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Nearly 66,700 permits issued in drawing for fall turkey season

23,600 permits available for over the counter sales beginning Sept. 7

MADISON – Nearly 66,700 permits for the Wisconsin 2006 fall turkey season that opens Oct. 1 are being issued through the recently completed fall turkey preference drawing, leaving more than 23,600 permits available for over the counter sales beginning Sept. 7.

Successful hunters will be receiving a permit notification via postcard near the end of August. Conservation Patron license holders will be mailed their permit. A total of 90,600 permits were available for the fall season, an increase in about 5,200 permits over the 2005 fall permit level. A total of 69,845 applicants applied for fall turkey permits this year, a significant decrease from 93,128 applicants in 2005.

This is the first time permits for the fall turkey season will be available for over-the-counter sales, which state wildlife officials say is likely the reason for the precipitous drop in applicants for the drawing. Over-the-counter sales for the spring season were offered for the first time this year also, and when the 40,000 additional spring turkey permits went on sale March 25 they were initially selling at a rate of 95 permits per minute.

In previous years, if the number of turkey permits exceeded the number of applications for a specific zone through the drawing, remaining permits were issued through a second preference drawing, meaning those who had not received second permits for a unit in the past were given preference.

The 23,606 remaining fall turkey permits will be sold over-the-counter on a first come, first served basis starting at 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, over the Internet through the DNR Web site; at any DNR Service Center; at automated license issuance system sales locations; or by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236).

The fee for the permits is $10 for residents, and $15 for nonresidents. All hunters will also be required to pay the fall turkey license and stamp fee, unless they have previously purchased the license or stamp, or are a 2006 Conservation Patron license holder. Residents and nonresidents will have equal opportunity to purchase these permits. Purchasing these permits will not affect a hunter’s preference status for future spring or fall turkey permit drawings. Purchases are limited to one permit per day until each zone is sold out.

A list of the number of permits available in each unit is available on the turkey hunting page of the DNR Web site. The list will be updated daily as permits are sold.

Unlike the spring season which is held in six 5-day hunting periods for gobblers only, the fall wild turkey season is a straight 40-day season that runs from Oct. 1 to Nov. 9 with a bag limit of one turkey of any age or sex per hunting permit.

There were 10,591 birds harvested in the 2005 fall season, for a success rate of 12.4 percent. Hunters registered more than 46,600 turkeys during Wisconsin’s 2006 spring wild turkey season.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hull (608) 267-7861 or Andrea Mezera (608) 261-8458

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First of fall hunting seasons set to open September 1

MADISON – Hunters eagerly anticipating the start of fall hunting seasons have reason to smile this week as the first of the fall game bird seasons are set to open on Sept.1.

Early Canada Goose

The early statewide Canada goose season, which concentrates on Wisconsin’s resident Canada geese, runs Sept. 1-15. Hunters must possess an Early Canada Goose Hunting Permit, Wisconsin small game hunting license, be HIP (Harvest Information Program) registered, and have both a Federal Migratory Bird stamp and a Wisconsin Waterfowl Stamp. State permits, licenses and stamps are available over the Internet through the DNR Web site; at any DNR Service Center; at automated license issuance system sales locations; or by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236). Federal migratory bird stamps are available through most U.S. Post Offices, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Web site http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/Info/Stamps/stampinfo.htm (exit DNR) and through select retail vendors. A duck stamp sales store locater can be found on the <http://duckstamp.com> Web site (exit DNR).

Early Canada goose hunting rules and regulations are available at DNR Service Centers, most license vendors and on the hunting regulations page of the DNR Web site.

This is Wisconsin’s seventh year with an early Canada goose season. Last year hunters harvested more than 13,000 geese.

“Resident geese often change their feeding and movement patterns as September approaches, so hunters should scout prior to the season and stay mobile during the season,” says Kent Van Horn, DNR migratory game bird ecologist. “You may need to think about hunting different locations and habitats than you are used to hunting later in the fall. And to all hunters who participate in this season I want to say, ‘thank you, for your efforts in helping Wisconsin manage its growing resident Canada goose populations.’”

Mourning Dove

The statewide2006 mourning dove season runs Sept. 1 – Oct. 30. Hunters must possess a Wisconsin small game hunting license. No additional stamps or permits are needed but hunters must be HIP registered. Dove hunting rules and regulations and information about doves in Wisconsin can be found in the 2006 Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations pamphlet available at DNR Service Centers, most license vendors and on the hunting regulations page of the DNR Web site.

Wisconsin biologists banded several hundred doves in both 2005 and 2006 with a small aluminum U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leg band. Hunters who harvest a banded dove are asked to report them to the Bird Banding Lab at 1-800-327-Band (2263), or online at <http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/call800.htm> (exit DNR).

One of the most abundant game birds in the United States, an estimated 4 to 5 million doves migrate through Wisconsin each year with the greatest populations found in the southern two-thirds of the state. Much of Wisconsin’s dove habitat is on private lands. Good hunter-landowner relations and scouting are important for successful hunting.

Hunters are reminded to check hunting rules regarding the possession and use of nontoxic shot when also hunting waterfowl and for all hunting on Federal Properties such as National Wildlife Refuges (that allow hunting) and on Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs). Dove hunters, like goose hunters, are limited to shotguns not capable of holding more than three shells. Wildlife managers and Wisconsin Conservation Wardens caution hunters to keep in mind that during early seasons there are many other users in the outdoors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Van Horn - (608) 266-8841

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Near record chinook catch may be sign of trend toward larger fish

KEWAUNEE - Fisheries biologists hope the massive chinook salmon caught in the port of Kewaunee earlier this month is a sign of things to come: bigger chinooks.

The fish measured 42 inches and weighed 36 pounds 4 ounces after being out of the water for more than five hours. That’s still shy of the state record for “kings” set in 1994: a 44-pound, 15 ounce, 47.5-incher caught in Door County. Information on record fish can be found on the DNR Web site.

But state fish biologists believe its size underscores their contention that better balancing the forage base with the number of chinook in the big pond will lead to bigger, healthier fish. And they hope it marks the start of a trend that will continue as a result of reduced stocking by Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana starting this past spring.

Last summer biologists from around the lake were concerned that there were actually too many chinook in Lake Michigan for the forage base to support. Although chinook were caught in record numbers, they were considerably smaller than anglers have come to expect and there were some health concerns, too. This summer, although there are still good numbers of chinook being caught, they are running bigger.

“Fewer chinook and more food equals bigger fish,” says Paul Peeters, Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists in Sturgeon Bay. “We don’t have the official data yet, but the tournaments have had bigger fish this year and the fish I’m catching on my own boat are bigger and healthier.”

Peeters says the larger fish this year are definitely not due to the 25 percent lakewide reduction in stocking that the states agreed to and started carrying out this spring. Fish stocked in 2006 are only a few inches long and don’t compete for the same forage that larger chinooks chase.

“There is STILL concern over the forage base in Lake Michigan,” he says. “The fact that the chinook growth jumped in a single season supports our contention that forage base was limiting chinook length and weight at age.”

The fish that anglers are catching this summer are primarily fish that were stocked in 2003 and 2004. Those year-classes of fish were regarded as a little weak, meaning fewer fish hatched and survived through their first winter. With fewer predator fish and more prey fish as a result of the larger alewife year class from the summer of 2005, chinook size appears to be larger.

“We think anglers are catching fewer fish but bigger fish in 2006, but we won’t know for sure until the creel surveys are in and we weigh and measure the chinooks at Strawberry Creek.”

Throughout the fishing season, DNR creel clerks measure and weigh samples of the fish anglers catch, and DNR crews collecting eggs at the spawning weirs weigh and measure thousands of the chinook each fall.

“Last year, tournaments were hard pressed to come up with 20 pound fish. This year, they’re getting multiple 20-pounders in a tournament,” he says.

In 2005 anglers in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan caught more chinook than ever before – nearly 419,000 fish – but the average weight of chinook was 8.6 pounds in 2005, down from 9.8 pounds in 1995 and 13 pounds in 2001.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Peeters (920) 746-2865

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Oshkosh area family named Wisconsin Tree Farmers of the Year

OSHKOSH – John Koerner, 5628 W. Fisk Ave., grew up on a dairy farm near Ripon but for the nearly four decades he’s been farming a different crop – trees.

This year he and his wife, Diane, were named Wisconsin Tree Farmers of the Year.

It all started on an 80-acre field in Portage County in 1967.

John wanted to own land. So, in 1967 he and his wife Diane bought 80 acres in the Town of Belmont, Portage County. When his dairy farming father saw the land he was dismayed. “Why did you waste your money buying this stuff?” he asked.

The land was hilly, and eroded, but was great for Red Pine. “In the areas that we bought it’s sand country and (red pine) is the best crop that you can grow up there,” Diane says.

John and Diane planted those 80 acres by hand. It was too hilly and rough for a tractor to navigate.

When Scott, their first son, was 3 months old he was along with the couple as they worked planting trees on the land. “From that point on every other weekend or so we spent up there, Diane says. They enjoyed the camping and working for the future.

John says that when Scott was 5 years old he was holding out a measuring stick on the tree farm and younger brother Jeff “…the same thing. Every spring the boys would help plant.”

Diane says the “magic thing” spelling success for the tree farmers is keeping at the trees and thinning them when they need to be thinned.

While John and Diane kept thinning trees they also kept buying land and planting trees. Often they were buying land unsuited for dairy farming. “I always seemed to buy something you couldn’t plant with a tractor,” John says.

Eventually they expanded to 1,681 acres in three townships in southern Portage County with projects that involved planting more than 350,000 seedlings. Nowadays they own land in not only Portage County but also in Oconto, Waushara, Marquette and Adams counties. Koerner Forest Products, Oshkosh, now logs in 20 counties including both the Northern and Southern units of the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Scott and Jeff are still working in the business and they are marketing forest products to pulp mills, cabin log companies, and bolt mills.

They are all master loggers. “We’re very proud of it,” Diane says. Tree farming, and logging may have started as a avocation but it’s now a family business and one that’s grown because of dedication to good forestry practices. “We feel very passionate about it,” Diane says. “It’s our nature that if we are going to do something we want to do something properly, it’s win-win.”

Scott and Jeff are running most of the Koerner Forest Products business these days and grandchildren are starting to become involved in tree farming.

Being Wisconsin Tree Farmers of the Year is a bit surprising and exciting for the couple. “I’m just thrilled. I didn’t expect to be honored. It’s just a great honor for myself and my family,” John says.

John and Diane weren’t just selected because of their business success. They’ve been champions of good forestry for nearly 40 years. “I just can’t help myself but try to help a fellow,” John says. “If I can get them started in the right direction it’s a benefit for everyone.”

And the 40 years haven’t seemed so awfully long to Diane: “the seedlings go into the ground at about 12 inches tall and then at about 25 to 30 years they’re a tree to be marketed…it’s amazing how quickly that time does go.”

The best part has been working with their two sons as they grew up and now, for John, working with his sons in the business.

The Tree Farmer of the Year award is part of the National Tree Farmer Program coordinated by the American Forest Foundation. A coordinating committee in each participating state reviews nominations for the annual award, which can be made by Department of Natural Resources foresters and by consulting private foresters who are tree farm inspectors. The Koerners were nominated by Portage County DNR Forester Paul Lochner.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Lochner - (715) 344-2752

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Hunters should review baiting regulations prior to hunting seasons

MADISON – Deer hunters who hunt over bait should review Wisconsin’s deer baiting and feeding rules prior to the opening of deer hunting seasons, according to state wildlife managers and conservation wardens.

“Currently 26 Wisconsin counties do not allow baiting or feeding of deer at any time of year due to wildlife disease concerns,” said Keith Warnke, big game ecologist for the state Department of Natural Resources. “In the remaining counties baiting and feeding of deer is allowed with a two gallon limit.”

“The way in which hunters place their two gallons of legal bait, what is allowable as legal bait, and timing are important,” said DNR Conservation Warden Thomas Van Haren. “The rules in the hunting regulations apply to both public and private lands.”

All baiting and feeding of deer is prohibited in: Adams, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marquette, Milwaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Vernon, Walworth, Waukesha and Waushara counties.

But there are other options for attracting deer in counties closed to baiting and feeding say wildlife officials. Hunters may use scent to attract deer as long as it is placed in a way that it is not accessible to deer, although up to 2 ounces of scent may be placed in any manner, even if accessible to deer. It is also allowable to hunt over naturally deposited materials such as acorns, crops planted and left standing as wildlife food plots, and food made available as a result of normal agricultural planting and harvesting operations in those counties. Details on amounts of scent and how it may be placed are available in the 2006 Deer Hunting Regulations.

In counties where it is legal to bait deer for hunting, it is also legal to feed deer for recreational viewing near residences and places of business say wildlife officials. Each owner occupied residence or a business may place up to two gallons of feed within 50 yards of the residence or business. Also, no bait or feed may be placed within 100 yards of a roadway with a posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour or more to reduce the chance of car – deer collisions.

Details on amounts of scent, bait or feed and how it may be placed for hunting or recreational viewing purposes are available in the 2006 Deer Hunting Regulations or in a special Wisconsin Deer Baiting and Wildlife Feeding Regulations publication (pdf 244kb).

Archery season opens Sept. 16

“With the start of the archery deer hunting season just around the corner (opening day Sept. 16) there are a couple of important things for hunters to keep in mind throughout the deer hunting seasons,” says Warnke.

“First is the need to harvest two antlerless deer for every buck. Hunters are key to managing Wisconsin’s white-tailed deer herd. It’s only through their efforts that the herd is kept in balance with the environment. Without this kind of effort, the herd will continue to grow leading to increasing agricultural losses, more car-deer collisions and reduced forest regeneration and diversity,” Warnke said.

To help with this effort, every hunter is receiving at least one free antlerless tag with their primary license this year. Additionally, there are an unlimited number of $2 antlerless tags available in herd control and Earn-a-Buck (EAB) units this year.

“And they’ll also want to keep the new Earn-a-Buck prequalification system in mind. This was put in place during last year’s deer hunting season and will be in effect again in 2006 and future seasons,” he added.

Hunters registering an antlerless deer in a herd control deer management unit this fall that is designated EAB in 2007, will be prequalified for EAB in 2007. Those stickers will be distributed next summer. Hunters who harvest an antlerless deer in a 2006 EAB unit (46, 51A, 51B, 54B, 59B, 59C, 59M, 60M, 61, 62A, 62B, 63A, 63B, 64M, 65B, 66, 67A, 67B, 68A, 74B , and 80B) will receive a buck sticker valid for this year or next at the registration station this fall. So harvesting additional antlerless deer in this fall’s EAB units will pre-qualify a hunter for EAB next year if they don’t use the sticker this fall.

Hunters looking ahead to the 2007 seasons can get an idea of which units might be in Earn-a-Buck by looking at the EAB “watch list.” The following units are on the “watch list” for 2007 (including all 2006 EAB units): 22A, 23, 24, 25, 27, 46, 47, 51A, 51B, 54B, 54C, 57, 57B, 59B, 59C, 59M, 60M, 61, 62A, 62B, 63A, 63B, 64, 64M, 65B, 66, 67A, 67B, 68A, 68B, 74A, 77C, 77M, 80A, 80B and 81.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Van Haren - (608) 266-3244

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New efforts aimed at protecting health, environment from discarded household drugs

MADISON – Properly disposing of unwanted pharmaceutical waste will help protect public health and the environment, and local agencies that collect such waste now have new guidance available for how to safely and properly handle and dispose of it.

Household pharmaceuticals include household prescription, over-the-counter and illegal drugs in the form of pills, ointments, liquids, sprays, pre-filled syringes, injection vials and other items. Traditional methods for managing household pharmaceutical waste, such as flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash, raise concerns about the potential for these substances to accumulate in surface water and groundwater, and pose risks to human health and the environment.

Recent research in the United States and across the world has revealed the presence of traces of pharmaceuticals in lakes, rivers and streams, leading to adverse affects on fish and other aquatic species.

Along with issuing updated guidance, the department has also issued a limited conditional exemption from Wisconsin’s hazardous waste and solid waste rules governing household pharmaceuticals brought to local collection events or collected by law enforcement officials.

Local pharmaceutical collection events are planned for Madison, Winnebago County and Rock County, and a “medicine collection day” will be held for Milwaukee County residents at Miller Park on Sept. 16. More information on the Milwaukee County event can be found online at http://www.mmsd.com/programs/medicine_collection.cfm (exit DNR). Several local pharmaceutical collection events were held earlier this year in Marshfield and Brown County.

Collecting unwanted household pharmaceuticals requires careful planning because of the wide variety of materials and the various legal or regulatory requirements that may apply, according to Suzanne Bangert, director of the Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Waste and Materials Management.

On top of the hazardous waste requirements, controlled substances are strictly regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and only law enforcement officials are allowed to accept them for management after they have been dispensed to the intended user.

“This means that the law enforcement offices where hazardous household pharmaceuticals are taken would be subject to the same regulatory requirements as permanent household hazardous waste collection facilities, including site design, operating standards and reporting,” notes Bangert. “Requiring law enforcement agencies/offices to comply with hazardous waste requirements intended for large or permanent waste collection sites could ultimately discourage household pharmaceutical waste collections.”

The DNR’s enforcement discretion memorandum conditionally exempts household pharmaceutical waste collected at household pharmaceutical waste collection facilities or events, or that is collected, confiscated or otherwise taken into possession by law enforcement officials from the state’s hazardous waste and solid waste rules, provided there is compliance with standards, such as DEA requirements, preventing theft or accidental exposure, and ensuring all pharmaceuticals are collected, stored, transported and managed in a safe and nuisance free manner, and preventing releases to the environment.

In addition to discussing the various regulatory requirements, the collection guidance document provides information regarding special forms of unwanted household pharmaceuticals, such as pre-filled syringes, and other unwanted household healthcare items like thermometers, which may contain mercury. Advice is provided regarding who might need to participate or otherwise be involved in a collection event, as are recommended best management practices. The guidance document also contains numerous sources for additional information, including contacts and other details pertaining to the various applicable regulations and regulatory agencies, and links to websites and publications.

The collection guidance document and enforcement discretion memorandum are available on the DNR Hazardous Waste Program publications Web page. In the future, the DNR plans to issue further guidance for managing pharmaceuticals aimed at businesses and institutions like hospitals, nursing homes and clinics.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Bangert - (608) 266-0014 or Joanie Burns - (608) 267-0545

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Now is the time to report purple loosestrife infestations

MADISON – Purple loosestrife is currently blooming across Wisconsin, with its deep purple flowers now easy to see along roadside ditches, lakeshores and riverbanks, which makes this an excellent time of year for people to report extensive infestations of this invasive purple plant and to take other steps to keep it from taking over wetlands.

“Purple loosestrife is a pretty plant, but it’s out of place in Wisconsin and can harm wetlands and the many benefits they bring us,” says Brock Woods, who coordinates purple loosestrife control efforts for the Department of Natural Resources and University of Wisconsin-Extension. “Because purple loosestrife is now in bloom, it’s also a good time for people to begin taking steps to help control it and keep Wisconsin wetlands healthy.”

“Purple loosestrife is an aggressive species that can reduce or eliminate native plants in wetlands. In turn, it reduces or eliminates native animals that depend on the native plants and affects hunting, wildlife watching and other wetland-based recreation. Other wetland benefits such as storing floodwater and filtering rain water and melting snow before it reaches lakes, rivers or groundwater, also can be compromised when a wetland is taken over by purple loosestrife. And local people must take increasing responsibility for maintaining these qualities in their local wetlands, Woods says.

Purple loosestrife has one to 50 green to purple stems that grow upright 3 to 7 feet tall. The flowers are purple to magenta, and numerous on long spikes. Individual flowers are 1/2 to 3/4 across, with five or six petals. A brochure, available at DNR and UWEX offices and online at http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/pdf/add.purple.pdf (exit DNR) provides additional detailed information, including how to distinguish it from native plants.

The plant was brought to the United States in the 1800s from Europe and Asia, and it’s flourished here because it has few enemies native to North America. Digging, cutting and chemical use are important controls, but have only just slowed the spread of purple loosestrife. Biocontrol promises long term control. The plant is illegal to sell or even distribute in Wisconsin and most other states, Woods says.

Besides reporting the infestations, one of the most important steps people can take to control purple loosestrife is to get involved in raising and releasing special biocontrol beetles that feed only on the invader. These carefully researched insects have been monitored for more than 10 years since beetles were first released in 1994, and have shown good success in controlling purple loosestrife and no reported problems of any kind, Woods says.

Citizen cooperators have raised and released most of the millions of beetles in the state, but Wisconsin still needs more cooperators and more beetles. Information on how to get involved in the beetle biocontrol program and about other steps to prevent and control purple loosestrife follow.

• Report unrecorded locations of purple loosestrife. Known locations are shown online at <http://www.glifwc-maps.org> (exit DNR). The best way to report is to download and fill out a Purple Loosestrife Watch Form (pdf 82kb) then send to Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol, 2801 Progress Rd., Madison, WI 53717.
• Destroy purple loosestrife plants wherever found. Carefully pull new, small plants to get all the roots. Cut all the stems of larger plants and treat the stumps with 20 to 40 percent concentration of a glyphosate herbicide, such as Roundup. (Use Rodeo or similar herbicide over water after getting a permit from the local DNR aquatic plant manager.) An annual help is to cut off the flowering tops of purple loosestrife plants just as they begin to flower. Burn, or bag and landfill, all plant parts. Always get landowner/manager permission before doing any plant control work.
• Plan now to raise biocontrol beetles in 2007 for large local wetland infestations. The project is easy and fun and can be tailored to your interest and wetlands in your area. Contact Brock Woods for information at brock.woods@ces.uwex.edu or call (608) 221-6349. This is a great project for kids, 5th grade on up, and educators can raise beetles with their students. “See Cella Chow, A Purple Loosestrife Control Manual for Educators,” has 15 great student activities, as well as appendices that constitute a thorough primer on rearing beetles.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Brock Woods -(608) 221-6349

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School athletic field development may result in incidental take of rare snake

EDITOR’S NOTE: Wisconsin’s endangered species law (s. 29.604, Wis. Stats.) requires the Department of Natural Resources to notify the public when it proposes to authorize the incidental taking of a state endangered or threatened species.

MADISON - The grading and construction of athletic fields adjacent to a school in the Washington County Village of Jackson may result in the "incidental taking" of a snake listed as state-threatened species, under an authorization the Department of Natural Resources is proposing for the development.

The proposed development includes construction of baseball, football, soccer and track facilities adjacent to the Living Word Lutheran High School, located in the in the northeast quarter of section 17 of T10N R20E in Washington County. The site is north of the existing high school within what is currently agricultural land. The project includes construction of a gravel roadway over a small wetland along a linear drainage way.

The proposed project area includes habitat for the Butler’s gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) along a small, linear drainage way in the northern part of the site (1.97 acres of habitat within the project area). This habitat is part of a larger Tier 3 habitat patch (Site of Significant Conservation Value for the snake) with confirmed presence of the Butler’s gartersnakes.

This project may result in very minimal incidental take of the Butler’s gartersnake as it proposes to have an impact on a modest amount of suitable wetland habitat through construction of an access road. To minimize take, the project will follow the Butler’s Gartersnake Conservation Strategy by mitigating habitat loss by restoring unsuitable habitat, installing snake exclusion fencing, permanently protecting the habitat through a conservation easement and implementing long term habitat management.

DNR staff determined that the proposed grading and construction of athletic fields adjacent to the Living Word Lutheran High School is likely to result in the incidental taking of some state-threatened Butler’s gartersnakes. However, the Department has concluded that the proposed project will minimize the impacts to the snake by adhering to conservation measures; is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence and recovery of the state population of these snakes or the whole plant-animal community of which they are a part; and has benefit to the public health, safety or welfare that justifies the action.

Copies of the jeopardy assessment and conservation measures are available on the DNR Incidental Take web page or upon request from Andy Galvin, DNR Bureau of Endangered Resources, PO Box 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921. Public comments will be taken through Sept. 28, 2006 and should be sent to Andy Galvin.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Andy Galvin – (608) 264-8968