Wisconsin Mixed Bag: Antlerless bonus tags go on sale Aug. 17

Madison — Deer hunters interested in buying leftover antlerless deer bonus tags may begin doing so at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17. Bonus tags (harvest authorizations in bureaucratic speak), may be purchased through the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) online Go Wild system or by visiting a license sales location.

Bonus tag sales are broken down by day and hunting zone. On Aug. 17, sales begin for the Northern Forest Zone and Central Forest Zone. Tag sales for the Central Farmland Zone begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, while Southern Farmland Zone bonus tags go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19. Any remaining tags in all zones go on sale Thursday, Aug. 20. Tags may be purchased until sold out or the season ends.

Bonus harvest authorizations are $5 for any person younger than 12, $12 for residents, and $20 for nonresidents.

Bonus tags may be purchased at the rate of one per person daily until the unit is sold out or the season ends. Tags are issued by unit and land type (public or private). Hunters will be asked to identify the zone and unit – and whether hunting public or private land – when buying tags.

Those hunting Managed Forest Law and Forest Crop Law lands open to public hunting – as well as Voluntary Public Access lands – must buy public land bonus tags.

MORE COVERAGE FROM WISCONSIN OUTDOOR NEWS: 

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Research from Michigan, Wisconsin shows lake sturgeon may live 400 years – or more

Waterfowl Hunters’ Expo to Run Aug. 21-22 at Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh

Oshkosh, Wis. – The sixth annual Waterfowl Hunters’ Expo will now run two full days, with an extra display building and double the space. Vendors are curated to serve serious waterfowlers – no rain gutters, no windows – just gear, guns, decoys, dogs, and the outdoor life. Organizers expect attendance to grow to 10,000 visitors this year. The expo started with 3,000 attendees in 2023 and saw 6,000 waterfowlers come through the gate in 2025.

Admission is $10, free for kids 12 and younger. Parking is $5. Hours are Friday, Aug. 21, noon to 6 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 22, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

DNR Service Center Counters, Call Center Unavailable Aug. 26-27

Madison, Wis. —  The Wisconsin DNR last week announced that the counter service at all DNR service centers, the DNR statewide call center and email service will be unavailable Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 26 and 27. All DNR Customer and Outreach Services staff will be attending training for continued customer service excellence, including important program-specific training. The training dates were selected because they coincide with the lowest license sales and phone call volume during that time of the year.

The DNR Tipline, Emergency Spills line and Wisconsin Emergency Management hotline will continue to be answered. Many services can be accessed on the DNR website. Hunting and fishing licenses can be purchased online via Go Wild.

Many license agents throughout Wisconsin can provide boat and RV renewal services, order ATV/UTV trail passes, and sell fishing and hunting licenses. Counter services, the call center and email responses will resume normal business hours on Friday, Aug. 28.

Sept. 18 the Deadline to Apply for Sandhill Wildlife Area’s Special Trapping Season

Babcock, Wis. — The DNR is accepting applications now through Sept. 18 for a special trapping season within Sandhill Wildlife Area.

This unique opportunity will provide selected trappers with a high-quality trapping experience while helping the DNR achieve its furbearer management goals on the 9,150-acre property near Babcock. Successful applicants must attend a two-hour workshop at Sandhill State Wildlife Area on information about season objectives, vehicle use regulations, and data collection instructions.

Sandhill State Wildlife Area lies within the bed of ancient Glacial Lake Wisconsin – an expansive region of flat, marshy land interspersed with forests covering parts of seven counties in central Wisconsin. The property features low, sandy uplands of oak, aspen and jack pine forests, large marshes, and many flowages.

The application can be found on the DNR’s Sandhill Outdoor Skills webpage or by contacting Darren Ladwig from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday at Darren.Ladwig@wisconsin.gov or (715) 498-2338.

N.D. Establishes Small Game, Waterfowl, Furbearer Regulations for 2026

Bismarck, N.D.  — North Dakota’s 2026 small game, waterfowl and furbearer regulations are set, with some changes from last year: Opening day for waterfowl for North Dakota residents is Sept. 26. Nonresidents may begin hunting waterfowl on Monday, Oct. 5.

Starting Nov. 29, shooting hours for geese will be a half-hour before sunrise to sunset to the end of the respective goose season.

American marten harvest will be allowed for the first time in 2026. The season will mirror the fisher season. Fisher can now be trapped statewide, removing the restricted area in the Turtle Mountains.

CORRECTION

Two readers of the newspaper contacted the editorial office with an observation that there was an error on the back page lake map in the Aug. 7 issue. Instead of the arrow pointing to the approximate location of Big Sand Lake in Burnett County, the arrow pointed to Big Sand Lake in Vilas County.

We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this error may have cause. In making this correction, it should be noted that one of readers who checked in was Rob Elsbury, of Burlington, who has been reading Wisconsin Outdoor News for more than 30 years. In his communique, Elsbury declared that he is not a hoarder, but he does have every issue of the paper saved from the past 30 years.