Spring hearings set for April 10 in each county
The 2017 Department of Natural Resources annual spring fish and wildlife hearings and Wisconsin Conservation Congress spring conservation meetings will be April 10 in each county of the state.
Commonly referred to as the “spring hearings,” the meetings are held to gauge public support on fishing, hunting, conservation and environmental issues. The questions are presented as advisory or proposed rules changes.
The gatherings are free and open to the public.
This year’s ballot features 88 questions, including 38 proposed DNR rule changes, 49 advisory questions from the congress and one from the Natural Resources Board.
The 2017 meeting agendas begin with elections of local congress delegates, followed by an update on preliminary deer management recommendations from the local County Deer Advisory Council, votes on proposed rule changes, a vote on the Natural Resources Board advisory question, submission of citizen resolutions and votes on congress advisory questions.
Citizens are allowed to comment for up to 3 minutes on any question or rule change.
Votes are cast on a computerized ballot; attendees may vote and leave or stay for the entire proceedings. Meetings typically last from 1 to 3 hours.
As established in state statute, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress serves as a public advisory body to the NRB and DNR. The congress has five elected delegates in each county.
Proposed fisheries rule changes include a uniform walleye regulation (18-inch minimum size limit, with a daily bag limit of three) on all inland waters of Kenosha, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth and Waukesha counties (except Lac La Belle, where it would remain one fish with a 28-inch minimum).
The DNR also proposes to slightly modify trolling rules in inland waters of the state. The simplification would allow motor trolling with one line per
angler and a maximum of three lines in a boat in seven counties (Florence, Iron, Lincoln, Oneida, Sheboygan, Vilas and Waupaca) and with three lines per angler in the other 65 counties.
Among wildlife proposed rule changes, the agency seeks to reclassify two non-native birds. Under the proposals, the Eurasian collared dove would be listed as an unprotected species and the monk parrot as a nuisance species.
The NRB will ask if citizens prefer a hook-and-line muskellunge harvest tag that would allow anglers to keep one musky per year.
Among congress advisory questions, one will asks if the public would like to see County Deer Advisory Councils have the ability to implement earn-a-buck regulations in their county as a herd management tool.
Another will seek to determine the appetite for a sandhill crane hunting season in Wisconsin. It will ask: Do you support legislation that would give the DNR authority to begin the process to develop a hunting season for sandhill cranes?
Both the earn-a-buck and sandhill crane issues would require a change in state law before they could be implemented.
In southeastern Wisconsin, the 7 p.m. hearings will be held at: Milwaukee County, West Allis Central High School, 8516 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis; Ozaukee County, Webster Transitional School, W75-N624 Wauwatosa Road, Cedarburg; Kenosha County, Bristol School District #1, East Gymnasium, 20121 83rd St., Bristol; Racine County, Union Grove High School, 3433 S. Colony Ave., Union Grove; Walworth County, Delavan-Darien High School, 150 Cummings St., Delavan; Washington County, Washington County Fair Park, 3000 County Highway PV, West Bend; Waukesha County, Waukesha County Technical College, Richard Anderson Center, 800 Main St., Pewaukee.
Wolf summit: Wisconsin Wolf Facts will hold “Wolf Summit II-Focus on Wisconsin” from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on April 8 at Sugar Camp Town Hall, 4059 Camp Four Road, Sugar Camp, Wis.
The event will include presentations by Jim Beers, retired wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dave Ruid, certified wildlife biologist with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services in Rhinelander, and Nathan Roberts, Wisconsin DNR large carnivore scientist.
Registration is $15; mail a check payable to Wisconsin Wolf Facts, W2198 Co. Rd. A, Tomahawk, WI 54487. Wisconsin Wolf Facts says its mission is to “promote responsible wolf management in Wisconsin.” More information is available on its website at www.wisconsinwolffacts.com.