Manitowoc Gun Club is gearing up for the 48th annual gun show, set for Feb. 4, 2024, at City Limits.

Now is the time to reserve tables if you would like to be a vendor. Cost is $20 per table and each table is 30 inches by 96 inches. There is a limit of three tables per person. A non-refundable check must accompany a reservation. Tables are reserved on a first come, first served basis.

Set-up will be at 6:30 a.m. the morning of the gun show. Direct questions to Tom Schulz at 920-973-4905.

Read last week’s column:Snow arrives a little too late for gun deer season, and more in the latest Manitowoc outdoors report

Scoping the Great Outdoors: Read on for more outdoors news from throughout Manitowoc County and beyond.

Woodland Dunes has a new director

Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve in Two Rivers has announced Sue Crowley has been chosen as its next executive director. Crowley will succeed Jim Knickelbine, who has been director for 19 years.

“I am honored to be chosen for the executive director’s position,” Crowley said. “I am excited about working together with staff, our board, and all of our great partners to continue to uphold our mission — providing generational education about our natural world while protecting and enhancing the water and land we are entrusted to care for.”

The hiring team was impressed with Crowley’s extensive background in both land and staff management. Prior to her role as land management coordinator for Woodland Dunes, she worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. In her DNR tenure, she held such positions as NE forest tax law team leader, staff and partner services section chief, and Mississippi River Area forestry leader responsible for state and private land forestry practices, tax law plans, budget management, and supervising staff to carry out the goals of the agency.

“I have known Sue for many years, and I am very pleased that she will be taking over the reins,” said Knickelbine. “She is a dedicated professional who understands land management, the importance of environmental education, and believes in the mission of the organization. Her knowledge and experience will help Woodland Dunes answer to conservation concerns and make great strides into the future.”

Crowley holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in soil science, also from UW-Madison. Crowley will begin her duties as executive director Jan. 1, 2024.

Wisconsin DNR marks successful elk hunt season

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is celebrating a successful elk hunting season. The state’s sixth elk hunting season opened Oct. 14 and closed Nov. 12 as a result of all four state-licensed hunters filling their harvest authorizations.

The four hunters who participated in this year’s hunt were selected at random from a pool of 21,312 Wisconsin resident applicants. One hunter successfully harvested a bull elk in the first weekend of the season. The second was harvested during the first week. The third elk was harvested at the end of October, about two weeks before the end of the first open period. And the final harvest occurred on the last day of the first hunting period.

“It’s exciting that we have the opportunity in Wisconsin to pursue elk in our home state,” said Josh Spiegel, DNR wildlife biologist. “Every hunter’s experience is unique each year, and this year’s hunters definitely lived up to that standard.”

Wisconsin’s annual elk hunt takes place in the Clam Lake Elk Range, home of Wisconsin’s longest-tenured elk population since reintroduction in 1995. The DNR also supplementally released elk in the Clam Lake region in 2017 and 2019. In 2023, the estimated population of the Clam Lake elk herd is 355 elk. Bulls have been harvested across this range each year since the hunt started in 2018.

Elk were also reintroduced in Jackson County in 2015 and 2016 to form the Black River Falls herd. The Black River Falls herd is estimated at 160 individuals in 2023, bringing the statewide total to approximately 515 elk. This year’s statewide estimate is a 10% increase from the prior year, matching the population growth target for the elk herds.

Hunters can apply for the 2024 elk hunting season in March.

Larrabee club shares updates on deer dumpster, collection drives

Paul Tuschel of Larrabee Sportsmans Club informed me the deer dumpster has now been replaced with an empty one. The dedicated hunters still butchering their deer are asked to use the dumpster for proper disposal of their deer carcasses.

Larrabee Sportsmans Club is also helping the Mishicot Lions Club collect toys, games, books, hats, caps, coats and mittens for kids in need in the Mishicot area. And for the Mishicot School District Pantry, they are collecting shampoo/conditioner, body wash, deodorant, laundry soap and toilet paper.

Items for these drives can be dropped off at the Larrabee Sportsmans Club, 16306 Harpt Lake Road, and they will be picked up Dec. 20. The club is open Fridays-Sundays. It started this drive with a $500 monetary donation.

Read more Bob Schuh:Click here for more ‘Scoping the Great Outdoors’ columns

Manitowoc Unit of Fish & Game meets Dec. 13

The Manitowoc Unit of Fish & Game’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Manitowoc Gun Club. The meeting is open to members and the public.

Guest speaker will be Alek Henseler with the Wisconsin DNR. Henseler will share information about environmental issues and activities in Wisconsin. There will also be nominations for officers and directors of the organization, plus elections for 2024. The meetings also includes lunch and refreshments.

That’s it for this week, so have fun in the great outdoors.

Outdoors columnist Bob Schuh’s “Scoping the Great Outdoors” column appears each Sunday in the Herald Times Reporter. He can be reached at 920-682-3106 or [email protected].