Wales, Wisconsin – The fourth annual Wisconsin Waterfowl Expo will be held on Saturday, August 24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh and features a long list of classes and seminars for hunting dogs, children and adults, including the sixth annual the Wisconsin Decoy Carving Contest and the Wisconsin Duck and Goose Summoning Contest.
Touted as bringing dogs, equipment, tradition and science to novel and veteran waterfowlers, this year’s edition Wisconsin Waterfowl Show includes a competition for the fastest retriever, open shooting allowing visitors to try out different types of firearms, shooting competitions for juvenile people and much more. Seminars include Joel Kleefisch with Farm to Fork, Connie Markham with a women’s panel, and Ben Luukkonen with a report on telemetry and DNA testing.
Talks about training hunting dogs will be led by Jeremey Moore, Justin VanDeHey, Josh Miller and Whitney Miller.
MORE COVERAGE FROM WISCONSIN OUTDOOR NEWS:
Special Report: Wisconsin DNR’s tight budget under control
Application deadline is September 20 for the special Canada deer season
Babcock, Wisconsin – The DNR is accepting applications through
September 20 for a special two-day firearms deer hunt. November 2-3 on the 9,150-acre site Sandhill Wildlife Area. Successful applicants will receive a permit for both sexes and an antler-only permit.
“This special deer hunt will provide hunters with an additional harvest opportunity and help the DNR meet its deer harvest goal in the Sandhill Wildlife Area,” said Darren Ladwig, DNR wildlife biologist.
Applications for hunting can be made via: Sandhill 2024 Outdoor Skills Center website on the DNR website or by contacting Ladwig Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., at (715) 498-2338 or [email protected].
September 15 Deadline for disabled hunters to contact landowners regarding hunting spots
Madison – Eligible hunters who wish to participate in the October 5-13 Disabled Hunters Deer Hunt must contact their landowner sponsor and confirm their hunting location by September 15. There are thousands of acres of land available for this year’s hunt.
“This special hunt gives disabled hunters the opportunity to hunt deer at a time and place that is more accessible to them,” said Brooke VanHandel, DNR deputy deer specialist.
To qualify, hunters must have a valid Class A, C or D handicapped permit or a qualifying Class B permit. Eligible hunters may register with one sponsored property per year and must have a hunting deer license.
Canary reed hay harvest available at the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife/Fish Refuge
La Crosse, Wisconsin – The La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge is accepting bids through August 20 to harvest 40 acres of canary hay in two areas in Houston County, Minnesota, and Vernon County near Stoddard.
Hay harvesting and removal of all bales and equipment must be completed between delayed August and November 30. According to refuge officials, annual hay removal reduces the build-up of dead material that can accumulate and prevents the growth of native vegetation.
Contact Tim Miller at (608) 779-2385 or [email protected].
The Aldo Leopold Foundation’s phenological calendar for 2025 is now available
Baraboo, Wisconsin – The Aldo Leopold Foundation now has a 2025 phenology calendar available for purchase at the foundation’s headquarters in Baraboo (through October 31) or through the foundation’s website at www.aldoleopold.org.
The calendar includes photos of Wisconsin flora and fauna, quotes from Leopold, side panels, and introductory text by Dr. Stan Temple, professor emeritus at UW-Madison and member of the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. The calendar offers plenty of space to enter your personal nature observations and meetings.
No sharp-tailed grouse season in 2024
Madison – The DNR has announced that while spring surveys show slight increases, the 2024 sharp-tailed sage grouse season remains closed. Applications will not be accepted this year.
Based on spring population data, lek distribution and surveys conducted across the country, the state sharp-tailed grouse commission concluded that concerns remain about the long-term viability of the sharp-tailed grouse population. This will be the sixth year the season has been closed.
Due to significant habitat restoration work in northwestern Wisconsin’s core habitat areas, populations have increased in recent years and returned to an all-time low in 2021.
The federal government grants the tribe a 1,600-acre wilderness area in Iowa on the Missouri River
Des Moines, Iowa – About 1,600 acres of land along the Missouri River in Woodbury County in west-central Iowa is being transferred from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska after President Joe Biden signed the Winnebago Land Transfer Act.
The act was passed unanimously by the US Congress.
The area known as the Winnebago Bend Wildlife Area, which includes most of the waterfowl refuges in the Snyder Bend Wildlife Area, will become part of the Winnebago Preserve. A notice will be posted that Winnebago Bend and portions of Snyder Bend are no longer open to public exploit. Since 1981, the Iowa DNR has managed lands for public hunting and other recreation.
