COUNTY — Hunting is too often about one endeavor — taking animals, even fishes, into possession and disregarding the rest of the experience. Those take-lots escapades may ask a hunter to succeed in that single challenge above all else.
Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha recently celebrated the installation of solar panels.
One deer registration convenience led to what could be an inconvenience for some deer hunters after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources changed to electronic registration. Hunters can now call or computer- or cellphone-transmit deer registration data instead of stopping at an in-pe…
ASHLAND — The old adage “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best time is now” is a favored saying among some financial consultants and other professional advisers. The idea is to get things started now to achieve goals a few decades down the road. But when it comes to…
BARNEVELD — When Adrian Alan left the Madison Police Department to become the Vortex Optics shooting range operations manager, he made a point to owner Dan Hamilton that he didn’t want to just run a shooting range.
In late August, 173 volunteers waded in or trekked along the shorelines of over 100 rivers and lakes across Wisconsin, embarking on a search for aquatic invasive species as part of River Alliance’s Snapshot Day. River Alliance hosted the very first Snapshot Day in 2014, in partnership with t…
Jerry Cornelius, 73, remembers camping at Governor Dodge State Park one year after the Cox Hollow dam was created in 1958.
MADISON — Republicans on the Legislature’s rules committee voted to break with Gov. Scott Walker and scrap his new emergency chronic wasting disease regulations for deer, calling the rules too expensive and cumbersome.
WAUKESHA — Each year in the late fall, hundreds of sandhill cranes leave Wisconsin sandbars and corn fields and head south. Once on the brink of extinction, this species of crane has rebounded tremendously — with one true story of a rescued sandhill crane celebrated in a new children’s book …
Fall’s here; this is a time to begin thinking about starting to feed birds again.
BRIGHAM — Dave Marshal, John Lyons, Tim Larson and Sue Marcquenski began a lofty goal of assisting an endangered Wisconsin River fish more than a year ago.
As a conservation warden for the state Department of Natural Resources, rescuing animals is all in a typical day’s work.
River Alliance of Wisconsin is proud to recognize river and water advocates from across the state. Being recognized are five River Champion award recipients and nearly 40 Water Heroes nominated by peers, colleagues and River Alliance staff and Board for their work to protect and restore Wisc…
The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association has announced that Phase Two of the CAMBA-Hayward Area Memorial Hospital Gateway Trail project is complete. This year’s work added another 2 miles to the trail, bringing the total distance to 3.5 miles. The new trail continues the meandering, fl…
Some hunters are beginning to practice what they believe about whitetail deer: The taking of an animal without antlers, with the chance it may have chronic wasting disease, just isn’t worth the effort, particularly if the venison is later tossed in a dumpster.
Deer hunters are now in the field taking part in the opening days of the state’s archery and crossbow seasons, but hunters in chronic wasting disease-affected counties will have to continue to keep an eye on the calendar.
A farmer too busy to notice asks of autumn markers. It’s odd how some seasons, particularly autumn, creep up.
A total of $75,000 in grants are now available under a new Department of Natural Resources initiative aimed at helping local governments, organizations and others recruit new anglers, particularly adult women and other groups underrepresented in the activity.
Max Wilson, 21, of Lomira weighed a combined total of 45.83 pounds to win the Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Championship Sept. 6 on Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota.
An unusual amount of rainfall in Wisconsin has resulted in lots of standing water in places that are normally dry. Unfortunately for people, mosquito larvae, sometimes called wrigglers, develop in standing water, so their populations have surged over the last few weeks.
An angler holding a fly rod was a fine choice for a senior photo.
