Check Fire Conditions Before You Burn
Check conditions before you burn – debris burning continues to be the No. 1 cause of wildfires in Wisconsin.
Spring wildfire season is upon us and it’s important to check fire danger before conducting outdoor burning activities.
Nearly 170 wildfires have burned over 450 acres already this year; four times more than a typical year at this time.
Dry weather and gusty winds lead to the potential for increased wildfire activity and burn permit suspensions may be in effect in your area. Fire officials anticipate the fire danger will be on an upward swing over the coming weeks until there is significant precipitation. Areas are especially vulnerable after the snow-cover melts and prior to vegetation greening up.
The main cause of wildfires this time of year is burning brush and leaf piles, and debris burning continues to be the No. 1 cause of wildfires in Wisconsin.
Sparks from recreational equipment, campfires and hot ashes from fireplaces are also contributing fire causes. Smoldering embers can remain hot for days, even weeks. If using a wood stove or fireplace, empty the ashes into a metal container with a tight-fitting lid or dump them onto bare soil. Then, drown the ashes with water and stir until the embers are completely cold.
The same goes for burn barrels and burned leaf and brush piles. Before leaving the area, drown the ashes, stir and keep adding water until all heat and smoke is gone.
Check current fire danger, wildfire reports and burning restrictions on the DNR’s website.
Bonus Harvest Authorizations For Spring Turkey Season Available Beginning March 17
Bonus harvest authorizations for the 2025 spring turkey season will be available on Monday, March 17, 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 for $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. Sales will begin at 10 a.m. and run through midnight each day. Anyone still seeking harvest authorizations may purchase bonus authorizations at this time
New this year, if you don’t have a Go Wild username and password, you will be required to create them. This is to add another layer of protection to your Go Wild account.
We highly recommend that you create your username and password before Monday, March 17, as you will not be able to make your bonus harvest authorizations purchase before you have created them, which may slow down your purchase experience.
This means that if you are in the queue to purchase a bonus harvest authorization but have not yet created your username and password, you will not be able to do so until it is your turn to enter the site.
- Username: Must be between 5-20 characters – the system will display if that username is available to the user
- Password: Must be between 8-20 characters and contain:
- at least one numeric character,
- at least one upper-case character,
- at least one lower-case character,
- and at least one symbol (except the “@” sign).
- Password and security answers are case sensitive
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.
Both residents and nonresidents have equal opportunities to purchase authorizations. Hunters can 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.
Additionally, we recommend turkey hunters interested in purchasing a Conservation Patron license for the 2025 – 2026 season do so before March 17 to make the bonus harvest authorization process as quick and easy as possible.
The scheduled sale dates for the 2025 spring turkey bonus harvest authorizations are:
- Zone 1: Monday, March 17
- Zone 2: Tuesday, March 18
- Zone 3: Wednesday, March 19
- Zone 4: Thursday, March 20
- Zone 5: Friday, March 21
- Zone 6: No bonus harvest authorizations available
- Zone 7: No bonus harvest authorizations available
Any remaining bonus authorizations will go on sale starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 22.
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/jcrader |
Submit Comments On The Duck Hunting Season Zones And Splits
The DNR is accepting public input on the proposed 2026-2031 duck hunting season zones and splits. Highlights from the proposed season structure include duck zone options and duck season split options.
Every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives states an opportunity to review and change the zones and splits for their duck hunting season structures.
The DNR will host a series of public meetings to present information on the proposed zones and splits structure for the 2026-2031 duck hunting seasons.
- Monday, March 17 at 7 p.m. (La Crosse): La Crosse DNR Service Center, 3550 Mormon Coulee Rd.
- Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. (Rice Lake): Econo Lodge, 1710 S. Main St.
- Wednesday, March 19 at 7 p.m.: Virtual via Zoom
- Thursday, March 20 at 7 p.m. (Appleton): Fox Valley Technical College, 1825 N. Bluemound Dr. Room B124. Use entrance 12. Please park in the west lot.
The public is encouraged to attend or provide feedback using the DNR’s Online Input Tool. Comments may also be submitted through email or mail.
Feedback regarding the duck hunting season’s proposed zones and splits structure must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, 2025.
Please submit written questions or comments to:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
C/O Taylor Finger or Alissa Kakatsch – Bureau of Wildlife Management
101 S. Webster St.
P.O. Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707
[email protected] or [email protected]
To learn more about waterfowl in Wisconsin and view the 2026-2031 duck hunting season zones and split’s options, visit the DNR’s Waterfowl Hunting webpage.
Photo Credit: iStock/JonHuelskamp |
Rainfall Monitoring Network Needs Your Help
Interested in how much precipitation has fallen on any given day?
The National Weather Service, Wisconsin State Climatology Office, UW-Madison Extension and partners are looking for volunteer rainfall monitors for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. The CoCoRaHS network includes more than 20,000 volunteers nationwide who measure precipitation in their backyards using a standard 4-inch-diameter rain gauge and share their data online, where it can be accessed for free by the public. Wisconsin has over 600 volunteer observers across the state, but they are not evenly distributed. Volunteers are needed, especially in more rural areas of the state.
A greater density of precipitation reports makes it possible to more accurately determine the impact of storms and to gauge the severity of droughts or floods. Volunteers receive online training; they must have or purchase a standard 4-inch-diameter rain gauge (available at a discount through the network) and have internet access to submit reports.
To sign up or for more information, visit CoCoRaHS.org or contact Sarah Marquardt, senior service hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Milwaukee, at [email protected] or 262-965-5061, ext. 493.
Photo Credit: iStock/aywan88 |
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