Manitowoc County Fish & Game Protective Association held its annual meeting at City Limits Bar and Banquet Hall Jan. 25. Here are some highlights from the meeting.

Guest speaker was Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Chief Warden Casey Krueger from Madison, who gave an overview of his duties and what they need to retain wardens.

Other speakers included Manitowoc County Warden Joshua Wiedenhoeft, wildlife biologist Steve Easterly, Wisconsin deer specialist Jeff Pritzl and Manitowoc County Parks Director Pete Tarnowski. Each gave an update on their departments.

Dean Halverson gave a report on the FORWARD Endowment and will go into more detail in the February meeting.

Friends of the Branch River Watershed President Al Klingeisen gave a check to Bob Schuh for $300 to go toward the birdhouse project.

The Life Member Committee of Larry Bonde, Brian Schulz and Dick Krummel produced two Life Memberships that went to Al Peters of the Mishicot Sportsmen’s Club and Larry Vande Loo of Cleveland Fish & Game for a lifetime commitment to conservation.

Collins Marsh and Nature Center has a new Fish & Game representative, as Jackie Downey introduced herself to the directors and told of her love of the marsh and about the open house scheduled for July 14 (it will be open to the public).

Larrabee Sportsmans Club gave a check to Fish & Game for $500 to help cover the costs of the deer dumpsters.

The spring hearings will be April 8 with more information to come.

We gave the Whitelaw Sportsman’s Club and Manitowoc County BASS Club $250 each to help with their upcoming kids’ fishing derbies.

We then held election of officers. President will be Dan Dufek, vice president will be Dan Becker, secretary will be Roger Vander Logt and treasurer will be Randy Peters.

Read last week’s column:Gun show, Tropical Blast fundraiser and more in the latest Manitowoc outdoors report

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

Maribel club’s Cottontail Classic and Super Hunt will be Feb. 10

Maribel Sportsman’s Club will hold its 35th annual Cottontail Classic and Super Hunt Feb. 10. Register to hunt at the clubhouse between 5 and 9 p.m. Feb. 9 or through club members.

Super Hunt participants must be in line no later than 1 p.m. and Cottontail Classic hunters must be in line no later than 2:30 p.m. All winners are luck of the draw.

Thousands of dollars’ worth of guns will be given away, along with lots of door prizes. They will have Sweetheart Raffles, walk-around raffles, spin of the wheel and the ever-popular beagle puppy raffle. Rules are available when registering.

Maribel Sportsmen’s Club is next to Interstate 43, exit 164, State 147, Maribel.

Woodland Dunes presents ‘Winter Trees’ Feb. 8

Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve in Two Rivers will present “Raising a Wild Child: Winter Trees” Feb. 8.

The first session is 9-10:15 a.m. and second is 10:45 a.m.-noon.

Cost is $2 per child for members or $3 per child for non-members.

Experience the wonders of nature with your 2- to 5-year-old through nature hikes, play and guided activities. Help your child notice the natural world and ignite their curiosity!

Children must be accompanied by an adult. People should dress for the weather. The majority of the program takes place outdoors.

Registration is required by the Monday prior and space is limited. Email Jess at [email protected] or call 920-793-4007 to register.

Whitelaw club shares Rabbit Classic winners, preps for spring trap

Whitelaw Sportsman’s Club held its Rabbit Classic in December.

First place went to Ken Olson and Tony Krueger at 23.16 pounds.

Second place went to Tom Schuh and John Zipperer at 22.13 pounds, and they were also the first team back in.

Both of these teams had their six-rabbit limit.

Whitelaw Sportsman’s Club is also looking for eight to 10 five-person teams for its spring trap league. Interested teams should call Ryan at 920-901-6961. This league will start in May and run through June.

More Bob Schuh:Click here for more Scoping the Great Outdoors columns

Shoto club’s fishless tournament coming up Feb. 10-11

Shoto Conservation Club will hold a fishless tournament Feb. 10 and 11 at its clubhouse, just east of Shoto on County V.

Stop in and purchase a fish card and place it on the board. If your card has the top fish and/or the smallest fish on Sunday, you will win.

Register for the club’s Saturday cribbage tournament by calling Craig Rysticken at 920-242-9598 or for the Sunday sheepshead tournament by calling Donna Petska at 920-323-7115.

Also, a silent auction will be held and food and refreshments will be available.

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