Article - DNR spring hearing set for Monday
Musky Killer
http://www.wisinfo.com/newsherald/mnhlocal/280173126849231.shtml
Fri, Apr 11, 2003
DNR spring hearing set for Monday
By Scott Fragale
For the Marshfield News-Herald
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Local residents will have the chance to sound off about
muskellunge size limits on northern lakes and the size of the elk herd on
Monday.
DNR meetings
The Spring Fish and Wildlife Rules Hearings will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at
the following locations:
Wood County - Pittsville High School auditorium.
Portage County - Ben Franklin Junior High in Stevens Point.
Juneau County - Juneau County Court House in Mauston.
Marathon County - John Muir Middle School in Wausau.
Clark County - Greenwood High School Cafetorium.
Taylor County - Taylor County Fairgrounds, multi-purpose building.
The Department of Natural Resources' annual Spring Fish and Wildlife Rules
Hearings will be held locally at 7 p.m. Monday in the Pittsville High School
auditorium. Meetings also will be in Stevens Point, Medford, Greenwood and
Wausau and in every county in the state.
In previous years, area concerns took center stage at the annual meeting,
but Wood County DNR warden Dan Maxinoski isn't expecting that to be the case
in 2003.
"Locally, there's not a lot on the table," Maxinoski said. "There are about
80 questions in all that will be addressed, but as far as anything locally,
there's not anything specific to this area. The muskie limit is probably the
top one out there, but the only local impact that would have is with the
people who might have cottages in Vilas and Oneida counties or those that
travel up that way to fish."
Two of the most notable fishing-related questions have to do with changing
the date when the gamefish season closes, and changing minimum-length limits
for muskie on selected northern lakes.
According to Steve Hewett, who leads the DNR fisheries management section,
the muskellunge question seeks to find whether anglers will support
trophy-size limits on 17 lakes or chains of lakes in Vilas and Oneida
counties.
Muskie are Wisconsin's state fish and are widely sought after as a "trophy"
fish. Wisconsin currently has "trophy" regulations on eight of the more than
800 muskie lakes. Regulations on these lakes set a 45-inch minimum length
limit or larger, or are catch and release only.
The gamefish season debate will center around having a set closing date or a
floating one.
"There has been support from the public, as well as from the Wisconsin
Conservation Congress, to change the closing date to the first Sunday in
March so that the season closes on a Sunday every year," Hewett says. "We
want to gauge public support for closing the gamefish seasons on the first
Sunday in March rather than March 1."
As for the proposed changes to the elk hunting season, Holtan said a
shortened season would aim to increase the state's heard from 150 to at
least 200.
Earlier this year, the Natural Resources Board approved an Elk Management
Plan that proposed the opening of an elk hunting season when the elk
population reached 150 animals. At the meeting, the public will be asked if
they prefer increasing that "season-trigger level" to 200 animals. DNR
biologists propose this change to limit the disruption to Wisconsin's elk
herd during the early stages of population growth.
Another element of the hearings is the annual county Wisconsin Conservation
Congress meetings and elections. The Conservation Congress was established
by the state Legislature in 1934 as a citizen body to advise the Natural
Resources Board on fish and wildlife management issues and policy.
To vote for Congress delegates, people must be 18 years old and provide
identification along with proof of residency in the county. There is no age
or residency requirement to vote on any of the questions in the spring
hearing questionnaire and all area anglers and hunters are encouraged to
attend.
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