New! Hunt Wild app is here

Everything a hunter needs to improve their time in the outdoors is now available at their fingertips with the DNR’s new Hunt Wild Wisconsin mobile app for smartphones. Android and iPhone users can download the app for free. The app offers a variety of features including the ability to search for public hunting lands, check up-to-date regulations and find new areas to explore through a variety of maps and other information. Users also can access DNR audio podcasts to listen while driving to a favorite hunting spot or waiting in the tree stand. For details, including information on how to download the app and tutorials for using it, check dnr.wi.gov, keywords “hunt app.”

Eagle Tower project update A $750,000 donation from the Friends of Peninsula State Park will go a long way toward helping to rebuild the park’s Eagle Tower, closed since 2015 because of safety concerns. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board accepted the donation in late September. The $2.07 million project was approved by the State Building Commission in August. Other state and federal funds also will be used for the project, which will include a 60-foot-high tower with a 1,000-square-foot deck and an 850-foot accessible ramp with an additional observation area. The DNR hopes to have the project completed in late summer next year. For details, see dnr.wi.gov, keywords "Eagle Tower."

Bird Atlas II wraps up Year 4 A quartet of bird species rarely if ever confirmed as breeding in Wisconsin were sighted in the state during the latest round of the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II. But their breeding could not be confirmed in 2018 — a tantalizing near-miss for the survey in the fourth of its five seasons. Seen but not documented as breeding were: a pair of American three-toed woodpeckers in Bayfield County, several barn owls in southwestern Wisconsin, a yellow-crowned night-heron in Jefferson County and a pair of eared grebes in Columbia County. "So check barns for barn owls, and keep an eye out for these other species to see if we can claim them as Wisconsin breeding birds in our final year of data collection," said DNR conservation biologist Ryan Brady. Largely through citizen-based monitoring, the survey coordinated by the DNR and partner groups aims to document every bird species breeding in Wisconsin to help guide conservation efforts. Volunteers are always needed. For details, see dnr.wi.gov, keywords “bird atlas.”

Camis to debut
for camping reservations

A new system for making campsite reservations at Wisconsin state parks and other properties will launch Dec. 17. Camis USA Inc. replaces the current ReserveAmerica system, bringing improved features such as better searchability for campsites and added visual elements. Customers also will save money with the new reservation fee of $7.75 dropping from $9.65. All camping reservations already booked will transfer automatically to Camis and customers will receive confirmations via email. Leading up to the Camis launch, there will be a two-week transition period with camping reservations not available. For more about the Wisconsin State Parks System and camping reservations, see wiparks.net.

Pheasant hunting gets underway

Pheasant season is open and, if numbers are similar to last year, more than 40,000 hunters are expected to head out in search of the birds between now and the close of the season, which is Jan. 6. A valid small game license and 2018 Pheasant Stamp are required to hunt. For bag limits and other regulations, see dnr.wi.gov, keywords “pheasant hunting.” For help in the quest, hunters can turn to the Fields & Forest Lands Interactive Gamebird Hunting Tool (FFLIGHT). This digital mapping tool helps locate properties stocked with pheasants — more than 75,000 birds are stocked by the DNR on public hunting grounds statewide — as well as suitable habitat for a variety of gamebirds and other information. Check it out at dnr.wi.gov, keyword “FFLIGHT.”