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| September 2026 Newsletter |
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Looking Back and Looking Forward to Hunting Season
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| Brad Heidel
WWA: Executive Director |
| Wow, what a week and a half! A transition from the Waterfowl Hunters Expo to hunting season. Christmas for a duck hunter!
We just wrapped up our biggest Waterfowl Hunters Expo to date. If you didn’t attend, you missed something special. More than 10,000 people attended this year’s event and were greeted by the best in the waterfowl hunting industry. |
| With more than 160 exhibitors, the Expo featured not only the top brands, but also smaller companies and mom-and-pop outfits offering some very unique items. If you couldn’t find the waterfowl gear you were looking for here, you probably don’t need it!
What made this event happen? Good people!
We could not have accomplished what we did without our staff, volunteers, and vendors. A heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to all of you.
Together, we did great things for Wisconsin Ducks and Wisconsin Duck Hunters! |
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| Could it get any better?
It can! Waterfowl hunting season is upon us! |
| This is what we, as an entire organization, have worked so hard for and thought about since the end of last season. Now is the time to enjoy the sunrise in the marsh, time with friends and family in the blind, and, if we shoot well, some ducks and geese.
With the early teal and goose seasons opening on September 1, we are here. The season is upon us! |
| Enjoy this season like it was your last. Here’s wishing you a safe and successful season-no matter what your definition of success may be.
I hope to run into you in a marsh, somewhere in Wisconsin.
Sincerely, |
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Years in the Making: The Final Phase of Little Yellow River Wetland Restoration
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| By Anna Rzchowski, Public Lands Ecologist |
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| We’re nearing construction on the final phase of the Little Yellow River wetland restoration in Juneau County, and the years of effort are about to pay off.
In early August, I drove up to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to stake the restoration area with Mark Pfost (WWA) and Brad Strobel (USFWS), the project leads. We aimed to walk the ditches slated for restoration this winter, review locations for ditch plugs, and ensure that each plug placement would have the greatest effect. |
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| The spoil banks have been in place for roughly one hundred years. Mature trees and brush took advantage of the opportunity, gaining an early foothold in the higher-elevation areas. We spent a good part of the day fighting through scrubby black oaks, flies, and mosquitoes, at times waist-deep (sometimes chin-deep) in water and muck. The occasional wood duck and the promise of what’s to come after this winter’s work provided the motivation to complete our task. |
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| In such a vast wetland system, varying elevations, upland rises scattered throughout, soil characteristics, and a number of other factors all work together to shape what the wetlands will look like, and each area is unique. Nonetheless, the previously restored wetlands along the Neal Lateral Ditch offer a glimpse of what the future may hold. Careful planning by Brad Strobel, Mark Pfost, and the team has resulted in a matrix of sedge meadow, shallow marsh, and other wetland communities as water spreads laterally from the now-disabled ditch. |
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We Have the Power If We Use It
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| Mark Pfost, Public Lands Ecologist |
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| Have you ever been involved in any real estate transaction involving a perpetual lease in which the leaseholder attempts to give away some of their rights, even though doing so harms the leaseholder’s interest in that lease? I bet not. Imagine a power line company, a pipeline company, or a railroad telling people along their right of way, “It’s fine, encroach on us if you want to.” It just ain’t going to happen, and yet . . .
The US Fish & Wildlife Service attempted to do just that in North Dakota. FWS solicited public input last month on whether they should allow a reduction of drainage setbacks adjacent to perpetual wetland easements purchased with dollars raised through the sale of “duck stamps.” Money that comes from us! What is this all about? Drainage (tiles or ditching) has a lateral effect, and if located too close to a wetland, it can “pull” water from the wetland, thereby partially or fully draining the wetland. We all know that North Dakota is a large portion of the “Duck Factory.” We depend on it to raise ducks, but drained wetlands don’t raise many ducks.
Public comment periods typically are thirty to sixty days long. In this case, the comment period was only two weeks. Some waterfowl podcasts and conservation organizations sounded the alarm, and that alarm was amplified through social media. I, and maybe you, submitted one of the more than 219,000 written comments (some estimate this as 20% of duck hunters) thereby rejecting the FWS’s inquiry in support of a reduction in drainage setbacks. For now, protections remain in place.
Good on us! |
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| By George Ermert: WWA Board Member and Policy Committee Chair |
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Moving Forward on a Responsible Sandhill Crane Season in Wisconsin
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| The Wisconsin Waterfowl Association remains committed to advancing a responsible, science-based sandhill crane hunting season in Wisconsin, and thanks to the dedication of our members, partners, and supporters, we made significant progress during the last legislative session. |
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| For the past several years, WWA worked alongside many conservation organizations, agricultural groups, wildlife professionals, and lawmakers to advocate for the responsible management of Wisconsin’s growing sandhill crane population. And during the 2025-26 legislative session, momentum for a Wisconsin sandhill crane season reached historic levels. Following the work of the Legislative Council Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes, lawmakers introduced Assembly Bill 117 and Senate Bill 112 to establish a regulated and responsible hunting season. WWA Executive Director Brad Heidel testified in support of the legislation and worked extensively with lawmakers and coalition partners throughout the process. |
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| And because of that, WWA is not slowing down. To strengthen our advocacy efforts moving forward, WWA has invested additional resources in this issue by retaining a professional lobbyist to help advance our priorities at the State Capitol in Madison. This investment reflects our commitment to ensuring that lawmakers have access to accurate information about sandhill crane management, conservation, and the benefits of a carefully regulated hunting season. |
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| WWA is already working with legislators and coalition partners to develop a strategy for the next legislative session. Our goal remains unchanged: ensuring that Wisconsin wildlife managers have access to the full suite of science-based management tools available to other states that successfully manage sandhill crane populations. |
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Celebrating Years of Dedication
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| At the WWA Waterfowl Hunters Banquet, Rob Monette was recognized for his many years of dedicated service and commitment to the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association. Rob’s passion for waterfowl, conservation, and the WWA mission has made a lasting impact on our organization and the waterfowling community. We sincerely thank Rob for the countless hours, hard work, and dedication he has given to WWA over the years. Congratulations, Rob, on this well-deserved recognition! |
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DNR Encourages Harvesters And Hunters To Stay Safe And Protect Vulnerable Wild Rice Beds
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| MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages waterfowl hunters and wild rice harvesters to take a few simple steps toward ensuring a safe harvest ahead of this year’s hunting season opener.
Waterfowl hunters and wild rice harvesters both enjoy Wisconsin’s native wild rice beds from late August through September. As you head out, remember to give each other plenty of space, be aware of your surroundings and respect one another.
Many of the most popular wild rice waters in northern Wisconsin have a date-regulated harvest season, meaning harvesters can only gather rice on those waters when they are posted as open for harvesting. Notice of openings and closings will be posted to the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC)’s website and along lakeshores at public access points 24 hours before opening a date-regulated water for harvest. |
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Father’s Life Lessons During Boyhood Hunting Adventures Ring True Years Later
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| By DNR Warden Brennan Kearney |
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| Waterfowl season has snuck up on me faster than a group of teal buzzing over my head in the blind. In no time, we will be creeping through the crisp air, tall grass and frigid water to see a beautiful sunrise and hopefully, flocks of ducks and geese. And with that comes memories of years gone by.
I will never forget the first time my dad took me waterfowl hunting.
He took my brother and me to a small “honey hole’’ as he would call it. This hole was not a hole in the true sense of the word. This was where the creek made a sharp 90-degree turn, which created a pool area with less current and a slightly wider area than the rest of the creek. It had tall marsh grass on one side and trees with branches that hung over the water on the other… |
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Wild Eats & Waterfowl Treats at the EXPO Women’s Zone
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| Courtesy of
Brooke Wagemann
& Alison Gnesda |
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| Alison and I met at a Wisconsin Women’s Learn to Hunt event in 2024, which was my first year participating as a mentor. Since she lives near me in southeast Wisconsin, we hit it off before the hunt even started, and the rest is history.
You have to try a few of our favorite ways to prepare goose – they are out of this world |
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Wisconsin Hunting Regulations & Shooting Hours
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| Wisconsin Waterfowl Association created this Hunting Regulation and Shooting Hour page as a service to waterfowl hunters. Historically, WDNR has provided a PDF version of the hunting regulations on the WDNR website. The PDF version was easily downloaded to your phone for easy access with or without cell coverage. Because of a Federal website requirement, WDNR can’t provide the Hunting Regulations in PDF format on its website. |
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| Bruce Urben,
WWA President |
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Mike Valley:
A Third-Generation Decoy Carver from Prairie du Chien, WI
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| Prairie du Chien is a historic city in Southwest Wisconsin and the second-oldest settlement, located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. It was settled in the late 17th century and began as a center for the fur trade but was also a destination for commercial fishing and waterfowl hunting. The Mississippi River is home to 100’s of thousands of migrating waterfowl each fall and is still a waterfowling hotbed. |
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| Mike Valley is a third-generation decoy carver, waterfowl hunter, and commercial fisherman from Prairie du Chien. Mike was born in 1961 and grew up in Prairie du Chien, and his family’s long carving tradition dates back to the depression era. Mike’s grandfather began carving 3 dozen decoys for his own use during the 1920s, with his grandmother assisting in painting them. Mike’s father, Dallas, started carving decoys in the 1950s and continued actively carving over 10,000 decoys into the 1990s until his death several years ago. As you can see, Mike had direct exposure to the decoy-carving craft from childhood, shaping both his skills and his commitment to the tradition.
Mike worked as a commercial fisherman and owned the Valley Fish and Cheese store in Prairie du Chien. When he wasn’t fishing or minding the store, he was carving decoys and finding time to waterfowl hunt each fall. |
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| As expected, Mike began carving early in his childhood, carving both traditional hunting decoys and decorative ducks and geese, following his grandfather and father’s tradition. He has carved most duck species, including pintails, black ducks, mallards, teal, geese, swans, songbirds, owls, crows, and even a Bald Eagle! |
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Remember When Raffle
Grand prize:
Winchester Model 12 (NEAR MINT), (3) Vintage P. S. Olt Calls, a Drake 3-in-1 Old School Camo Jacket (WWA Embroidered), a Banded Jones Style Hat, (12) Vintage Herter’s Mallard Decoys, AND a Vintage Canvas Hunter Jacket. |
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Need Not Be Present To WIN
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Remember When Raffle
- Tickets just $20 each, only 250 sold
- Drawing 2:30 pm September 12, 2026 at the Waterfowl Heritage Day at Marquette Village Hall, 27 E 4th St, Marquette, WI 53947
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