Marge Gibson
Executive Director
Raptor Education Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 481
Antigo, WI 54409
phone–715.623.4015 –Fax 715.627.4436
marge@raptoreducationgroup.org
www.raptoreducationgroup.org
…Character is doing what’s right, when nobody’s looking.”
–Congressman J.C.Watts Hi all,
Just a note to let you know the PBS movie American Eagle premiers on Nov 16th on PBS Nature. Neil Rettig was the film maker. Some was filmed here at REGI. Neil went with me on a rescue of a lead poisoned bald eagle.
Enjoy!
Marge
Marge Gibson
Executive Director
Raptor Education Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 481
Antigo, WI 54409
phone–715.623.4015 –Fax 715.627.4436
marge@raptoreducationgroup.org
www.raptoreducationgroup.org
…Character is doing what’s right, when nobody’s looking.”
–Congressman J.C.Watts
This year we offer an array of Woodland School classes to advance your land stewardship practice, from the classics— chainsaw safety, prescribed fire—to new opportunities like birding the Leopold Memorial Reserve with experts. We hope you’ll let one pique your curiosity and join us in the field! We are also pleased to now offer online registration for all our classes!
Become a Member Today!
Become a key partner in helping us spread the land ethic, advance the science of land health, preserve the Leopold shack and farm, and train new leaders for the future of conservation. Join today!
Winter Visits
Our tours are done for the fall, but you can still visit. Just give us a call to schedule a time!
The Outlook eNewsletter
November 2008
Celebrating Leopold’s Legacy Across Cultures
2009 marks the centennial of Aldo Leopold beginning his career with the Forest Service in Arizona, and communities throughout the Southwest are celebrating Leopold’s life and work with events from A Sand County Almanac readings to wilderness excursions. To kick off the celebration, the New Mexico Humanities Council has just awarded a grant to fund a two-day colloquium. The conference will bring together environmental thinkers and practitioners from three cultural traditions–Hispanic, Native American, and European American–to discuss a land ethic and its cultural history and implications within each tradition. The colloquium will be held in February in Albuquerque and will be open to the public.
Leopold Center Art Discovery Day
Join us this Saturday, November 8, as we take a closer look at the art of the Leopold Center! Local artisans display their work and discuss how they have been inspired by Leopold’s Land Ethic. The event runs 9:30am to 4pm, featuring presentations, demonstrations, interactive art, a panel discussion, and plenty of time for one-on-one interaction with artisans. It is free and open to the public, so come for an hour or pack a bag lunch and join us for the whole day! Get directions to the Leopold Center.
You Decide the Next Outlook Cover!
Vote for your favorite image, and the winner will be used on the cover of the winter issue of Outlook! The next issue will focus on Leopold’s time in the Southwest. The choices for cover photo include three photographs of Southwestern scenes, submitted by members and friends of the foundation, and one watercolor, painted by Aldo Leopold during his early forest service years. Vote today! Voting will be open until Friday, November 14.
Planning for Aldo Leopold Weekend 2009
Aldo Leopold Weekend is an annual community-based event sponsored by the Aldo Leopold Foundation in towns all over the country. In Wisconsin, celebrations are held on the first weekend of March, to mark the anniversary of the writing of “Foreword” in A Sand County Almanac. Other states like Iowa, Arkansas, and New Mexico have also planned celebrations at different times throughout the year. Ohio even had an entire year of Aldo Leopold Weekend events, one every month between March 2007 and March of 2008. Planning for 2009 Aldo Leopold Weekend events is happening now! Check out last year’s listings to see if there is an event in your community you can plan to attend or help with, or check out our event planning resources and join our team of leaders that organize new events nationwide.
Intern with the Aldo Leopold Foundation
Want to work for the Foundation? We are now accepting applications for two Land Stewardship Interns for 2009. Working side-by-side with experienced ALF staff, interns will assist with or lead management activities on the 2,000 acre Leopold Memorial Reserve (LMR). In addition to the famous Shack, the reserve includes habitat from restored and remnant prairies to floodplain forests. This diverse landscape provides opportunities to learn native plant communities, identify threats to native ecosystems, and the effective tools and methods for management. Applications due by December 15.
Last chance to Pre-Order Your Phenology Calendar
Place your order for your phenology calendar for 2009 before November 15 to make sure you get a copy! Using phenological data collected by Leopold and his daughter, Nina, over a span of more than 70 years, the Wildlife Phenology Calendar will help you remember what seasonal events to watch for. The theme for this year’s calendar is migration. Calendars are $5 (plus tax & shipping) and will be mailed at the beginning of the new year. If you’re a member, you can pick one up for free if you visit our office in January. Continue Reading »
DATE: November 4, 2008
CONTACT:
Matt Zine, Conservation Biologist, Fitchburg: 608-273-5943
SUBJECT: Southern & Southwest Wisconsin PRESCRIBED BURNS AIM TO IMPROVE WILDLIFE HABITATFITCHBURG - The Department of Natural Resources will be conducting burns this fall on
state properties in southern and southwest Wisconsin.
Controlled or prescribed burning is an ecological and economical method of limiting exotic and unwanted brush invasions that crowd out native vegetation and also:
• Stimulates prairie grass growth and improves habitat for upland game and waterfowl.
• Creates pockets of open water for waterfowl amidst cattails proliferating in low areas.
• Improves cover type for upland nesting birds, such as pheasants, and spurs native vegetative growth for songbirds.
Many of the prescribed burns will take place on State Natural Areas (SNA), properties which are
generally defined as tracts of land or water that represent the last vestiges of Wisconsin’s native landscape as it existed prior to the 1830’s, before intensive European settlement. They harbor features essentially unaltered by human-caused disturbances or that have substantially recovered from disturbance over time.
So most importantly, prescribed burns help to preserve grasslands and native flora, plant species that were sustained by natural fires before settlement.
DNR biologists hope to start burning soon, depending on the weather. SNA properties scheduled for possible burns this fall are:
Columbia County - Rocky Run Oak Savanna
Crawford County - Oak Coulee Woods
Dane County - Olson Oak Woods, Cherokee Marsh, Lodi Marsh, Waubesa Wetlands, Mazomanie Oak Barrens, Sugar River Wetlands, and Empire Prairie - Westport, Zauner and Ziegler parcels
Grant County - Blue River Bluffs - Ellenbolt, Gasner Hollow, Snow Bottom, Wyalusing Hardwood and the Millville Unit of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway.
Green County - York Prairie and Muralt Prairie
Iowa County - Avoca Prairie
Lafayette County - Ipswitch Prairie, Lancaster Prairie and Weir White Oaks
Richland County - Smith Slough and Cruzin Slough
Sauk County - Ferry Bluff
Save for Iowa, where devastating weather negatively impacted the pheasant population, the remainder of the core pheasant powerhouses - the Dakotas, Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska - will provide great opportunities for you to slide roosters into your vest this fall. The good news is easy to digest: South Dakota has its highest pheasant numbers in 45 years with over 2 million roosters harvested there last year; Kansas had its highest harvest since 1987 and numbers this year are expected to be higher; Minnesota had its highest harvest since 1964 in 2007 and looks to again have a strong pheasant population.
The bad news doesn’t go down so easy. Unfortunately, because of massive habitat losses, mostly from recently expired Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts, the sun may be setting on “the modern good ol’ days” of pheasant hunting. Over 800,000 CRP acres are already gone from the Dakotas, and millions more acres are set to expire across the pheasant range in the coming years. Given today’s current agricultural climate, many expiring acres are expected to be lost to row crop conversion. Fortunately, CRP was reauthorized by the 2008 federal Farm Bill, and Pheasants Forever will continue working to establish a dynamic and economically competitive CRP going forward. The new continuous, state-specific CRP program - State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) - and the early success of that program in states like South Dakota and Minnesota, indicates landowner support for CRP remains strong. Yes, 2008 may be the end of the recent run of spectacular ph! easant numbers, but at Pheasants Forever, we’re already working to create the next run of “good ol’ days.” They’ll come around again, but only with your help. Not a Pheasants Forever member? Click here.
Last week, I wrote about the many different hunting and fishing seasons that are opening in September. The Early September Canada Goose season and the dove season both open with promising outlooks on September 1st. The hook and line lake sturgeon season opens on September 6th on the Wisconsin River from below the dam at Wisconsin Dells to and below the dam at Prairie du Sac. This includes all of Lake Wisconsin and all of the river’s waters downstream from the Dells Dam This year, due to over-harvesting below both dams, has resulted in a shorter season that closes September 30thwith a minimum size of 60 inches for these prehistoric fish. The limit is 1 lake sturgeon per season. Check last week’s column for more sturgeon fishing suggestions, dove tactics, and tips for the Early Canada Goose season. Continue Reading »
September 1st is the opening of the dove and Early September CanadaGoose hunting seasons in the Badger state. September 6th is the opener in Wisconsin for lake sturgeon.We are lucky to be in an area of Wisconsin where hunters and anglers can participate in all of these early seasons and have a chance of very good success.The first dove hunting season in the state was in 2000 after much debate and discussion. The number of dove hunters statewide is between 20,000 and 30,000 hunters who harvest between 100,000 and 150,000 birds. The number of dove hunters is slowly increasing as more hunters find that hunting doves is fun, improves your wing-shooting, gets you out in the fields and woods in September and October when the weather is nice, and provides excellent table-fare. This fall, there has been an increase in the length of the season with 10 more days being added. This fall, the season runs from September 1st to November 9th with a daily bag limit of 15 birds. Another change is that if you’re hunting on state managed lands, you must use non-toxic shot like bismuth.
The DNR guesses that the average hunter shoots 5 doves during the season which is a low figure considering that between 4 and 5 million doves migrate through Wisconsin on their way to their wintering grounds in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and Mexico. Many doves also winter in Wisconsin and the Midwest despite the record winter of 2007-2008. Before last winter, the last decade of winters had warmer than normal temperatures. People should know that only 10-15% of the dove’s mortality comes from hunting while most of the mortality comes from predators, disease, accidents, and weather extremes. The DNR firmly believes that hunting doves does not affect the number of dove in the state. Continue Reading »
So far, the month of August has been one of the nicest and best months for being in the outdoors than I can remember in many years. The temperatures have been in the low 80’s with light breezes and plenty of sunshine. The precipitation has been on the low side, but our area got enough rain earlier in the summer and spring to tide us over. I haven’t had to mow the lawn much and my garden and perennials seem to be doing well.
This past weekend was another good weekend for enjoying the beauty of the Lower Wisconsin River. The number of people out in canoes, kayaks, and boats was up and this was one of the summer’s better weekends for enjoying the water. The water level and current was down the last few days, but most of this summer has seen a good water flow which corresponds to good fishing and river activities. I’ve been wondering why the number of people visiting the Wisconsin River valley has been down in shear numbers. It may be the price of gas for out of state visitors, but for Madison and southern Wisconsin residents there isn’t a better location for spending a day or two soaking up the sun and admiring the beauty. I was out the other day and despite not a great fishing day; I had the river to myself and the eagles, beavers, ospreys, and other wildlife. There’s plenty of good weather left this summer and fall, so try to take advantage of this tremendous natural resource. Continue Reading »
Bob Nack, State Game Farm Supervisor, Poynette: 608-635-8120
SUBJECT:
Saturday, Sept. 6STATE GAME FARM TO HOST PHEASANT FIELD DAY
POYNETTE - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ State Game Farm here will be hosting a free “Pheasant Field Day” on Saturday, September 6. Registration is at 8:00 a.m.
The event will celebrate pheasant hunting in Wisconsin and is slated to include topics related to ring-neck hunting and grassland habitat management, according to Bob Nack, Game Farm supervisor.
Wildlife professionals will discuss the day-old chick and stocking program, Farm Bill programs for landowners, habitat management and the fall hunting season forecast. There will also be guided tours of the State Game Farm pheasant production facility, BB gun and archery ranges, a dog training seminar and more, added Mr. Nack.
The event is free to the public and offered in cooperation with the Mazomanie Grounds Association, Pheasants Forever, and the Friends of Mackenzie Center.
The State Game Farm is located at N3344 Stebbins Rd., Poynette. From Hwy 51 in Poynette, take County Hwy CS east for about three-quarter miles, turn right on Bohling Rd. for one mile, turn left onto Stebbins Rd. and end at the State Game Farm campus.
For more information, contact the Game Farm office at 608-635-8120.
Keep ‘Conservation’ in the Conservation Reserve ProgramDear Gary Engberg,The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently considering the very troubling option of allowing land that is enrolled in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts to be removed from those contracts and plowed under - destroying all the gains to fish and wildlife habitat paid for through U.S. taxpayer dollars. This decision would encourage contract holders to break this commitment without having to pay that money back.
The CRP is the largest and most successful of all U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs. It has done a tremendous amount of good for our environment, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities that we as sportsmen/-women enjoy. Responsible for helping restore 2 million acres of wetlands, protect 170,000 miles of streams, produce 13.5 million pheasants, and support 2.2 million ducks per year, land enrolled in CRP contracts should remain in the program for the full length of the contract so the maximum benefit for conservation can be achieved.Continue Reading »
2009 marks the centennial of Aldo Leopold beginning his career with the Forest Service in Arizona, and communities throughout the Southwest are 
Join us this Saturday, November 8, as we take a closer look at 
Vote for your 
Want to work for the Foundation? We are now 
The bad news doesn’t go down so easy. Unfortunately, because of massive habitat losses, mostly from recently expired Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts, the sun may be setting on “the modern good ol’ days” of pheasant hunting. Over 800,000 CRP acres are already gone from the Dakotas, and millions more acres are set to expire across the pheasant range in the coming years. Given today’s current agricultural climate, many expiring acres are expected to be lost to row crop conversion. Fortunately, CRP was reauthorized by the 2008 federal Farm Bill, and Pheasants Forever will continue working to establish a dynamic and economically competitive CRP going forward. The new continuous, state-specific CRP program - State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) - and the early success of that program in states like South Dakota and Minnesota, indicates landowner support for CRP remains strong. Yes, 2008 may be the end of the recent run of spectacular ph! easant numbers, but at Pheasants Forever, we’re already working to create the next run of “good ol’ days.” They’ll come around again, but only with your help. Not a Pheasants Forever member? 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently considering the very troubling option of allowing land that is enrolled in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts to be removed from those contracts and plowed under - destroying all the gains to fish and wildlife habitat paid for through U.S. taxpayer dollars. This decision would encourage contract holders to break this commitment without having to pay that money back.
