Tom Heberlein (r) organized the first “Lodi Reads Leopold” event in Wisconsin in March 2000. By 2004, with help from the Aldo Leopold Foundation (represented by Sarah Lloyd) and then Rep. Mark Miller (ctr), Wisconsin proclaimed the first weekend of March as “Leopold Weekend.
Patrick Durkin: Citizens keep inspiring Aldo Leopold’s conservation ethic Read More »
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) intensified its deadly spread across Wisconsin’s farm country during 2025, with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) documenting a record 2,022 CWD cases in a record 41 counties for a record detection rate of 11.2%.
That marks the fourth straight increase in CWD detection rates, up from 10.3% in 2024, 9.1% in 2023, 8.7% in 2022 and 7.7% in 2021.
CWD rates set a record pace in Wisconsin’s farm country during 2025 Read More »
Roger Maes knows he’ll recognize his grandfather’s nearly century-old trophy buck whether it’s in online photo galleries, hanging in a Northwoods tavern, or fully restored and displayed at a giant hunting/fishing store.
But the Madison, Wis., resident hasn’t seen the buck for more than 30 years, not since his grandfather sold it shortly before dying in 1993.
Patrick Durkin: Have you seen this buck? Wisconsin man offers reward Read More »
Matt Jefko says he can’t sacrifice the time and money to hunt Western states, so he turns his Wisconsin hunts into hard-earned adventures whenever possible.
But after this Middleton High School teacher arrowed a buck in southwestern Wisconsin’s Yellowstone Lake State Park, he triggered more adventure than most hunters ever find on the Great Plains or in the Rocky Mountains. Jefko, 41, wouldn’t wish similar misadventures on anyone.
Knife accident turns deer hunt into all-night survival challenge for Wisconsin hunter Read More »
Vern Hacker has been dead since March 1989, but I recall his smiling face and deep respect for rough fish whenever someone makes news for catching a huge gar, burbot, sheepshead or another piscatorial pariah.
That’s because Hacker was the Don Quixote of fisheries biologists during his career with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Hacker always encouraged people to eat rough fish instead of burying them to fertilize their gardens or flowers. He especially despised those who tossed rough fish aside to rot, or killed them before dropping them back into the water.
Patrick Durkin: Homely, but tasty, burbot gaining respect Read More »
Wisconsin lost its most devoted and enduring conservation watchdog Dec. 10 when prostate cancer killed George Meyer at age 78.
Meyer’s list of job titles in five decades of public service grew so long he almost had to unfurl a scroll when introduced at podiums across the state. And man, did Meyer tour Wisconsin. In 1993 alone, he delivered 240 speeches; speaking to just about any group, anywhere.
If you laid a checkerboard grid over aerial photos of any county in the rural Upper Midwest, and declared each red square 640 acres of public land, you’d likely assume it’s OK to step from one red corner to the next without trespassing on a privately-owned black square.
Right?
Where things stand with the corner-crossing issue for hunters, anglers Read More »
Wisconsin deer hunters killed lots of deer during the nine-day firearms season, with slightly more does and fawns shot than bucks.
That surprised some folks, given how many called Nov. 22-23 the quietest opening weekend they’ve ever heard. But y’know, magazine-emptying fusillades seem a thing of the past.
Patrick Durkin: Dissecting the numbers from Wisconsin’s 2025 gun deer season Read More »
Wisconsin long considered its nine-day gun-deer season “the hammer” for managing whitetails, accounting for more than 90% of the annual deer kill during the early 1970s, and routinely 85% of it through 1995.
But November’s gun season has lost its clout. Since 2018, four of the past six gun seasons generated less than 60% of the total autumn deer kill.
Patrick Durkin: Wisconsin’s nine-day gun-deer season has lost its clout Read More »
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