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 [email protected] or 262-965-5061, ext. 493.
Bonus Harvest Authorizations For Spring Turkey Season Available Beginning
March 18
Bonus harvest authorizations will be available starting Monday, March 18, at 10 a.m., with a designated sale date for each zone.
Bonus authorizations may be purchased online through the Go Wild license portal and at all license sales agents at a cost $10 for residents and $15 for non-residents. Both residents and non-residents have equal opportunities to purchase authorizations. Hunters may purchase bonus authorizations at a rate of one per day until the zone and time period are sold out or until the season closes. Bonus harvest authorization purchases will not affect preference point status for future spring drawings.
Hunters are encouraged to check the turkey zone map and spring turkey bonus harvest authorization availability to see if harvest authorizations are available for the time period and zone they intend to hunt.
Additionally, the DNR recommends turkey hunters interested in purchasing a Conservation Patron license for the 2024 – 2025 season do so before March 18 to make the bonus harvest authorization process as quick and easy as possible.
The scheduled sale dates for the 2024 spring turkey bonus harvest authorizations are:
- Zone 1: Monday, March 18
- Zone 2: Tuesday, March 19
- Zone 3: Wednesday, March 20
- Zone 4: Thursday, March 21
- Zone 5: Friday, March 22
- Zone 6: No bonus harvest authorizations available
- Zone 7: Friday, March 22
Any remaining bonus authorizations will go on sale on Saturday, March 23, at 10 a.m.
The Go Wild system will use an online queue to randomly assign numbers to customers who enter the site between 9:45 a.m. and 10 a.m. each day. There is no advantage to entering the site before 9:45 a.m. Customers who join after 10 a.m. will enter the queue in the order of arrival.
Photo Credit: iStock/Patricia Palardy |
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