Wisconsin Game Preserve Association's 2014 Spring Newsletter

Transcription

1 Wisconsin Game Preserve Association's 2014 Spring Newsletter 2014 WGPA SPRING NEWSLETTER JUNE 2014 Presidents Message - Tim Zindl Oak Ridge Pheasant Ranch It feels good know that the weather is warming up after that UGLY cold winter we went through. We have exciting things going on with the WGPA, at our March meeting Gary Goyke said that he was postponing his retirement from the WGPA until December of 2015, thank you Gary. Thanks to the board of directors vote, the WGPA website is getting a much needed facelift. We will let you know when it is up and running. Mark your calendars for the fall meeting being held at J&H Game Farm in Shiocton, WI, August 17 & 18, NAGA has hired a new Executive Director, Rob Sexton, he and the convention committee are already hard at work planning the 2015 convention in Las Vegas January 19-21, 2015 at the Tropicana Hotel. For more information on the convention plans, please visit the NA- GA website at INSIDE THIS ISSUE Facts on Wisconsin 3 Economic Impact Study 3 Update on WI elk hunt 4 Legislative update annual meeting 5 The WGPA is in the process of re-designing its website. Once completed, a notice will go out to all members. This new website will contain up to date information about the WGPA as well as legislative updates as they occur. A wise man once said never argue with a fool because anyone watching from a distance can t tell who is who.

2 Page 2 Recob Enterprises, LLC Retail and wholesale targets & supplies Jeff, Karen, or Bill Recob th Street Prairie du Sac, WI Cargill Animal Nutrition Twain Lockart feed consultant 1425 E High Street Milton, WI Cell: Twain_lockhart@cargill.com Krug s Northwoods Game Bird Producer Suzzie and Jenny Krug-Cooley W11216 Rahmel Lane Nelsonville, WI Forest Ridge Hunt Club Hunting Preserve - open to the public Larry and Deb McNamera 2930 County Road S Glenwood City, WI

3 Page 3 WISCONSIN - JUST THE FACTS Capital: Madison Governor: Scot Walker (to Jan 15) Lieut. Governor: Febecca Kleefisch (to January 15) Senators: Ron Johnson, R (to Jan 17) Tammy Baldwin, D (to Jan 19) US Representatives: 8 Sec of State: Douglas La Follette, D (to Jan 15) State Treasurer: Kurt Schuller, R (to Jan 15) Atty. General: J. B. Van Hollen, R (to Jan 15) Organized as a territory: July 4, 1836 Entered Union (rank): May 29th, 1848 (30) Present constitution adopted: 1848 Song - On Wisconsin Mineral - Galena (1971) Rock - red granite (1971) Symbol of peace - morning dove (1971) Soil - Antigo silt loam (1983) Fossil - trilobite (1985) Dog - American water spaniel (1986) Beverage - milk (1988) Dance - polka (1994) Waltz - The Wisconsin Waltz (2001) Ballad - Oh Wisconsin, Land of my Dreams (2001) 10 Largest cities (as of 2010): Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, Appleton, Waukesha, Oshkosh, Eau Claire, Janesville State symbols: Flower - wood violet (1949) Tree - sugar maple (1949) Grain - corn (1990) Bird - robin (1949) Wild life animal - white tail deer (1957) Domestic animal - dairy cow (1971) Insect - honeybee (1977) Fish - muskellunge (1955) Land Area: 54,310 square miles Geographic center: Wood Co - 9 mi SE of Marshfield Number of Counties: 72 Largest county by population: Milwaukee (947,735) Largest county by area: Marathon (1,545 sq. miles) No of state parks and forests: estimated population: 5,686,986 (information gathered from infoplease.com) ECOMIC IMPACT STUDY TO BE CONDUCTED BY THE WGPA The WGPA will be funding an economic impact study as it relates to gamebird hunting in the state of Wisconsin. The survey will quantify how much of an economic impact both gamebird producers and hunting clubs have on the State s economy. This study will be a valuable asset not only to our organization, but to the gamebird industry as a whole There will be a questionnaire sent out in the next couple of months to gather the information needed for this survey It is important these surveys get filled out and returned. Please help us out and return the questionnaire in a timely fashion.

4 Page 4 NO 2014 ELK HUNT IN WISCONSIN Madison (AP) Wisconsin wildlife officials announced last week they won t implement the state s first elk hunt this year because the herd is still too small and fragile, marking another delay in fulfilling a decade-old herd management plan. Wisconsin law prohibits elk hunting until the state s herd surpasses 200 animals. But lack of food, car kills, and losses to bears and wolves have stymied herd growth for years. DNR biologists were hopeful the herd would finally reach the 200 mark this year, but Kevin Wallenfang, the agency s big-game ecologist, said population models show the herd will be only about 175 strong this spring after calving. After calving you re only going to lose animals, Wallenfang said. We are just not at that 200-animal level yet. Elk vanished from Wisconsin in the 1800s due to unregulated hunting and shrinking habitat as prairies became farmland. UW-Stevens Point faculty and students developed an elk reintroduction plan and then worked with the DNR and citizens to get 25 elk from Michigan s Pigeon River State Forest herd. Those elk were released that year near Clam Lake in Ashland County. The DNR adopted a plan in 2000 that called for growing the herd to 1,400 elk and establishing a 390-elk herd in Jackson County. But the Clam Lake herd has struggled. The area lacks young aspen habitat because of a lack of timber harvest on the Chequamegon National Forest. Young aspen is a favorite food source for elk, and wolves, bears, and collisions with cars have combined to keep their numbers down. The discovery of chronic wasting disease in the state s deer herd in 2002 put the brakes on the Jackson County herd. Regulations designed to slow the disease s spread prohibited bringing a deer or elk into the state unless the animals originated from a counted herd verified as disease-free for five years. Those rules have effectively halted wild elk importation since wild herds can t be quantified or confirmed disease-free. Wildlife officials have ramped up their efforts to bolster the herd during the past year or so, though, saying they understand elk better now and believe they can import healthy elk from elsewhere. The Natural Resources Board adopted a revised elk management plan in December that calls for importing up to 275 wild elk, possibly from Kentucky, over a 3- to 5- year period. The effort could cost up to $560,000, depending on the number of animals that are eventually brought to Wisconsin, but the plan notes a number of groups have pledged to cover the expense, including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Jackson County Wildlife Fund, and the Ho-Chunk tribe. At least 200 elk would join the Clam Lake herd, and at least 75 would go to Jackson County. DNR officials would make an effort to better disperse both herds across their ranges, which would, in theory, cut down on car collisions and predator kills. Provisions in Gov. Scott Walker s executive budget would exempt the elk from the CWD rules. The budget still would require DNR officials to determine the animals are healthy to the best of their ability. Wallenfang said the earliest new elk might arrive in the state would be Larry Bonde is vice chairman of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a group of sportsmen elected in each county to advise the DNR on policy. Bonde said hunters probably will react to postponing the hunt with a shrug. They understand Wisconsin s elk have been struggling for years and if a hunt is ever established the DNR likely will issue only a handful of licenses, he said. After the population reaches 200 animals, DNR regulations allow hunters to kill 5 percent of the herd, however large it is. Half of that quota would be reserved for Chippewa tribal hunters, according to treaty stipulations that grant the tribes the right to 50 percent of the quota for any animal hunted in northern Wisconsin. People are disappointed but what are you going to do? Bonde said. The expectations for a hunt are pretty low right now. I don t think it s anything where the sportsmen are sitting there clamoring, I want it, I want it, I want it. Wisconsin s Chippewa bands authorized tribal members to kill one elk the last two years, each time in September, citing treaties that grant them the right to hunt and fish in northern Wisconsin. The decision angered DNR officials who maintained the move was a setback for state-tribal relations. Tribal members killed one young bull in 2012 and wounded a bull last fall. It was not recovered. -story taken from WI Outdoors website - April 17th 2014

5 Page 5 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Assembly Bill 359 authorizes the DNR to lease state forest land to the Boulder Junction Shooting Range for terms not exceeding 30 years. It was 15 years prior to this. The monetary terms of this lease have not been disclosed. Wisconsin Act 202 (also called the trap shooter bill) relates to liability and immunity of sport shooting ranges. It states that a person owning or operating a sports shooting range is not subject to an action for nuisance or to state or local zoning conditions related to noise as long as the law governing it s use was in effect on the day it was established. No court may restrain the operations or use of a sport shooting range on the basis of noise or on the basis of non compliance with a state law or local ordinance MEETING SCHEDULED This year s annual fall meeting will be held in Navareno, Wisconsin and will be hosted by J&H Game Farm. On Sunday, August 17th, there will be an opportunity to shoot a sporting clays course. Dinner will follow the shoot. The meeting will be held on Monday, August 18th. The business meeting will be followed by lunch. More details will follow in the upcoming months. Reserve the dates and plan on attending today. Wisconsin Act 245 has to do with the sale of eggs. It defines terminology and lays out who needs to (or doesn t need to) obtain a license to sell eggs. Assembly Bill 927 (the quail bill) will repeal and re-create the regulation of captive new world quail by the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection and granting rule making authority. Under the current law, this authority lies with the DNR. The bill was introduced on April 3rd.

6 Tim Zindl - President Oak Ridge Pheasant Ranch (920) oakridge@netwurx.net Scott Goetzka - Vice President Woods and Meadows Hunting Preserve (608) skgoetz@mwt.net Diane Redmann Secretary/Treasurer J&H Game Farm (715) jhclub@tds.net Officers and Directors Chris Theisen Information Director MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. (608) chris@pheasant.com Jeff Rice - Director Rice Family Farms (262) ricefmly81@yahoo.com Carrie Wierzba - Director Lake Elaine Game Farm (715) rwierzba@wi-net.com Jerry Roethel - Director Badgerland Pheasants bdgroethel@mwt.net Jim Rubietta - Director Whispering Wings Game Farm (920) jrubietta@yahoo.com Mike Hack - Director Cranberry Creek Game Birds (715) mwhack@wctc.net Gary Goyke - Lobbyist (608) gary.goyke@gmail.com The Wisconsin Game Preserve Association is committed to protecting the rights of hunting preserves along with the producers who supply them. In addition, the WGPA has a strong commitment to educating young hunters as to the value of Wisconsin s rich hunting heritage. Wisconsin Game Preserve Association W5810 J&H Road Shiocton, WI If there are any questions, please feel free to contact any of the officers listed. They will be happy to answer your questions.

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