Mornin' to all the ice fishermen that still need to remove their permanent ice shanties from Wisconsin waters. 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.

Hey readers, there’s so much going on in Wisconsin outdoor news lately that frankly, we had a hard time picking for this week’s email. We’ll try out a new format this week, let us know in the poll below if you like it or hate it!

This week’s weekly

✍️ Gov Evers to sign or veto hunting, fishing and wildlife management bills

🚴 Mountain bike trails at Peninsula State Park

🏗️ Lapham Lodge to begin construction

🔥 Wildfire season has arrived after unusually warm winter

🐟 Sturgeon spearing’s dismal harvest + building other state’s sturgeon populations

_{Gov Evers to sign or veto hunting, fishing and wildlife management bills - LINK}

A lot to unpack here, hang with us.

With Wisconsin operating in a deficit for its fish and wildlife account, it’s predicted that Gov Evers will sign off on a Non-Resident license fee increase. Assuming license sales remain the same this year, this would bring in another $780,000 in revenue!

Both Senate and Assembly committees have advanced a bill that would allow airgun hunting for big game, with no opposition after language lumped airgun hunting with “seasons now open to firearms.”

Gov Evers will likely veto a proposal to set a numerical gray wolf population goal. Hunters and agricultural groups are in favor while conservation and environmental groups oppose it.

Remember that bill that would ban antlerless deer hunting in some northern regions of the state for four years, for the sake of promoting healthier deer populations? Gov Evers will likely veto it, as our state already has a system of regional game management which sets antlerless permits based on need (called the County Deer Advisory Council).

_{Mountain bike trails at Peninsula State Park - LINK} 

Starting in September, Door County’s first public, purpose-built mountain bike trail system will start being built.

The Friends of Peninsula State Park have hired Colorado-based Scott Linnenburger of Kay-Linn Enterprises to design the 15 miles of trails at Peninsula State Park. Currently, there are 12 miles of “poorly designed” trails, intended more for snowmobiling than biking, according to Friends leader Brian Fitzgerald.

Nearly $1.2 million were raised for the project, and “there are no state dollars going for this effort,” said Fitzgerald.

_{Lapham Lodge to begin construction - LINK} 

Now that grants have been secured and donations, well, donated, the Friends of Lapham Peak have announced that the lodge we've all been waiting for will be completed by the spring of 2025.

It should be pretty sweet, with changing rooms, better bathrooms, lockers, a fireplace, a kitchenette in a small meeting room, and an outdoor patio and a large gathering space for 120 people. It will also be better equipped for individuals with disabilities. Boo-yah.

Want to get in on the action? The public is invited to attend the groundbreaking ceremony on March 19 at 9 a.m. at the Evergreen Shelter parking lot, where area Dads will get a shot at using the bulldozer (we’re totally joking)

_{Wildfire season has arrived after unusually warm winter - LINK} 

Cripes! Since the start of 2024, over 160 acres has been burned by 50 wildfires in Wisconsin, according to the DNR. The 10-year average for the same period is a mere three fires burning just two acres.

Thus, the DNR is asking folks to avoid burning for a while (ah, my Dad’s favorite cooking style). Last weekend alone they responded to 15 wildfires that burned 30 acres.

98% of wildfires in the state are human-caused. With folks gettin’ out der in the yard and burning debris, the risk is especially high.

Geek out on more data here.

_{Sturgeon spearing’s dismal harvest + building other state’s sturgeon populations — LINK} 

Anyone shocked by the news? Due to poor ice conditions/weather, the harvest this year was just 432 from the Lake Winnebago System. Last year, spearers pulled 1,405 of these creatures from the water.

Alright, the good news: Wisconsin is helping other states build up their sturgeon populations, so maybe they too can freeze their cheeks off on the ice!

The Wisconsin Sturgeon Program is shipping sturgeon eggs to places like Georgia and others.

"They'll collect eggs, and they'll collect sperm, or milk, to fertilize their eggs and then they'll drive them all the way back down to Georgia and Tennessee to raise little sturgeon, and then they kind of send them to the areas and locations that have rehabilitation programs,” said Margaret Stadig, a sturgeon biologist.

That’s it for this week, folks! Let us know how you liked this format in the poll below!

Other great Wiscampsin reads…

Wisconsin and Daylight Savings

Wisconsin's Lifetime Fishing License

Wisconsin's Forgotten State Park

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37% of you hit it right on the nose - last week Wausau was 40% below their seasonal snowfall average.

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Meme of the Week 😂

A review from the trail… Hmm, we have been laying off the dairy lately…