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Mornin’ to everyone interested in applying to be a DNR warden in 2027. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly, the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

This week’s weekly:

🐍 Two Wisconsin waterways crack snake-infested list

🐟 Lake sturgeon swims back to the Milwaukee River

🦌 Rhinelander deer biologist headed to Conservation Hall of Fame

🚲 STORY OF THE WEEK: 250-mile section of Mississippi River Trail designated for cyclists

🐍 Two Wisconsin waterways crack snake-infested list LINK

• World Atlas put Door County and the Mississippi River on its list of the country's most snake-infested waters, thanks to lush foliage and shifting water levels that snakes absolutely love.

• Door County hosts the endangered eastern ribbonsnake and the northern ring-necked snake, while the Mississippi floodplains harbor a who's-who lineup including timber rattlesnakes, gophersnakes, and the eastern massasauga.

• Before you cancel your paddle trip — Wisconsin's only two venomous snakes are both endangered, timid, and stick to remote bogs and blufflands. Odds are that "rattler" by the dock is just a foxsnake doing a real good impression.

🐟 Lake sturgeon swims back to the Milwaukee River LINK

• For the first time in over a century, an adult lake sturgeon was documented in Ozaukee County — a 50-inch male caught on camera at the Thiensville-Mequon Dam fishway, 20 miles upstream from Lake Michigan.

• The milestone caps a 20-year restoration effort by the Wisconsin DNR and Riveredge Nature Center, which has reared and released more than 19,000 young sturgeon while partners knocked down dams and built fish passages along the way.

• Now the wait is on for a female to make the same trip — sturgeon don't hit spawning age until 15 or so, and the gals take even longer. Holy cry-yiy, dat's a long time coming.

🦌 Rhinelander deer biologist headed to Conservation Hall of Fame LINK

• Keith McCaffery of Rhinelander is being inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame on April 21 after spending 57 years at the DNR — 37 on payroll and another 20 as a full-time volunteer.

• His research on summer deer habitat reshaped how managers think about winter survival, and he became the go-to instructor at deer study groups from New England to Texas.

• McCaffery joins William Lunney and Neil Payne in this year's class, with a public celebration at The Pines Event Center in Rhinelander. Talk about a retirement failure we can all root for.

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WISCAMPSIN WEEKLY POLL

Last Week's Trivia Check

We asked what specific anatomical feature gives the Walleye its glassy-eyed look and night-vision capabilities. While a lot of you guessed they had a built-in transparent eyelid, 38% of you correctly identified the biology behind the bite!

The Correct Answer: A specialized, reflective layer behind the retina called the tapetum lucidum.

The Takeaway: The tapetum lucidum is a highly reflective layer of tissue behind the retina (similar to what cats and deer have). It bounces light that passes through the eye back through the retina a second time, allowing the Walleye to see clearly in murky water and near-total darkness when their prey is practically blind. This is exactly why the best fishing happens at night or on heavily overcast days!

This Week's Trivia

As the spring rains soak the warming earth, thousands of Wisconsinites are quietly sneaking into the woods, keeping their secret spots closely guarded. It is officially foraging season. While these prized fungi can pop up in various places, experienced hunters know to scan the timber for one specific type of dying tree that acts as a literal magnet for them.

A review from the trail… Worst day fishing beats the best day at work