Charlie Elk

pseudonym of a man

2014 Wisconsin License Permit Application Deadlines

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Wisconsin 2014 Fall turkey

  • 96,700 wild turkey permits are expected to be available to hunters for the fall 2014 turkey hunting season  same number of permits that were offered in 2013.
  • Please note that this number is preliminary and may be revised following review.
  • Any fall turkey permits remaining after the initial drawing will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Aug. 23.
  • Leftover fall turkey permits will be sold by zone until sold out or the season ends. Hunters who receive fall turkey permits in Zones 1-5 will be able to fill their unused permits during the extended season in the zone where the permits were issued.

Application Deadline is August 1, 2014

Wisconsin Fall Turkey 2014 Season Dates

  • Sept. 13 to Nov. 20 for all seven of Wisconsin’s turkey management zones; and
  • an extended fall turkey season for Zones 1-5 from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31.

Canada geese

NRB  will set waterfowl season dates at its Aug. 13 meeting.

  •  Note that Horicon zone hunters no longer need to apply in advance for hunting tags. Hunters in this zone will simply need to indicate their zone preference when they purchase a license. Licenses are available for purchase at any time prior to hunting.
  • Season dates for waterfowl vary annually and will not be available until the Natural Resources Board acts in August.

Bobcat, fisher and otter

Quotas for bobcat, fisher and otter will be available on the DNR web page in late July

  • No major changes are expected from last year. An additional Southern bobcat zone (all of Wis. south of Hwy 64) has been approved for 2014.
  • Those interested in hunting and/or trapping bobcats will need to apply to a specific zone (north or south) and time period (period 1 or 2) for the upcoming season. Bobcat applicant preference points will continue as in the past.

Final permit numbers will be final in August

  •  Drawings for all three species will take place in late August or early September.

Application deadline is August 1, 2014

Season dates

  • bobcat hunting and trapping: Period 1: Oct. 18 to Dec. 25; Period 2: Dec. 26 to Jan. 31, 2015;
  • fisher (trapping only): Oct. 18 through Dec. 31; and
  • otter (trapping only): North Zone Nov. 2, 2013 through April 30, 2014; Central & South zones Nov. 2, 2013 through March 31, 2014.

Wolf

The total wolf quota has been set at 156

  •  quota available to state-licensed hunters and trappers may be adjusted depending on state response to tribal declarations.
  • WDNR will maintain a 10-to-1 license-to-quota ratio.
  • One-half of available permits will be issued randomly among all permit applicants
  • Second half will be issued through a cumulative preference point drawing.
  • Successful applicants will be notified by letter or check their drawing status through the DNR website or via  licensing agents.
  • It is the applicants responsibility to know their drawing status. Applicants who are not successful in the drawing will be awarded a preference point toward future drawings.

Season Dates

  • Starts  in all zones on Oct. 15 and is open until the zone is closed by DNR or the last day of February, whichever occurs first.
  • WDNR has the authority to close hunting zones when quotas are met or if deemed biologically necessary.

Looking Gift Turkeys in The Beak

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The gobbles carried down to the valley floor as if the toms were spectators in a coliseum cheering on their favorite hunter. With an open tag in my pocket I found the sounds of those turkeys remarkably soothing. So it was on opening day 2014 of Wisconsin’s season B wild turkey season. To use a cliché “Let the games begin.”

Frequently I am asked “How can gobbling turkeys’ sooth and relax you?” There was a time in the beginning when those gobblers fired up my nerves and I would dash from gobble to gobble, seriously, running and gunning to the point of exhaustion by the quiet time of 8:30. I would collapse at the base a tree catching my breath and a bite to eat wondering what I did wrong. Early on a lot of turkeys I killed were more happenstance mainly because I stayed in the woods while most other hunters left for breakfast. Those were heady days of heart pumping adrenaline turkey hunts. But now I take things in more methodically, or at least think I do. I force myself to relax and think.

Somewhere along the line I came to realize there is no rush or at least not usually to get to the gobbler. Instead it is better to take a reflection moment to pause and analyze; where those turkeys are, which direction are they facing, how many are there and are they in the same tree or neighboring trees? Are there any soft clucks, ruffling feathers and wings of other turkeys between me and the noisy gobblers? All this helps determine the most approachable turkeys.

Decision made, I head to the west turkeys moving quietly keeping as many treetops as possible between us as possible. There are no leaves yet and roosted turkeys can see long distances very easily from their roosts. 5:30 finds me comfortably setup with 2 or 3 birds gobbling a welcome to the dawn just uphill about 150 yards. Let the conversation begin – my teaser call makes soft yelps and instantly gets the turkey’s attention. I hear them turn on roost, they are now facing me. The hunter’s life is good.

Should have called more aggressively a group of hens yelp from the field above my toms turn to face them. I call loud and hard they turn back my way making the hens madly vocal. Yelps and scrambling wing beats are answered by my frenzied calling then all is quiet. I could not tell where they flew the sounds echoed back and forth across the valley. Soon it was apparent they’re on

Fading away gobbler.

Fading away gobbler.

the ground at the top of hill. I put my Tongue Teaser into aggressive mode, chain gobbling erupted and started closing the distance. They were coming down hill fast hitting the logging trail drumming loudly. Red and blue heads passed by in range behind my bead. It was only about 6 on opening day with one tag in my pocket and good weather in the forecast the gun stayed silent as the gobblers faded away. I don’t usually look gift turkeys in the beak but after a long winter of anticipation it was just so early in my season. It felt good to hunt.

Years of wild turkey hunting will train your ears to hear all the subtle sounds of spring. Wild turkey hunters develop a deep appreciation for the season’s sing songs. However, when a deep throated gobble rumbles out and off a valley laser like focus hones in the source.

I crossed the valley ascending the other side as quietly as possible to within 70 yards of the hard gobbling turkey. He answered and moved towards my calls only to hang up. Then all went quiet.

My setup was not as good as I had thought, downright uncomfortable with some serious visibility issues. I noticed if I side-hilled about 50 yards visibility would be much better. Scoped out a course that would keep brush from scraping on my vest and “turkey walked” my way to a much better setup. Unless turkeys start making noise I’ve learned to always wait for the settle to take place after a move.

After a bit of trail breakfast I heard a distant gobble on land I can hunt, he gobbled a few more times as I considered whether or not to pursue. I cast out a long loud audio line to see if I could hook him…

The deep gobble erupted with authority close by from somewhere on my left – time to get ready for the shooting part. As is a common behavior the turkey appeared before I could get ready. A sight to behold as he strutted closer swinging his beard sunlight dancing on bronze feathers. No trees big enough to block his vision so no gun moves for me. Long delicious minutes passed as he strutted, drummed and shook to refresh his feathers for the next display.

While fanned out he turned away from me, the gun shouldered into position. Perhaps he heard something or maybe that 6th sense that speaks of things amiss. As his head rose out of strut a single shot ended my first of 2014 Wisconsin wild turkey season within 3 hours from its start.

first 2014 spring gobblerAs he lay still on the carpet of last fall’s leaves I sat by him slowly stroking those bronze iridescent feathers that even in death catch and bend the light. Appreciation and reflection is good for the soul. That being said–Never look a gift turkey in the beak and if you do – DO NOT do it twice in the same day.

Scott Walter Responds to charlie’s Inquiry about turkey permit reduction

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After yesterday’s unexpected announcement of a 25% reduction in 2014 spring turkey permits charlie emailed Scott Walter:

Scott,

I’m stunned you reduced the turkey permits!?!

Do you realize how convoluted your press release sounds?

What happened to science based wildlife decisions?  This is a very bad precedent for the future of science based wildlife management.

Very disappointing, just plain bad management.  This is the kind of position that keeps me a nonmember of the NWTF.

Regards,

Scott responds:

Hi charlie-

Message received!  And on the level of biology and science, I whole-heartedly agree.  Our stance remains that weather is the driving force behind turkey population dynamics, and we’ll continue to use outreach and educational tools to relate this to hunters, focusing on the concept- propped up by research- that neither spring nor current fall hen harvests importantly influence turkey numbers.  The take-home message is that harvest (permit) does not have to be modified in response to annual swings in turkey numbers.  However, our release Tuesday (in which we outlined some of these arguments) stirred up quite a flurry of both internal and external communication that made it clear that there’s a vocal group of hunters who feel, essentially, that to be responsible we “need to do something,” and that “something” is reduce permit levels.  So we saw social factors creep into our decision-making process.  As we talked, we realized that it’s as important to insure our hunters continue to feel that their concerns are valid, being heard, and that we are willing to not only listen but react to those concerns.  This keeps lines of communication open, and allows us to continue to effectively pass on information regarding harvest management and receive meaningful input.  This winter has certainly had an impact on turkey populations in the north, and hunter concerns are therefore valid.  Though the permit reductions we put into place are not likely to significantly move the needle for turkeys, they may help to smooth our path forward as we continue to engage hunters in our turkey management program.  As a scientist, I’m obviously lock-step in line with your statements, but recognizing the broad impact our decisions have for tens of thousands of hunters, I also realize that we’re in this for the long haul, and we’ll better be able to achieve science-based management if those hunters feel engaged in the process.  Along these lines, I think our move will pay dividends down the road.  The reductions in zone 4 may have some impact on overall permit availability, depending upon how hunter concerns impact demand for permits, but any reduced opportunity should be fairly light.

The waters always get a little muddy at the confluence of science and sociology, but the bottom line is that  we’ll have turkeys in the woods this spring, hunters will have the opportunity to get out and pursue them, and we’ll continue to move forward with hunters as partners in program implementation.

Thanks for the input, and for your passion for our turkey resource-

Scott

Scott Walter

Upland Wildlife Ecologist & Farm Bill Coordinator

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

101 S. Webster St.  WM/6

Madison, WI  53703

charlie writes back:

Thanks for your response Scott, Even though it is very disappointing.

Where will it end?

A “vocal group of hunters” demands you do something and then a different vocal group of hunters demands the permits back (with OTC sales starting Monday it’s too late for them). This is the problem, the first group gets heard and action while the second larger group gets shut out.   For no good biological reason 3,633 unit 4 hunters won’t get a chance to hunt just because they trusted WDNR, were satisfied with the permit levels  and did not know they needed to be vocal. 

As I expressed to you at the last turkey plan meeting this whole permitting scheme discourages the average hunter from turkey hunting.  These average hunters are the ones you don’t hear from in any of the satisfaction surveys.  They work hard, sometimes long hours trying to fit family duties in between and hope they can get a day or 2 to hunt, if only they can pick up license. 3,633 is an awful lot of lost hunting opportunity.  As a result the interest in turkey hunting will continue to erode.

Attached is a typical response I’ve seen on the state’s turkey hunting forums.  Looks to me like the typical non-vocal hunter gets it more than you think.

The press release said the reduction in units 4 & 5 would only be 866 permits how did it get reduced in unit 4 by 3,633?

I’m getting quite a bit of angry blowback about this reduction.  Can I share your explanation with them? 

Regards,

charlie

Scott writes:

Feel free to share and I’m more than willing to travel to chat with
folks if that would be appropriate.

Wisconsin 2014 Spring Turkey Permits Reduced 25%

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2014 Turkey permits are being reduced by 25% according to WDNR press release:

Although Department of Natural Resources biologists recognize that spring harvests do not play a significant role in wild turkey population dynamics, it is clear that prolonged periods of cold and deep snow have impacted turkeys throughout the northern part of the state.

MADISON -“The concerns we are hearing from turkey hunters are justified,” stated Scott Walter, DNR upland wildlife ecologist. “The deep and persistent snow cover across the northern counties this winter has limited turkey movements. Those flocks without access to adequate food sources are having a difficult time, and mortality could be significant locally.

Remaining over-the-counter permits in Turkey Management Zones 6 and 7 will not be issued and over-the-counter permits in zones 4 and 5 will be reduced by 25 percent in response to hunter feedback requesting a conservative approach to the number of permits issued for this spring’s hunt, due to concerns that increased winter mortality has depressed turkey numbers.

“Wild turkeys were successfully reintroduced to Wisconsin through a broad partnership that was based on exactly the kind of interest and commitment being expressed by our hunters, and their successful management will continue to incorporate input from the engaged hunters who care about our turkey resource,” Walter said .

The decision was made to hold back on issuing the remaining 426 over-the-counter permits in zones 6 and 7, as winter impacts were likely to be most severe in these far-northern zones given the relative lack of an agricultural food base and large tracts of unbroken forest.

The 25 percent reduction in zones 4 and 5 will result in 866 fewer permits being issued. These reductions were put into place to help address concerns that turkey flocks may have suffered significant local losses in areas where they did not have access to adequate food. Permit levels will be reduced by 25 percent in each of the time periods for which over-the-counter permits are available.

Did anyone else get mental whiplash reading this press release?