Bonus Harvest Authorizations For Spring Turkey Season Available Beginning March 18

 Adopt A Tackle Loaner Site This Spring

Many of the DNR’s 54 loaner sites need help maintaining the rods and reels used at fishing clinics. 

As lakes across the state continue to open up, anglers are busy oiling their reels, repairing rod tips and guides and organizing their tackles boxes. Did you finish your pre-season preparation a little early? Consider adopting a tackle loaner site to help get the next generation into fishing!

Many of the DNR’s 54 loaner sites need help maintaining the rods and reels used at fishing clinics and available to the public for checkout. Loaner sites are located at state parks, DNR offices and partner organizations across Wisconsin.

Schools, scouts, conservation clubs, church groups and campers at state parks are among the borrowers, and many are first-time anglers. In other words, this equipment takes its fair share of wear-and-tear each season.

Site hosts would be grateful to organizations or individuals adopting a loaner site and giving the gear some much-needed periodic tune-ups.

This would make a well-defined service project for students, scouts, fishing clubs or civic groups. It could be a one-time visit, or a group could establish a regular maintenance schedule with the site. Supplies are available to perform standard maintenance, including fixing tangled reels and spooling line.

The quantity of gear at loaner sites ranges from a handful of fishing rods to dozens, depending on the site. Spincasting combos (those with closed-face reels) are most common. However, some sites also have spinning gear (open bail), fly rods and ice fishing poles. To get involved, contact a gear loan site to schedule a volunteer time.

Find a site near you on the DNR’s Fishing Equipment for Loan webpage.

Become A Volunteer Rainfall Monitor And

Help Scientists Collect Weather Data

How heavy was the rainfall last night? How much snow fell during the winter storm? Join a group of volunteers across the nation who share precipitation measurements online where it can be accessed for free by the public.

The National Weather Service, Wisconsin State Climatologist Office, UW-Madison Extension and other partners are looking for volunteer rainfall monitors for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). The network includes more than 20,000 volunteers nationwide who measure precipitation in their backyards using a standard 4-inch-diameter rain gauge.

Wisconsin currently has over 600 volunteer observers across the state, but they are not evenly distributed, leaving some gaps in the data. Volunteers are particularly needed in more rural areas throughout the state. More volunteers in more places will make it possible to more accurately determine the impact of each storm and to gauge the severity of droughts or floods.

Rain and snow monitoring activities are performed by individuals at home who submit their reports online. Volunteers receive online training on how to observe weather trends and how to submit their precipitation and weather event reports. Volunteers must purchase or provide a standard 4-inch-diameter rain gauge (available at discount through CoCoRaHS) and have internet access in order to submit reports.

For more information or to sigh up, visit the CoCORaHS network’s webpage or contact Sarah Marquardt, Senior Service Hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Milwaukee, at Sarah.Marquardt@noaa.gov or 262-965-5061, ext. 493.