News

Gerald and Charlotte Kann have been named the 2016 North Central Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year by the American Tree Farm System! Congratulations to Gerald, a WWOA member, and his whole family on this fantastic accomplishment. The Kann family Tree Farm was also the Outstanding Tree Farm of the Year in Wisconsin.

The Landowner Incentive Program works to create and manage habitat for rare plants and animals in the Driftless Area through providing funding and technical help. Any privately owned land in the Driftless area is eligible, including private parcels and land trusts, and eligible work includes prescribed burns, native plantings, invasive and woody species removal, and more.

Wisconsin DNR was authorized funds through the 2014 Farm Bill for the funding of the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, and have received $1.3 million for the continued funding of VPA-HIP. The VPA-HIP provides opportunities to increase public access for fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing on private lands. There are currently over 38,000 acres participating in VPA-HIP.

A special edition Warden Wire has been created to address carcass tag regulation questions taken by the DNR Call Center. The Warden Wire FAQ addresses carcass tags for bear, deer, turkey, and sharp-tailed grouse. For information regarding furbearer tags consult the 2016 Small Game and Trapping regulation pamphlets, which can be found on the DNR website.

You can now see the results of the 2016 spring hearings statewide or broken down by county. The 2016 spring hearings were conducted in all 72 Wisconsin counties on April 11 at 7pm. At the spring hearings citizens provide feedback and respond to a wide range of proposed fish and wildlife management issues and Conservation Congress advisory questions.

On April 5 the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced changes to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system that provides recognition for SFI, ATFS, CSA, and other PEFC-endorsed standards, and creates new opportunities for legal and responsible forest products to earn points. These changes validate and sustain the communities of people across the country working to manage forest responsibly.

Remember – to protect oak trees and help prevent oak wilt, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources advises people to avoid pruning oaks on their property from April through July. Any tree damage during this time creates an opening that exposes live tree tissue and provides an opportunity for the oak wilt fungus to invade and establish itself in the tree.

A travelling John Muir library exhibit is making its way across Wisconsin! Through 2016 the Wisconsin Historical Society is providing a free exhibit to public libraries in 25 communities. The exhibit explores Muir’s youth, advocacy for national parks, and his views on environmental issues such as logging, hunting and climate change.

As the weather warms up ticks will become active again. Ticks are active any time the temperature is above freezing. Though we have multiple species of ticks in Wisconsin and they can carry a variety of diseases, Lyme disease is the one we worry about most. Lyme disease has a wide range of symptoms and can have long lasting effects on those it infects, both humans and our pets.

The Centers for Disease Control with the Mayo Clinic and health officials from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota found recently that the bacteria Borrelia mayonii can also cause Lyme disease, as well as the previously known Borrelia burgdorferi.  The newly discovered bacteria causes the usual initial symptoms of Lyme, as well as nausea and vomiting. It also does not present with the typical bulls-eye rash of B.