Make use of all hunting and trapping seasons
Wisconsin’s small game, fall turkey could stand to see higher participation.
Forward by Jerry Davis
Campground hosts, volunteers Pat and Jerry Cornelius receive award from Governor Dodge State Park
Who says folks from Illinois aren’t friendly, giving and respectful of their neighbor to the immediate north? Pat Cornelius and her husband, Jerry, both 73, have been volunteering at Governor Dodge State Park for several months each summer for nine…
Wisconsin DNR bulks up holiday pheasant stocking
Stocking numbers – between Dec. 19-21 – upped from 1,700 to 2,200 birds on eight public properties, up from five sites last year.
Take part in Wisconsin DNR's CWD testing – it helps us twice over
Testing also helps the DNR track the spread of CWD.
Wisconsin needs to clean up violations during ginseng digging season
DNR game wardens can’t do the work alone; ethical ginseng diggers will have to help out.
Board should wait for some science before closing ruffed grouse season early
The 100 ruffed grouse headed to Missouri this fall should be of little concern to hunters.
Wisconsin DNR placing cameras on ginseng plants to gather season-long information
I know science and its methodology, called research, are dirty words in some Wisconsin places and to some people. Call it what you want, but it’s a necessary endeavor if there is any chance of saving the state’s herb. That’s…
Start building your plant-knowledge arsenal yet this summer
Of the 1,800 plant species in Wisconsin, consider getting to know a half dozen or so this summer and come back to the task next year with a goal of another 10 or so. Start small, find those six and…
Sauk City library checks out fishing rods to kids, too
A brilliant idea surfaced a decade ago in Sauk City and, after a long hiatus, it is finally coming to fruition. McFarlanes’ Retail and Service Center in Sauk City is a local business that seems to have everything for everyone.…
Wisconsin Natural Resources Board tinkering with ruffed grouse season
So far, sentiment for shorter season supported by conjecture, not science.
Make summer assessments for autumn gathering
Deer hunters aren’t the only hunters/gathers who can do some scouting now.
Join in on the citizen science aspects of data collection for ruffed grouse
Hunters can participate in ruffed grouse monitoring this summer and fall in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.
Go outside of hunting to recruit hunters
Use gatherings like heritage days and county fairs to sell the outdoors.
Carcass registration: Is it worth anything anymore?
Has Wisconsin’s change to electronic registration resulted in lower reporting by deer and turkey hunters?
Anxiously awaiting in Wisconsin: Ruffed grouse drumming discloses potential bird densities
Wisconsin DNR personnel and volunteers now running spring ruffed grouse drumming surveys.
Turn journaling into phenology
Morel mushrooms appear when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear, someone once proclaimed. That was an old adage using phenology to correlate one event with another. Even though this adage is no longer as accurate as it…
Bring more kids into the fold by involving them in the end result of hunting, fishing, trapping
Wisconsin’s sturgeon spearing season framework and local big game/fishing dinners just two ways to show kids what’s happening outdoors and how they can participate.
Portable blinds sometimes the best bet for turkey hunting in bad weather
Using a blind is not a guarantee for bagging a gobbler, but at least hunters get to spend some time in the woods.
Nominate an ethical Wisconsin hunter for the 2018 annual award
A four-member committee just finished selecting the winner of the 2017 Wisconsin DNR Ethical Hunter Award. Next month, the presentation will be made at the new Vortex Optics Headquarters in Barneveld, where the company moved recently from Middleton. Vortex Optics…
Even veteran turkey hunters can learn a thing or two by listening to other experienced hunters
There may be more truth in an off-the-cuff comment by a Midwestern turkey hunting guide who said he could help anyone be a better turkey hunter with three simple recommendations. Get a blind. Use a decoy. Set up where turkeys…
Wisconsin state game farm pheasant releases a good thing
DNR’s Poynette Game Farm showcasing new hatchery buildings later this month.
Mark Parman pens more grouse hunting stories
Retired UW professor publishes second ruffed grouse hunting book.
What a ‘lark' to feed wild birds free food
Feeding birds, where legal, doesn’t have to cost a lot of money when other alternatives are available.
West Nile virus not thought to hinder Wisconsin ruffed grouse numbers
WNV has been confirmed in a handful of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula ruffed grouse, but not yet in Wisconsin ruffies.
And the real Wisconsin deer registration numbers are ...
With carcass-tagging no longer a requirement in Wisconsin, many deer hunters wonder about the accuracy of call-in registrations.
About This Blog
Jerry Davis, of Barneveld, is a biology professor emeritus at UW-La Crosse, and is an Honorary Fellow in the Botany Department at UW-Madison.
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