Mornin' to all the ‘Sconnies who rode their bicycles from La Crosse to Milwaukee for this year’s Ride Across Wisconsin. 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.

[Correction from last week’s article: We said Canadian Geese were being euthanized, when really the plural form of ‘Canada Goose’ is ‘Canada Geese.’ Thanks for the heads up reader Mike!]

This week’s breakdown:

• New State Park Pass bill 🧐 

• Cleaning up Great Lakes plastic pollution 👏 

• Migrating Chimney Swifts 🐦

New Bill Makes State Parks Pass Valid For 1 Year

Wait, aren’t they already valid for 1 year?

Technically, your cool State Parks pass that you happily slap on your car’s windshield (driver side, Bob, driver side!), is valid for one calendar year.

Meaning if you don’t buy yours ‘til September, you really only have four months before it expires at the end of the year.

But, a new bill could change that…

The scoop on this State Parks Pass bill:

• Would make State Park Passes valid for the entire year

• The good: increases accessibility and benefits late buyers

• The bad: potentially (very arguable) decreases revenue for WI State Parks

Let the people get out ‘der!

The bill was introduced by Rep. Ron Tusler and Sen. Rob Cowles in the name of 1) boosting accessibility to the parks and 2) giving you the biggest bang for your buck.

So when you spend your hard-earned $28 on a parks pass in August, you get all 365 days to use it (not just ‘til the end of the year).

But some aren’t sure that’s a good thing. Critics claim that it may cut overall revenue for the state parks, as late bloomers won’t have to buy a pass for the early portion of the following calendar year.

However, it could also go the other way, increasing revenue as you capture the people who want to go camping, but won’t buy a pass late in the season (coupon cutters, Grannies squeezing the last dab of toothpaste out of the tube despite her arthritis, etc).

What do we think? Overall, the more people we get out ‘der in the Great Wisconsin Outdoors, the better and this bill will do just that.

Other state pass updates

As we discussed in a past edition of the Wiscampsin Weekly, you can also save yourself some money by checking out a State Park Pass at your local library.

That’s right, as of May 1st this year, 160 libraries across Wisconsin have 6,000+ passes on hand for card-carrying members (no cheese bribes required).

The goal is pretty simple—create opportunities to explore Wisconsin's wild places without the burden of a fee.

Why it matters

The last national state park report showed that Wisconsin ranked 48th for state funding of our state parks, while we came in at 19th place for state park visitation.

Translation: We rely on visitation to fund our state parks (day passes, annual passes, camping fees, etc).

Thankfully, in 2021, our state parks reached 22.2 million visits, a 27% increase from 2019 (which saw 17.5 million—still very impressive)! Sales of annual state park passes also increased by more than 50% from 2019-2021 (out-of-state sticker sales also grew by 78% in that period).

We’ll wait for updated data to come out on last year’s visitation, but we’re estimating the visitation trend will continue!

Now get out ‘der and visit a state park!

Other great Wiscampsin reads…

Check Out Wisconsin State Parks At Your Library

New updates (2022) to WI State Parks

The Perfect Backcountry Bratwurst

Shop Wiscampsin

Wisconsin State Bird Art Print: “Very nicely made, great colors and design. It looks amazing in my home. Keep it up Wiscampsin ❤️” - Peggy

Wiscampsin Badgers Tee: “It’s the perfect t-shirt to show off my love for camping and Wisconsin at the same time :)” - Emily

Wiscampsin Recycled License Plate Frame: “Love it! Get out der! Makes my Mazda look even better” - Alex

Wiscampsin Mug: “Awesome mug, very lightweight, the mug doesn't get piping hot if you need to microwave your coffee either.” - Matthew

Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

Results from last week’s poll: Can’t blame the 47% of readers for Car Camping (the majority category) when you have some gorgeous State Parks to choose from!

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🦆 Waterfowl Hunters Expo: Anyone who has seen the Fastest-Retriever contest at the Waterfowl Hunters Expo knows why this event is such a tail-waggin’ good time. Come to this one-day celebration of all things waterfowl hunting, like the duck and goose calling championship, decoy carving contest, and duck stamp contest. Takes place Aug. 26 at the Sunny View Expo Center in Oshkosh.

💙 Cleaning the Great Lakes: A study recently indicated that nearly 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year—and half of that goes into Lake Michigan! Well, two students of UW-Oshkosh have been taking to the lake four days a week since June to remove nearly 6,000 pounds of plastic in a boat they call "scraggly scallywag.” Der we go!

🐦 Eyeballs needed: The DNR and the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group need your help to spot migrating Chimney Sweeps on a “Swift Night Out.” These birds come from the Amazon in South America and nest in chimneys. But their population is declining, and you can help conservationists figure out why.

 Sponsored by Campnab:

🌭 Burn wieners, not eyeballs

Want to spend less time staring at the computer searching for camping reservations, and more time crisping ‘dogs over the fire?

Campnab texts you the second sold-out campgrounds become available, so you can reserve hard-to-book campsites with ease.

Our secret weapon for last-minute booking:

• Just drop in your phone number

• Pick your fav campsites or State Parks

• Get a text as soon as a canceled reservation opens up

Don’t just take our word for it–Campnab is so nifty, it’s been featured on Outside Online, Trip Savvy, RV Travel, and more.

Sign up for Campnab and get text alerts at your fav campsites this summer!

Want to sponsor the Wiscampsin Weekly?

Reply “Sponsor” and we will get back to you with the details!

Meme of the Week 😂

A review from the trail… LIKE SAUERKRAUT ON BRATS, WE’RE ON IT! 🙂