Driftless Trail incoming

Plus: Record turkey harvest, property line dispute, and Apostle Islands

Author

Forrest Koslowski
June 11, 2026

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Mornin’ to the people who made this list of the Top 10 State Parks in the nation (peep #3). 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:

🦃 Spring turkey harvest soars in milestone 50th year

🚧 Private property signs spark shoreline dispute in Ozaukee County

♿ New ramp will open Apostle Islands to everyone

🥾 STORY OF THE WEEK: Driftless Trail incoming

🦃 Spring turkey harvest soars in milestone 50th year LINK

  • Wisconsin hunters registered 47,725 turkeys this spring — 8.6% above the five-year average — in a season marking 50 years since wild turkeys were successfully reintroduced to the state.

  • The DNR credits mild winters and solid nesting conditions for a thriving population, with birds now strutting in all 72 counties. Every last one, you betcha.

  • Fall season opens Sept. 12, and the deadline to apply for next spring's hunt is Dec. 10 through Go Wild. Fifty years in and the gobblers still haven't learned to keep quiet in April.

🚧 Private property signs spark shoreline dispute in Ozaukee County LINK

  • "No trespassing" signs and a rope fence have gone up along Lake Michigan just past Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve, put up by neighbors frustrated with garbage and people climbing their bluffs.

  • The DNR plans to stake the ordinary high water mark within two weeks, and the sheriff's office offered a practical rule for beach walkers in the meantime: stay on the wet sand or in the water.

  • A similar case in Shorewood may be headed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court — a decision that could finally settle where private beach ends and public shoreline begins.

♿ New ramp will open Apostle Islands to everyone LINK

  • Construction starts this month on a 500-foot ramp down to Meyers Beach — the main launch point for kayaking the Apostle Islands sea caves upnort — replacing a daunting 45-step staircase.

  • Friends of the Apostle Islands raised about $350,000 toward the project, with a federal matching grant covering the rest. Nearly 60% of the lakeshore's 261,000 annual visitors pass through Meyers Beach.

  • The ramp should be finished by October, opening the door for paddlers of all abilities to experience those sea caves firsthand. Paddles up, everybody.

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🥾 STORY OF THE WEEK: Driftless Trail incoming LINK

If you love exploring the outdoors, you are going to want to lace up your boots for this one. The Driftless Area Land Conservancy is dreaming big with a master plan for a gorgeous, 50-mile network of paths called the Driftless Trail, which will stitch together some of Southwest Wisconsin’s most iconic state parks, including Blue Mound, Governor Dodge, and Tower Hill.

They are breaking bread with private landowners to make this continuous backpacking paradise a reality. The project is actively working to secure conservation easements through private lands, opening up breathtaking ridges and trout-filled valleys that have been totally inaccessible to the public for generations.

It’s not just about getting our steps in or having an epic new playground for hikers, though. This trail serves as a living shield against development. The entire corridor is thoughtfully designed to boost regional climate resilience, protect critical wildlife habitats, and safeguard Wisconsin's unique, unglaciated landscape from intrusive utility developments.

“The hope is that by 2030 it will likely be possible to hike 15 miles from the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway to the Knobs Road segment or Governor Dodge State Park,” says Filipiak. “By 2040, it may be possible to hike through the entire project area on a combination of trails and rural roads, enjoying many nooks and crannies of the Driftless that have not been accessible to the public since the mid-1800s.” 

Now get out 'der.

WISCAMPSIN WEEKLY POLL

Last Week's Trivia Check

We asked for the ultimate cure to a skunked dog. Turns out, a lot of you have dealt with a very stinky pup before! A solid 68% of you knew exactly what to mix up to save your camping trip.

The Correct Answer: A mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap.

The Takeaway: Skunk spray is made of sulfur-based compounds called "thiols." The oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide reacts with the baking soda to physically alter the chemical structure of the spray, completely destroying the odor rather than just covering it up. Just don't mix it ahead of time and put a tight lid on it, or the bottle will literally explode!

This Week's Trivia

Mid-June brings some incredible sights to Wisconsin's big waters, but one phenomenon is so gigantic it borders on science fiction. Communities along Lake Winnebago and the Mississippi River know this event all too well, as it coats houses, slicks up roads, and occasionally requires actual snowplows to clear the bridges.

Which aquatic insect creates such massive, synchronized summer hatches in Wisconsin that the swarms regularly appear on Doppler weather radar as rain storms?

Give it a gut check and click a response below:

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A review from the trail… 6 for 6, we’ll take it!

Well, how'd we do this week?

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