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Winnebago sturgeon spearers look forward to a good season

OSHKOSH – Sturgeon spearers are hoping the ice cover created on the Winnebago pool lakes by December’s cold weather will hold and provide good travel conditions for the Feb. 9 opening day for the two spearing seasons, the Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes seasons.

Travel conditions on the ice and water clarity are the two primary factors that affect spearer success rate, according to Ron Bruch, Department of Natural Resources fisheries team supervisor stationed in Oshkosh.

As of Jan. 12, Lake Winnebago had an average of 11 inches of ice and the Upriver Lakes had 13 to 15 inches. Some areas have less than 2 inches of ice exist due to under-ice currents, shoals and the January thaw. People venturing on the ice are advised to be extremely careful and make sure they know exactly how much ice exists in the area they plan to travel.

Early reports indicate that water clarity ranges from excellent to fair, although spearers will be more interested in water clarity reports the week before the seasons begin at 6:30 a.m. Feb. 9. Spearers are allowed to cut their holes and set their shacks beginning Feb. 7. Season regulations are available on the fishing regulations pages of the DNR Web site.

2008 Up River lakes season

The 2008 spearing season will also include the second annual lottery spear fishery on the Upriver Lakes -- Lakes Butte des Morts, Winneconne, and Poygan -- upstream of Lake Winnebago. Participation in this fishery is limited to 500 spearers selected through a random drawing from applicants. During the inaugural season in 2007, the 485 people who purchased an Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing license enjoyed a 65 percent success rate in a very high quality fishery.

“Spearers were very happy in 2007 with the new Upriver Lakes sturgeon lottery fishery, and with the full 16-day season on Lake Winnebago,” Bruch said. “The ice and water clarity conditions were just right to give the spearers a nice long season without resulting in an overharvest.”

The great experience of those who participated in the 2007 Upriver Lakes lottery fishery encouraged significantly more people to put their name in the hat for the 2008 season. There were a total of 3,902 applicants for the 500 spots, up from the 2,795 who applied for the 2007 season.

The Upriver Lakes system also runs through Feb. 24 unless the pre-set harvest cap for the Upriver Lakes is reached or the pre-set Winnebago System-wide harvest cap is reached, whichever comes first.

Lake Winnebago season

License sales for the fishery on Lake Winnebago are not limited because the overall harvest can be effectively managed by the harvest cap system. The DNR sold 8,759 spearing licenses for the Lake Winnebago 2008 sturgeon fishery including 130 non-resident licenses. This is up 10 percent from the 2007 season when 7,902 licenses were sold for Lake Winnebago. System-wide, Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes harvest caps for the 2008 season are 556 juvenile females, 556 adult females, and 1,000 males.

The Lake Winnebago season runs through Feb. 24 unless the pre-set harvest cap for the system is reached or for Lake Winnebago alone is reached, whichever comes first.

The lake sturgeon population in the Winnebago System has been improving over the last 15 years as the result of a series of regulation changes designed to maintain the annual harvest at a safe level and to allow the number of large adult female fish to expand after a period of serious overharvest in the early 1990s.

“We are very proud of the world-class fishery we have been able to maintain here for lake sturgeon on the Winnebago System,” Bruch said. “Our sturgeon program is considered a world model for effective sturgeon population and harvest management.”

The DNR has maintained a proactive sturgeon population and harvest assessment program on the Winnebago System since the 1940s. The long-term data base is invaluable for monitoring sturgeon population trends over time related to harvest and population management decisions.

VHS not found in sturgeon from Lake Winnebago system

Sturgeon spearing participants will be glad to know that a new fish disease, viral hemorrhagic septicemia or VHS for short, hasn’t been found in sturgeon from the Lake Winnebago system. VHS, which is not a human health threat but can cause fish to bleed to death, was discovered last May in drum from the Lake Winnebago system. To date, lake sturgeon have not been found to be vulnerable to VHS, although more than two dozen North American fish species are vulnerable to the disease.

DNR staff tested 40 lake sturgeon in February 2007 for VHS and all tests were negative, as was the result for an additional sturgeon tested in August. “We will be testing another 40 or so fish again during the 2008 spearing season for VHS,” Bruch says.

He adds that the DNR “has not seen any unusual numbers of dead or dying sturgeon in the Winnebago System since we found VHS in drum last May.”

There are new statewide rules to stop the spread of VHS. These rules will not impact sturgeon spearing since no fish or bait are moved live from the lakes.

Spearers are reminded it is illegal to possess a fishing pole, hook and line, angling equipment or other similar devices in an ice fishing tent, shanty or other ice fishing enclosure with ice holes larger than 12 inches in diameter or square.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Bruch, DNR fisheries biologist - (920) 424-3059 or Todd Schaller, DNR law enforcement supervisor - (920) 424-3055

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State parks, forests offer variety of winter camping options

MADISON -- Having a state park campground nearly to oneself may sound like a dream to someone accustomed to visiting their favorite park on a summer weekend, but for those hearty enough to try their hand at winter camping, park officials say, it is more the norm.

More than 30 Wisconsin state parks, forests and recreational areas offer winter camping opportunities, ranging from backpack camping to family campsites with or without electricity.

All the parks open to winter camping have water available and open toilet facilities; some parks offer electrical hookups. Campers can check the winter camping page on the Department of Natural Resources Web site or contact the parks directly to see if they offer electrical sites in the winter. At some park and forest campgrounds, campsites are plowed out to provide access to recreational vehicles, other parks just plow roads through campgrounds.

During winter, most campsites are available on first come, first served basis, but others may be reserved ahead of time. The winter camping page indicates which parks accept reservations, which can be made by calling 1-888-WI-PARKS (1-888-947-2757).

Both the northern and southern units of the Kettle Moraine State Forest offer primitive campsites with shelters. The shelters have a roof and three sides with dirt or gravel floors. Campers must carry in their gear and water. Many campers ski or snowshoe to the shelters. Anyone interested in staying in one of the shelters must register at the forest offices and pay a camping fee. Interested campers should reserve a shelter at least a week in advance for a nominal reservation fee to ensure an opening, because the shelters are often full on weekends, even in winter.

For those who truly want a rustic winter camping experience, several of the northern state forests -- such as the Northern Highland/American Legion, Flambeau River and Brule River -- issue backpack camping permits that allow campers to venture out to find their own ideal site to camp. For their own safety, all backpack campers must register at the main office for the forest in which they intend to camp before beginning their excursion. Most forest offices are closed on weekends during the winter.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Wisconsin State Parks – (608) 266-2181

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Proper preparation is key for comfort camping in the cold

By: By James Bishop, DNR public affairs manager and avid winter camper, Spooner

SPOONER - With the right equipment and clothes winter can be a great time for camping. There are no crowds or bugs, and there's the fun of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, animal tracking, bird watching, and ice fishing. Preparing to winter camp starts with the shelter.

Specialized “four season” tents designed for winter can be purchased or a summer tent will serve the purpose but not as well. The tent should be the “free standing” type as pounding stakes into frozen ground can be difficult. Only use heavy metal spikes for staking, not plastic. Campers can push snow around the sides of the tent to hold it in place.

Keep the tent open and vented, as body moisture will condense ice crystals on the walls, which can be a nuisance when they fall.

A good sleeping bag system is a must for any winter camp. Winter campers can either purchase a goose down or synthetic sleeping bag rated to at least minus 30 degrees or they can put one heavy summer sleeping bag inside of another. If the summer bags do not have a mummy type hood and drawstring campers should wear a hat and gloves.

A closed-cell sleeping pad underneath the sleeping back will help insulate the sleeper from the cold ground, and a plastic or waterproof sheet under the pad will keep any water or snow away from the bag.

A couple of chemical hand warmers tossed into the bag before crawling in can also make the difference in getting a good nights sleep. They will pre-warm the bag and can be used on cold spots in the night.

Preparing meals also poses special challenges in the cold.

Winter campers should plan easy to prepare meals. As no refrigeration is needed, meat and vegetable based meals can be wrapped in tin foil and cooked or re-heated on a fire. Pre-made pasta and cereal dishes placed in special “boiling bags” can be reheated in hot water. With tin foil and boiling bag meals, there are also few dishes to wash – just remember camping etiquette and be prepared to pack out all waste.

Cooking gear need only consists of a one or two gallon pot for boiling water, an insulated mug, a spoon, and a bowl. For those who dislike cooking over wood fires there are pack-able fuel stoves. Bring extra fuel as it takes about ten cups of snow to yield a cup of water.

Stay hydrated and warm

Dry winter air means it is especially important to keep the body hydrated. Water can be kept from freezing by carrying it in either a wineskin type bota or a plastic bottle placed inside of a jacket either on a shoulder strap or in an inside pocket.Make sure the container has seal tight cap.

Keeping warm depends on clothing, and the key word for winter camping is "layering." Start with polypropylene or other synthetic underwear tops and bottoms. Next a wool shirt and pants followed by a nylon wind jacket and pants. Lastly have a parka or heavy coat.

Layering allows winter campers to shed clothes when physical activity demands and to add warmth when relaxing. It is best to bring several hats, gloves and mittens to replace those that get wet. Chopper mitts are required for extreme cold and work well for holding hot foods.

Purchase the warmest and lightest boots available and big enough for two pair of heavy wool socks. Take along a spare pair of boots.

Other winter gear includes a headlamp with extra batteries, pack saw, sunglasses, pocketknife, waterproof-windproof matches, 12-Hour chemical handwarmers, and a lightweight shovel.

Unless you drive to a campsite you will pack all gear on your back or on a sled or toboggan. Even with a 50-pound load a toboggan is an easy pull across snow and ice.

Winter camping, whether in a campground or remote wilderness at minus 20 below zero or 30 degrees above, can be fun, but only with the right preparation and gear.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Bishop – (715) 635-4242

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Monitoring finds area covered by endangered butterfly conservation plan can be reduced

MADISON – The amount of land that needs to be managed to protect habitat for the Karner blue butterfly – a species listed as endangered federally, but that has one of its largest concentrations in Wisconsin – could be substantially reduced without harming conservation efforts for the species, according to state and federal officials.

The Karner Blue Butterfly Habitat Conservation Plan, completed in 1999, was a successful, groundbreaking conservation agreement pioneered by the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous public and private land managers to protect this rare butterfly.

The goal of that plan is to protect the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly while allowing land managers to continue operating in and around important Karner blue butterfly habitat provided they modify their activities to minimize incidental loss of the butterflies, according to David Lentz, who coordinates the conservation plan for Wisconsin.

Although the species is rare nationwide, it is relatively common in central and northwestern Wisconsin, especially where pine barrens, oak savannas, and mowed corridors support wild lupine, the only food of the Karner blue caterpillar.

A key element of the plan was a management strategy that would continue to monitor the butterfly’s population and adjust the original area of protection, if justified.

After eight years of monitoring populations under the plan and following completion of a population study by the University of Wisconsin’s Forestry Landscape Ecology Lab, state and federal officials are proposing to reduce the so-called high potential range (HPR) from the original 9 million acres to 1.9 million acres.

“We now have much better and more complete population information than we did in 1999,” Lentz says. “We recognized that we didn’t have all the information we would have liked when the conservation plan was written but we needed to act in order to head off possibly losing this species forever.”

Lentz said the conservation plan included an adaptive management strategy from the start.

“It was understood all along by all the partners that we would adjust the area covered by the plan if it was justified,” he says. “We’re doing that now with full confidence that this adjustment won’t impact our conservation efforts but will maximize use of our resources.”

The 1999 agreement the area originally protected was drawn broadly in order to be sure all possible areas where the endangered butterfly might exist were included according to forestry officials. Once widely distributed across a number of northeast and Great Lakes states, central Wisconsin in 1999 supported the largest known remaining population of the butterfly and presented the best opportunity for preservation and eventual recovery of the species.

Comments on the High Potential Range can be sent to Dave Lentz, Wisconsin DNR, Division of Forestry, PO Box 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Lentz, HCP Coordinator (608) 261-6451

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Winter a good time to prune trees

Pruning while trees are dormant can help reduce the spread of oak wilt

MADISON – Snow shoveling isn’t the only winter yard work home and landowners may want to undertake. Winter is a good time for tree pruning especially on oak trees. Winter pruning greatly reduces the likelihood of spreading oak wilt and other tree diseases and minimizing pruning stress on trees, according to tree health experts.

“I tell people the best time to prune trees in Wisconsin is during the winter, when the tree is dormant, which is before April, for a number of reasons,” said Don Kissinger, an urban forester with the Department of Natural Resources in Wausau. “Insects and diseases that could attack the open wound aren’t present in winter and without leaves, broken, cracked or hanging limbs and branch structure are easy to see and prune.”

Timing is especially critical for pruning oak trees in order to limit the spread of oak wilt, a devastating fungal disease of oaks that has been present in Wisconsin for probably a century or more, according to forest health specialists. The oak wilt fungus spreads from tree to tree by hitchhiking on sap feeding beetles that are attracted to freshly pruned or injured trees and root grafts between neighboring trees.

“Oak wilt causes the water and nutrient conducting channels in the tree to plug up and fail,” explains Kyoko Scanlon, DNR forest health specialist in Fitchburg. “Once a tree is infected, water and stored nutrients can’t move upward from the root system, causing the tree’s leaves to wilt and fall. The tree dies shortly afterward in some species of oak.

“Red oaks, which include red, pin and black oak, are particularly vulnerable to this disease. Once wilting symptoms appear, trees in the red oak group die very quickly, often within a month.”

Oak wilt is found mainly in the southern two-thirds and in the extreme northeast corner of Wisconsin. Prevention is the best defense against this disease say tree experts as the only other treatment options are costly fungicide applications or trenching between healthy and infected trees to sever connected roots

DNR foresters recommend people stop pruning, wounding, or cutting oak trees in the urban setting from April through July (April, May, June, July). A more cautious approach limits pruning until Oct. 1.

“The most critical time for oak wilt infection through insects is the spring and early summer,” Scanlon said. “In some years, spring comes much earlier than we expect. If daytime temperatures begin to reach the 50 degree Fahrenheit mark, stop pruning oak at that time, even if it’s still the middle of March.”

Communities where oak wilt disease is a problem include Adams, Baraboo, Black River Falls, Durand, Eau Claire, Fort McCoy, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Menomonie, Mosinee, Onalaska, Richland Center, Shawano, Stevens Point, and Waupaca.

Additional information on oak wilt can be found on the Forestry pages of the DNR Web site.

Pruning can be beneficial for trees

Before planning any tree pruning, tree owners should consider some rules designed to help further the health of their trees. Trees should be pruned throughout their entire life, with more attention paid during the first 10 years -- every other or every third year -- to foster strong structural or “scaffold” limbs. Once proper structure is established, pruning can occur less often -- about every five years -- to maintain the structure and remove larger pieces of dead wood.

“Pruning should not take more than 25 percent of the live crown of a tree while the lower third of established trunks of deciduous trees should be free of limbs,” Kissinger said.

Kissinger offered these tips for pruning shade or deciduous trees:

• Remove limbs growing toward the ground.
• Remove limbs that are crossing, rubbing or growing parallel to one another, competing for the same space in the tree crown.
• Remove limbs growing vertically or toward the interior of the tree.
• Remove broken, cracked, diseased or dead limbs.
• Maintain one central trunk or “leader” for as long as possible.
• Never remove so many interior branches that leaves are only present at the outside edge of the tree.
• Never prune a branch flush to the trunk as the large wound reduces the tree’s natural barrier to decay. The cut should begin just outside the branch bark ridge and continue at a slight outward angle until completed.
• Never “top” your trees or allow any tree service to do the same. This leaves the tree vulnerable to decay, sucks energy from the tree and leads to an early tree death.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Kissinger: (715) 359-5793 or Kyoko Scanlon: (608) 275-3275