2003 Contents

December 2003

Standing out from the crowd: White birch grabs your attention in all seasons.
Good reads and good times: Eight new books celebrate outdoor experiences, lifestyles and endeavors
Shaping tomorrow's building blocks: New wood products and processes for home building are always under construction at the Forest Products Laboratory.
Forests of opportunity: For 75 years school forests have planted the seeds to restore the outdoors and instill outdoor ethics in Wisconsin students.
Blue socks, anise oil and the magic can of worms: Got an odd or funny hunting camp or fishin' tradition? Let's hear about it.
Booting up for safety: A CD course helps new snowmobilers stay on the trail to safer sledding.
Wisconsin Traveler: Museum peace.
Readers Write: Your letters to the editor.
Special Insert:
Habitat at home: Attract birds and wildlife to your backyard year-round with simple-to-construct shelters and feeders.

Life on the edge: The view is magnificent, the recreation unmatched, but waterfront homeowners find some special requirements of lakeside living hard to live with. Can we help while protecting the waterways?
Giving refuge: Some of the most precious jewels of America's wild heritage are held in trust in our national wildlife refuges. Celebrate their centennial.
The taste of autumn: Squirrel hunts are great ways to enjoy fall days and teach new hunters field skills.
Bobbing, bustling and busy: Water shrews work the surface, shore and streambed in all seasons.
The gatecrasher in the loud yellow and black suit: When fall food and drink are plentiful, these wasps are ready to party.
Wisconsin Traveler: The land between two rivers.
Readers Write: Your letters to the editor.
Special Insert:
Enjoy and Protect Wisconsin's Great Lakes: Wisconsin Coastal Management Program's investment in our coastal communities.

A long journey for the night hunter: Restoring the range where fishers roam takes teamwork.
Respect for the night patrol: Beleaguered by bad press, bats are fragile mammals and important allies that deserve our help.
A world in a leaf: Tiny spiders weave a niche in a few square inches.
A new hunt, a new challenge: Wisconsin's first mourning dove hunt opens September 1st. Here are tips to get going.
Up for the morning bugle call: The chance to hear elk sound off at sunrise is worth the trip.
A bug besetting birds, horses and humans alike: The West Nile virus will likely be here for a long time. How large a threat does it pose?
Wisconsin Traveler: Wistory.
Readers Write: Your letters to the editor.

Adrift on the sea of life: The search to explain declining yellow perch populations in Lake Michigan zeroes in on the fry's ability to survive 'the black hole' – those first months drifting around the big water.
A far fly from home: Who would have bet on a snowy's chance in summer?
Realm of the smoke birds: The black terns of Rat River dart and hunt over Wisconsin marshlands.
A year with CWD: Wildlife Director Tom Hauge recounts how far we've come and where we are headed in continuing efforts to curb, explain and contain chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin's white-tailed deer herd.
First call for cleanup: For a quarter-century, a simple spill reporting law has helped communities, businesses and governments stanch everything from trickles of pickle juice to floods of fuel oil.
A beachead for safe swimming: For the first time, water quality at all of Wisconsin's popular coastal beaches will be monitored, and the public alerted when the water is unsafe for swimming.
Wisconsin Traveler: Anchors aweigh!
Readers Write: Your letters to the editor.
Special Insert:
Reining in polluted runoff: A special section on how Wisconsin moves from the law to the land when dealing with runoff.

Stellar bloomer: A flower named for Greek gods fires across the prairie.
Birders of a feather: Birdwatchers, hunters and scientists flock together to share a common interest in conserving birdlife.
One hundred years of health: Drawing on a century's worth of experience, the State Lab of Hygiene prepares to sample the future.
A map for all seasons: The Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail will guide you on journeys of discovery.
Travel in good company: Choose and enjoy these 62 field trips from spring through fall.
Wisconsin Traveler: In-flight entertainment
Readers Write: Your letters to the editor.
Special Insert:
Lake Superior – A Place Apart: A special section on the greatest of the Great Lakes.

What color is a bluejay?: Looks deceive.
A smoldering issue: PBDEs control the spread of fire in scores of products. Will they ignite another environmental menace?
And the plot thickens...: Steer clear of pitfalls in growing food plots for wildlife.
Adolescents, beagles and cottontails: Winter rabbit hunts just might provide the ABCs to introduce youngsters to the simple pleasures of days afield with a good dog.
Taking stock of state hatcheries: The art and science of raising fish is tricky in a tight economy.
A fresh look at energy: Renewable energy and conservation are bigger parts of the energy mix in Germany. Can we do it here?
Wisconsin Traveler: To B or not to B?
Special Insert:
Slow down in town: From backyards to businesses and city hall: How people in town can curb storm water pollution.