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Dean Bortz

State Roundup: Rachel Bouressa appointed to Wisconsin Natural Resources Board

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Opinion, Wisconsin /

We have a new Natural Resources Board (NRB) member as of Friday, Oct. 18, when Gov. Tony Evers appointed Rachel Bouressa to the NRB.
Evers made the move following the resignation of Paul Buhr, who resigned from the board just ahead of Bouressa’s appointment. Buhr, of the Vernon County town Viroqua, had been appointed to the NRB by Evers on Jan. 20, 2023, as board member representing the agricultural industry.

State Roundup: Rachel Bouressa appointed to Wisconsin Natural Resources Board Read More »

Dean Bortz: Human/wolf safety resolution needs a push in Wisconsin

Featured, Opinion, Wisconsin /

We have had just a ton of people working on wolf management in Wisconsin since 1986 or 1987, to be sure, but if we ever achieve some kind of common sense management in place – and that DOES NOT include the newest wolf management plan approved by the Natural Resources Board last October – we can thank Laurie Groskopf, of Oneida County.
Groskopf has worked tirelessly on the wolf issue from numerous angles and levels over these ensuing years.

Dean Bortz: Human/wolf safety resolution needs a push in Wisconsin Read More »

State Roundup: So many options to choose from for Wisconsin outdoor enthusiasts in October

Featured, Fishing, Hunting, National Fishing, National Hunting, Opinion, Wisconsin /

Even as September brought us long awaited opening dates for upland, waterfowl and big game hunting seasons in Wisconsin, the month of October holds even more promise as more opening dates arrive. So many choices and so little time.
But we’re used to this, right? It happens every year. Fish? OK, but for which species first? Hunt? You bet, but for grouse and woodcock? Deer? Ducks and geese? Turkeys?

State Roundup: So many options to choose from for Wisconsin outdoor enthusiasts in October Read More »

Dean Bortz: A tribute to friend Tom Coulthurst and our many adventures

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, National Fishing, National Hunting, Opinion, Wisconsin /

I met Tom Coulthurst not long after moving to Wisconsin’s Minocqua/Woodruff area in June 1986 to work as a reporter at The Lakeland Times. It was summer. Probably 1986 or 1987.
I went to his taxidermy shop on assignment because Tom had hit a hole-in-one on a local golf course. The editor said we needed a story. On a hole-in-one? Someone got lucky. There’s no story there. But I went anyway without too much grumbling since I’d get to look at stuffed fish, too.

Dean Bortz: A tribute to friend Tom Coulthurst and our many adventures Read More »

State Roundup: Wisconsin bear hunters off to a great start

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, National Hunting, Opinion, Wisconsin /

As of Sept. 20, Wisconsin’s black bear harvest totals stood at 91% of this year’s harvest goal with 3,527 animals registered across the six bear zones. The 2024 harvest goal was set at 3,850 bears. That’s an awfully strong start to the season, according to Randy Johnson, the DNR’s large carnivore biologist out of Rhinelander.
“By this point in the season (Sept. 20), we expect to see about 75% of total harvest occurred.”

State Roundup: Wisconsin bear hunters off to a great start Read More »

Dean Bortz: A couple of black bear stories from Wisconsin

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, National Hunting, Wisconsin /

Ashland County’s Jessica Ware, of Butternut, waited 11 years to draw a Zone A black bear harvest tag and shot a 300-pound (live weight – the bear was not weighed after field dressing) sow the first afternoon of sitting in her stand.
She knew the bear as soon as she saw it approach her bait site – this bear wore a GPS tracking collar around its neck and a red ear tag in each ear.
“I had seen it on the camera several times. She wasn’t the one I was looking for, but I didn’t want to waste an opportunity after waiting 11 years for a tag,” Ware said.

Dean Bortz: A couple of black bear stories from Wisconsin Read More »

State Roundup: Wisconsin deer hunting begins, and more news on wolf delisting

Featured, Hunting, National Hunting, Opinion, Wisconsin /

Good luck to all archery deer hunters as that season gets underway in Wisconsin. As of the deadline for this issue, Sept. 12, my thermometer read 80 degrees. That doesn’t sound like bowhunting weather, but, hey, at least we’re not bracing for a blizzard.
I’m not even going to look at the thermometer the morning of Saturday, Sept. 14. I’m just going hunting.

State Roundup: Wisconsin deer hunting begins, and more news on wolf delisting Read More »

How will mild winter impact Wisconsin’s deer season as bowhunting opens Saturday?

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, National Hunting, National News, News, Wisconsin /

Archery deer hunters should see more deer in the woods this fall compared to 2023, but those sightings won’t necessarily translate into a higher buck kill in 2024.
That likely won’t happen until the 2025 bow season, when this year’s buck fawns start sporting antlers. That’s the word from Jeff Pritzl, the DNR’s deer program leader, during a media briefing held virtually last week.
So, will the 2024 bow and crossbow deer kill top the 2023 harvest that followed a severe winter and one of the craziest acorn drops ever?

How will mild winter impact Wisconsin’s deer season as bowhunting opens Saturday? Read More »

Multiple hunting tactics are key to bear hunting in the Great Lakes region

Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

When it comes to hunting bears successfully in the Great Lakes states, it would make sense for bear hunters to play the bulk of their chips in their home state – if it has a season – and then get ready to travel, even if that means hunting the late season in another state.
Alas, bear hunters who live in Illinois and Ohio have no option other than travel, since neither state offers a season. The good news? They don’t have to travel too far, since Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania do have bear seasons and also offer tags to nonresidents, mostly through a draw system that can require preference points to earn a tag. Since that process varies by state, hunters will have to do some homework first.

Multiple hunting tactics are key to bear hunting in the Great Lakes region Read More »

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