Drummond Area Game Warden Reports

Online reporting system will help track state’s deer population

Beginning August 1, Wisconsin citizens will have a new opportunity to be part of managing white-tailed deer in Wisconsin. Dubbed Operation Deer Watch, people are being asked to record and report all deer they see between Aug 1 and Sept 30. Go to the Department of Natural Resources website [dnr.wi.gov] and click on the Operation Deer Watch button to get started.

“All deer seen including bucks, does and fawns should be reported during this two month period,” said Jason Fleener, assistant DNR deer specialist. “The observations will be entered into a database and will be used to determine doe to fawn ratios, which are a part of the population estimation equation.”

Summer deer observations have always been part of the population estimation process, according to DNR biologists. The number of deer seen and the number of fawns seen with each doe are indicators of annual production in deer herds. In addition to deer seen, observers are asked to note date and location. Only deer seen between sunrise and sunset are to be counted.

In previous years, the observation period lasted three months and only state and federal biologists, foresters, law enforcement and other government staff participated.

“One of the recommendations of a panel of experts that that reviewed our deer population estimation model a few years back was to increase the number of observers and to shorten the summer deer observation period to two months from three,” said Fleener “We hope to capitalize on the intense public interest in Wisconsin’s whitetail deer population. It’s a great chance for the public to help keep an eye-on-the-herd and add a lot more observations to our database.”

Operation Deer Watch is yet one more way in which the deer enthusiasts can help monitor the herd. In 2009, the department launched a hunter observation website that asked hunters to record observations from their trips in the woods. Valuable information on species distribution, as well as, data the number of hunting days, hunting hours and environmental conditions they experienced was gathered. Nearly 20,000 hunting trips were logged into the online database. In addition, similar new data questions were added to the deer registration form that successful hunters complete and this provided over 320,000 observations.

“We expect the value of these citizen-based monitoring efforts will grow with each additional year. We will be able to look at year-after-year changes that provide insights to our deer populations across Wisconsin” added Fleener.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Manwell – (608) 264-9248, Jason Fleener - (608) 261-7589 or Jessica Rees - (608) 221-6360

Wisconsin’s closely monitored wolf population continues to grow

Wisconsin’s gray wolf population at the close of the 2009-2010 winter is estimated to be 690 to 733, a roughly 10 percent increase over the 2008-2009 end-of-winter estimate.

Wolves continue to be listed as endangered in Wisconsin and elsewhere. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has attempted to remove the wolf from this list in portions of the Great Lakes states, so that management of the wolf could be handed over to the states.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources submitted a petition to the Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging them to complete the delisting process and return management authority to the state. So far, attempts to delist the wolf have been blocked by the courts.

The annual winter wolf count relies on aerial tracking of radio-collared wolves, trail cameras, and snow track surveys by DNR and volunteer trackers. Also included are wolf sightings by members of the public. The agency has conducted these counts since the winter of 1979-1980 when there were 25 wolves in the state.

A total of 180 wolf packs were detected in Wisconsin during the winter count consisting of at least 2 adult wolves each. Biologists found 30 packs distributed across central Wisconsin and 150 packs in northern Wisconsin. The largest packs in the state were the Moose Road Pack Douglas County with 11 wolves, the Crotte Creek Pack in Douglas County with 9 wolves and the McArther Pine Pack in Forest County with 9 wolves. At least 52 packs had 5 or more wolves in them.

The Wisconsin wolf population is considered to be one of the most closely monitored and managed animal species in the nation, according to Adrian Wydeven, a DNR conservation biologist and wolf specialist.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: on Wisconsin’s wolf population contact Adrian Wydeven - (715) 762-1363; on the GovDelivery notification service contact Dawn Hinebaugh (608) 266-5243

Surveys at boat landings across Wisconsin in summer 2010 show that 96 percent of people say they are following a new law to prevent the spread of Eurasian water-milfoil and other aquatic invasive species. But a few are leaving boat landings with aquatic plants attached, potentially putting scores of lakes and rivers at risk.

From May through late July, 182 people were observed arriving at boat launches with aquatic plants hanging off their boat trailers or boats, or driving away from boat launches at the end of the day with invasive plants attached, according to statewide reports entered through July 25 by boat inspectors and DNR Water Guards. Boat inspectors advise the boaters of the law and how to comply, but they do not have authority to issue warnings or citations. Survey results are available on the Department of Natural Resources website.

Chief Conservation Warden Randy Stark says that such numbers will spur conservation wardens and Water Guards to shift from educating boaters about the new law, to enforcing it. “Given the extensive media coverage and boater surveys at the landings showing high public awareness of the new law, we’ll begin transitioning to enforcing the law by issuing citations to those individuals who, by not complying, can erase the excellent efforts of the vast majority of boaters.”

The vast majority of Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers are free from the most problematic aquatic invasive species; a case over the July 4th weekend in Vilas County illustrates the threat such waters face from boaters who do not follow laws to prevent spreading aquatic invasive species or fish diseases.

DNR Water Guard John Preuss checked the public launch at pristine Allequash Lake in Vilas County and found a trailer with Eurasian water milfoil and zebra mussels hanging from it. When the boater returned to the launch, he told Preuss he was aware of aquatic species law but launched anyway with weeds attached. The man had fished earlier that week in Shawano Lake in Shawano County, which has aquatic invasives including Eurasian water-milfoil, rusty crayfish and zebra mussels. Preuss cited the man for launching a boat in state waters with invasive plants attached, which carries a penalty of $389.50 for a first time offense.

“The Vilas County AIS Partnership is very happy that (Water Guard) John Preuss chose to visit the landing that day and was vigilant in following through on the incident and issuing a citation,” says Ted Ritter, who coordinates invasive species efforts for Vilas County. He adds that the UW Trout Lake Center for Limnology has agreed to monitor Allequash Lake carefully to see if either zebra mussels or Eurasian water-milfoil get established in the lake from the incident, Ritter says.

Aquatic invasive species officials and public awareness campaigns have stressed to boaters the need to inspect their boats and remove any aquatic plants for the last 15-20 years. It’s illegal to launch or leave boat launches and drive on public roads with aquatic plants and animals attached, according to Bob Wakeman, who coordinates aquatic invasive species prevention and control for the DNR.

DNR conservation wardens, Water Guards, and the paid and volunteer watercraft inspectors statewide made a concerted push in the weeks leading up to the Fourth of July holiday, the busiest boating weekend of the year, to educate people about the laws. The effort netted extensive media coverage and wardens and Water Guards statewide issued dozens of warnings to boaters about the transport law, regional warden supervisors reported.

“Awareness of AIS is very high thanks to the efforts of many individuals and groups around the state that see this as a potential threat to the quality of the lakes in the state,” Stark says. “Enforcement of this new law will help support their work, and the good job most boaters are doing to remove aquatic plants and animals from their boats and trailers. We need everybody to do it, however, and hope the enforcement stick can get those last few boaters to comply.”

Lake by lake breakdown on boat inspections available

People can find additional information invasive species and control efforts in a new, user-friendly aquatic invasives database available on the Department of Natural Resources website.

Web users can find statewide statistics, as well as by county. The site provides data on boat inspection efforts, boater compliance and special projects to prevent or control invasive species. The information is displayed in easy to read pie charts and bar graphs, and it’s updated every 15 minutes to reflect the reports as they’re filed by more than 1,000 boat inspectors, both paid and volunteer, and by DNR Water Guards, according to Jennifer Filbert, who is developing the database and pages.

The site is a work in progress, and more features may be added in coming months, including more information about local projects to prevent or control the spread of aquatic invasive species, and interactive maps.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Wakeman (262) 574-2149; Greg Stacey (608) 576-9123; Jennifer Filbert, for questions on the database, (608) 264-8533

BAYFIELD – Call it the piscatorial Field of Dreams.

Mere months after felled trees were dragged across the ice on Upper Eau Claire Lake as part of a grassroots partnership to restore fish habitat in the near-shore areas on this lake, hundreds of fish are using the trees.

Underwater photos taken earlier taken this month show a young muskellunge swimming past two tree trunks on the lakebed, a school of panfish darting through branches, and the dark stripe of bluntnose minnows.

“These trees are a piece of the fishery habitat puzzle that has been missing for quite a while and I am excited by the early indications of success,” says Scott Toshner, the Department of Natural Resources fish biologist working on the project. “Hopefully, we can get enough waterfront landowners involved so that we will see positive benefits to the lakes fishery as a whole.”

This year, the Eau Claire Lakes Property Owners Association and the Eau Claire Conservation Club are working with Toshner to find willing property owners to let them place more trees in the shallow water in front of their property on Upper, Middle and Lower Eau Claire lakes.

They learned recently that their “Fish Sticks” project will receive $15,000 in federal funding through the Glacial Lakes Habitat Restoration Partnership. “It’s a great opportunity to be able to expand the project,” Toshner says.

The Eau Claire Chain project grew out of an earlier project on Bony Lake, another lake in the same chain, where property owners in 2007 launched one of the largest shoreland habitat restoration efforts in Wisconsin.

The next year, the Eau Claire Conservation Club got involved on Upper Eau Claire Lake, and 2009 saw a continued effort on Bony, Middle Eau Claire and Upper Eau Claire lakes by the club, the property owners and the DNR.

To date, 395 trees have been placed in Bony Lake, where there were only 89 pieces to begin with. Upper Eau Claire has added 98 trees and Middle Eau Claire, 49 trees.

“These trees are very important habitat because they provide refuge, forage, cover and spawning areas for pretty much every fish in the lake for at least part of their life cycles,” Toshner says. “The turtles, ducks, kingfisher, otter, mink, beaver and other wildlife are using it at the same time.”

For this year’s Eau Claire chain lakes project, the property owners association mailed out to its members a brochure the group helped Toshner develop. Members have also been talking the project up. So far, a handful of property owners have stepped forward, and Toshner expects that to increase.

He meets with interested property owners, explains more of the process to them, and if they still want to continue, works with them to sign an agreement that they will not remove down trees from their property and will keep the ones placed in their shallow water. In late summer and early fall, Toshner will meet with the property owners again to mark where they want the complexes of two to eight trees to go. In winter, heavy equipment operators place the trees on the ice in the proper spots. The conservation club helps with the logistics of getting the trees harvested and to the proper site on the ice.

“The volunteer effort on this project is quite simply what makes this go,” Toshner says.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Toshner (715) 372-8539

Rules going into effect this summer are designed to prevent new introductions of three invasive species. Under the rules effective July 1, 2010,, people must have a license to possess wolf-dog hybrids, feral or wild swine, and mute swans in captivity.

Also as of July 1, it is illegal to release any of these species into the wild and such releases can result in penalties of up to $1,142, as well as restitution costs for any damage caused by these animals.

“All three species have proven their ability to exist in the wild in Wisconsin,” says Scott Loomans, wildlife regulations specialist for the Department of Natural Resources. “Wild and feral swine for instance, are opportunistic omnivores that eat an amazing amount and variety of plants and wild animals.”

Feral and wild swine disturb habitat for, and compete with, a wide range of native animals, wild plants and agricultural crops. They disturb native ground cover creating avenues for infestation by invasive plants. Through digging and rooting activities, large family groups have caused locally significant damage to crops. They even pose a health threat to domestic animals. Of primary concern are diseases such as pseudorabies, brucellosis and tuberculosis. While these diseases can be eliminated from domestic livestock herds, wild or feral swine that persist on the landscape could be disease reservoirs that continually reintroduce diseases to domestic herds.

In most cases, the possession of feral or wild swine is now prohibited. A limited exemption is available for some people who possessed animals on July 1, 2010 and who apply for a license with the Department of Natural Resources by September 28, 2010. The rules do not apply to owners of domestic hogs and no action is required by traditional pork producers.

Feral or wild swine include wild strains of swine commonly known by the name European, Eurasian, Russian, feral or domestic strains. Feral domestic strains also include animals which are confined but which exhibit characteristics of being in an untamed state, and hybrids of wild or feral with domestic swine. Included in this definition are any swine that is captured in the wild or from an unconfined environment after it has existed in the wild or unconfined environment outside of an enclosure for more than seven days, regardless of its physical characteristics.