Edited by Paul Holtan
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
Madison WI 53707
(608) 267-7517
Fax: (608) 264-6293
E-mail address: paul.holtan@dnr.state.wi.us

Spring fish and wildlife rules hearings April 14 in each county of state

Elk season, musky size limits among issues to be voted on

MADISON – Establishing an elk hunting season framework and changing the size limits for muskellunge on northern lakes in Wisconsin are among the proposed rule changes the public will have an opportunity to address at the 2003 Department of Natural Resources Spring Fish and Wildlife Rules Hearings.

The hearings are held annually in every county of the state at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of April, which this year is April 14, to gauge public opinion on proposed changes to rules pertaining to fish and wildlife in Wisconsin.

Another component of the hearings is the annual county Wisconsin Conservation Congress meetings and elections. The Conservation Congress was established by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1934 as a citizen body to advise the Natural Resources Board (NRB) on fish and wildlife management issues and policy.

To better accommodate citizen participation, business of the greatest importance to the most participants will be addressed early in the meeting agendas, according to Al Phelan, DNR Conservation Congress liaison who coordinates the hearings. The first item of business will be the election of county delegates to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. Election of delegates will be done on ballots provided to residents of the county in which the hearing is being held. To vote for Congress delegates, people must be 18 years old and provide identification along with proof of residency in the county.

The second part of the hearing will be the DNR’s proposed fish and wildlife rule changes affecting the management of fish and wildlife in Wisconsin. There is no age or residency requirement to vote on any of the questions in the spring hearing questionnaire. New this year, all counties located in the DNR Northeast, Southeast and South Central regions will have written ballots to fill out in answer to the hearing questions. Phelan said the goal is to eventually have written ballots statewide.

Questions will be grouped into two categories: those of statewide significance and those with mainly local impact. Only those rule proposals identified as statewide in nature will be voted on in all counties. Local rule changes will be presented only in affected counties unless someone in the audience in an unaffected county requests a vote on a local rule change. This system moves the hearings along more quickly while still allowing a resident of one area to vote on an issue affecting a favorite lake or wildlife area in another part of the state.

Some of the key wildlife rule changes proposed by the Department of Natural Resources center around shaping a future elk-hunting season. Other items for discussion include a modification of southern mink and muskrat harvest zones and modifications to the Metro unit gun deer season dates and bag.

In January 2002, the Wisconsin Legislature authorized the department to develop an elk-hunting season framework. Questions the public will be asked to respond to include defining elk management zones, adopting weapon, hunting season, hunter safety and kill reporting requirements and setting population goals for management zones.

Earlier, the Natural Resources Board approved an Elk Management Plan that proposed the opening of an elk-hunting season when the elk population reached 150 animals. The public will be asked if they prefer increasing that season-trigger level to 200 animals. Department biologists are proposing this change to limit the disruption to Wisconsin’s elk herd during these initial years of population growth. Any change to the existing management plan would require action by the Natural Resources Board at a future meeting.

Two of the most notable fishery management questions relate to changing the date when the gamefish season closes, and changing minimum length limits for muskellunge on selected northern lakes, according to Steve Hewett, who leads the DNR fisheries management section.

Most fishing seasons end on a specific date each year rather than a floating date. For example, the general open season for gamefish closes on March 1. "There has been support from the public, as well as from the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, to change the closing date to the first Sunday in March so that the season closes on a Sunday every year," Hewett says. "We want to gauge public support for closing the gamefish seasons on the first Sunday in March rather than March 1."

The muskellunge question seeks to learn whether anglers will support trophy size limits on 17 lakes or chains of lakes in Vilas and Oneida counties. Musky are Wisconsin’s state fish and are widely sought after as a "trophy" fish. Wisconsin currently has "trophy" regulations on about 1 percent of its musky waters, or eight of the more than 800 musky lakes. Regulations on these lakes set a 45-inch minimum length limit or larger or are catch and release only.

The proposal would increase the percentage of muskellunge waters managed for trophy status to 6 percent, or 46 of the more than 800 musky lakes, Hewett says. "We want to provide a reasonable proportion of waters with true trophy musky potential to anglers," he says.

A committee charged with looking into the issue developed a list of muskellunge lakes in Oneida and Vilas counties that have the potential to produce trophy muskellunge fishing opportunities if DNR affords them adequate protection, Hewett says. The 17 lakes and lake chains on the proposed list are characterized by low muskellunge density, abundant forage, and good growth rates based on lake size and depth, forage species present, growth data from surveys and surveys of angler catch and harvest rates.

Other fisheries management questions relate to regulations including bass size and bag limits on the Lower Wisconsin River, sturgeon fishing, Mississippi River walleye and sauger regulations, and tagging of fish by the public.

People may testify for the record on any of the proposals. The portion of the hearing concerning DNR rule proposals will be conducted by an authorized DNR hearing examiner, usually a conservation warden.

There are also a number of statewide advisory questions that DNR staff would like the public to address. If these advisory questions receive public support, they may be brought back at next year’s hearing as proposed rule changes.

This is followed by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress county meetings, where county delegates will present resolutions created by Congress committees for votes. Results of the votes are presented to the DNR in the form of advisories indicating the support that a resolution may or may not have among the people attending the meeting. Frequently, but not always, a successful resolution may appear as a proposed rule presented in the DNR portion of the meeting a year or two later.

Wisconsin Conservation Congress advisory questions include whether to:

The public has the opportunity during this portion of the hearings to suggest fish and wildlife rules changes they would like the Conservation Congress to propose to the NRB in the future. This resolution process has also changed this year, and anyone submitting resolutions must submit two copies of their resolution on typed or printed 8 1/2 by 11 white paper. This change was approved by the Congress to allow easy reproduction and distribution to the Congress delegates.

The complete 2003 Annual Spring Fish and Wildlife Rules Hearing questionnaire and list of meeting locations are available on the DNR Web site.(Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to view and print the following portable document format (PDF) file. To download Adobe Acrobat for free, please see the DNR Download Page.)

Written comments on any of the DNR proposed rule changes will be accepted if postmarked by April 15, 2003. Written comments on fisheries rule changes should be addressed to Patrick Schmalz, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, PO Box 7921, Madison WI, 53707-7921; comments on wildlife rule changes should be addressed to Kurt Thiede, Bureau of Wildlife Management, PO Box 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921.

Written comments are not counted as votes but are presented to the Natural Resources Board along with the vote totals from those attending the meetings. Both the hearing votes and the written comments are only advisory to the NRB. The board must then vote on the proposals separately. If approved, there is then a review period during which the legislature could decide to take up and possibly act on any proposed rule changes.

The hearings will be held on Monday, April 14, 2003 at 7 p.m. at the following locations in each county listed:

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