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Contact(s): Heather Kaarakka. DNR conservation biologist, 608-266-2576 MADISON – People can help bats that survive white-nose syndrome this winter by building a bat house where they can raise their young during summer months. “Bats surviving white-nose syndrome need all the help they can get to raise their young and help rebuild populations,” said Heather Kaarakka, a Department of Natural Resources conservation biologist who works with Wisconsin’s bat populations for the Natural Heritage Conservation Bureau.

Forty-four wildfires have burned in the last week with more anticipated this weekend due to strong winds and dry conditions in parts of the state.  As the DNR suspends burning permits in several counties where the DNR has burning authority, the public is being asked to use extreme caution, especially with brush or burn piles, and follow the fire restrictions over the next few days until the fire danger minimizes.

Contact: Joe Passineau, president, Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame, 715-677-4047 or Jim Dick, DNR spokesperson, 608-267-2773 Long-time Natural Resources Board member Christine Thomas among inductees STEVENS POINT, Wis. — A University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Dean of the College of Natural Resources who served for 11 years on the state Natural Resources Board is among three new members who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame this year.

Thieves are illegally cutting down thousands of birch trees in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin to make a quick buck off city dwellers who love the paper-white logs, limbs and twigs in their home decor. The thefts have caught county sheriffs and state natural resource officials by surprise over the past few months, sending them scrambling to determine how big the problem is and how to keep it from getting worse.

Thieves are illegally cutting down thousands of birch trees in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin to make a quick buck off city dwellers who love the paper-white logs, limbs and twigs in their home decor. The thefts have caught county sheriffs and state natural resource officials by surprise over the past few months, sending them scrambling to determine how big the problem is and how to keep it from getting worse.

It’s not too late to sign up for DMAP in 2017 to improve habitat for wildlife! Wisconsin’s Deer Management Assistance Program can help you enhance wildlife habitat on property your own or hunt.

This announcement was originally created by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and is being distributed by the Great Lakes Timber Professional Association (GLTPA)  The frozen road declaration ends and spring thaw and class II restrictions begin in zones 3, 4, and 5 on Saturday, February 18th, 2017, at 12:01 a.m.

At its January meeting, the Council on Forestry was briefed on the DNR’s Division of Forestry reorganization plans.  In her presentation, Carmen Harden, Forest Management Bureau Director, described how the Forestry Division intends to change how field foresters will interact with private woodland owners.  READ MORE

Interested in learning more about Wisconsin’s Bat Program? Read the latest issue of Echolocator for more information.

By Jodi Henke There is tremendous value in timber. It can fund your dreams or become a legacy for your grandchildren. It can also bring out thieves. Jesse Randall, Extension forester with Iowa State University, says timber prices have been high, which means an uptick in thefts.  “Every week we get calls that say, ‘I’m missing trees. I know the neighbor logged, but now my trees are missing,’ ” he says.