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 VOL: 9 ISSUE: 918 - 03 MAY 2014 |
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  When you LEAVE a COMMENT & YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS, you are entered into the drawing - for a ZipVac
portable vacuum sealer starter kit, complete with a rechargeable pump, a
hand-operated pump and reusable, resealable storage bags. |
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 Dan Small Outdoors Radio -- EVENTS CALENDAR• FISHING CONTESTS: Find them ALL online: @ American Fishing Contests | |||||||||||
DNR fisheries veteran and sturgeon expert named Wisconsin fisheries director; Ron Bruch takes over May 5MADISON - Wisconsin's next fisheries director takes over May 5 and is already well-known at home and abroad for nurturing Winnebago System's lake sturgeon into the world's largest population that supports a unique winter spearing season.Ron Bruch, a Wisconsin native with family ties to Butternut in Ashland County and Milwaukee, and a 37- year veteran of the Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Management program, takes over from Mike Staggs, who retires after 17 years at the helm. "I'm really humbled and honored to follow in a long line of directors that includes the likes of Mike Staggs, Lee Kernen, Doc Schneberger and James Nevin," he says. "Mike's leadership took our fisheries program to a high level. It's my task to build on that and try to take it to the next level." Bruch says he looks forward to working with DNR staff and management, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, the tribes, fishing groups, citizens and businesses with an interest in fishing, to expand outreach efforts and recruitment and retention of anglers. "We all share a common interest - making fishing great in Wisconsin." DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp is excited about Bruch's appointment and strong connections with the fishing public, particularly as DNR focuses on developing statewide management plans for panfish, walleye, trout and bass and revising the Lake Michigan fisheries plan. "Ron has a proven track record of outstanding customer service," she says. "He is an accomplished professional in his field and is able to lead teams with differing perspectives towards a common goal. We are very fortunate that he has accepted this position and we look forward to the next great things he will accomplish." Bruch was chosen from a deep field of candidates and impressed the broad panel of partners who served on the interview panel, says DNR Water Division Administrator Ken Johnson, who led the search for Staggs' replacement. Representatives from the Conservation Congress, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission and a fisheries management staff member were among those serving on the interview panel, Johnson says. As fisheries director, Bruch will lead a staff of 226 people and a budget of $27 million. Wisconsin's fisheries management program and fishing traditions are among the nation's strongest. Nearly 40 percent of adults 16 and older report fishing, and anglers catch an estimated 88 million fish a year and keep about one-third of them. Sport fishing generates $2.3 billion in economic benefits every year, supports 22,000 jobs, and generates $148 million in state and local tax revenues. Wisconsin ranks third, behind Florida and Michigan, in luring nonresident anglers to their waters. Over his DNR career, Bruch has worked at every level in the fisheries management program from field and habitat technician, fisheries biologist, supervisor, to fisheries bureau section chief. He most recently was statewide planning director, working on projects including the Wisconsin Walleye Initiative plan to boost walleye populations statewide. Although he has worked on both inland and Great Lakes fisheries, Bruch is most well-known for his service from 1986-2012 as the Winnebago sturgeon biologist and Oshkosh fisheries supervisor, where he led the assessment and public involvement efforts for the internationally respected program managing the Winnebago System's lake sturgeon population and winter spear fishery. As a strong advocate for public involvement in resource management, Bruch has worked extensively throughout his career with anglers and other fisheries interests in the state including the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, recently joining forces with the Congress to create and launch the new Wisconsin Fisheries Advisory Council. Bruch has a Bachelor of Science from UW-Stevens Point, and master's and doctorate degrees from UW-Milwaukee, all in fisheries science. He is author or co-author of numerous peer review publications, as well as the 11-time national award winning book "People of the Sturgeon, Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish." Bruch currently serves as co-founder and president of the Wisconsin-based North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society, and as co-founder and secretary general of the Germany-based World Sturgeon Conservation Society. Bruch and his wife Kathy have two married children and four grandsons. Read more here: FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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Stick Your Neck out for Wisconsin's TurtlesMADISON - With Wisconsin's 11 turtle species soon starting their journey to higher ground to lay their eggs, state turtle conservation officials are calling on motorists to slow down by wetlands and report all turtle road crossing hot spots to aid conservation measures for the turtles."One of the greatest threats to turtles in Wisconsin is road mortality -- too many turtles are killed when they cross roadways to reach upland sites where they lay their eggs," says Andrew Badje, a conservation biologist with the Department of Natural Resources. "Luckily, it's a threat we can correct and proactively fix. "We're asking for citizens' help in identifying hazardous turtle crossing so we can team up with road maintenance agencies to make these roads safer for turtles, people, and other wildlife." Citizens can report the hazardous crossings by filling out an online reporting form or by printing and mailing in a form. Both can be accessed through the web pages of the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program (exit DNR), a citizen-based monitoring initiative managed by the Department of Natural Resources. DNR launched the initiative last year to help conserve turtles. "Turtles all over, including in Wisconsin, are fighting an uphill battle against many threats," Badje says. "In addition to traffic mortality, habitat loss, fragmentation, and alteration are big threats, as well as newly emerging infectious diseases such as ranavirus, which has decimated populations in the Northeastern United States," he says. Other dangers to turtles include water pollution, overharvesting of wild populations for food and the pet trade, and egg predation by increasing populations of raccoons, coyotes, opossums, and skunks. Collectively, such threats to turtles mean that many fewer females are living to adulthood and contributing to population growth, Badje says. Read more about the initiative in an article in the April Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, "Wisconsin turtle populations at a crossing; How the public is helping them find a safe path to protection." Last year, hundreds of citizens responded to the call for help in identifying particularly deadly road crossings for turtles. This included DNR helping dedicated citizen conservationists to incorporate turtle road crossing signs at hazardous corridors in the cities of Oregon and Pell Lake. "The success of the turtle conservation program is beyond anything that could have been imagined within its first few years," he says. "Turtle conservation in Wisconsin is gaining steam and can be credited to its passionate citizens." While the group's primary goal is to identify and address hazardous turtle crossings, the initiative, the only citizen-based turtle reporting program in the upper Midwest, is much more than a road crossing database, Badje says. The initiative also allows volunteers to submit photographs of turtles and report general observations and nesting grounds. DNR incorporates the reports into a statewide turtle database to help identify critical nesting grounds, turtle crossing hot spots, and help refine the understanding of the ranges of all species of turtles within the state. Tips for helping keep turtles safe on the open roadLate May and into August is when people primarily will see turtles out on the roads. To help reduce traffic mortality of turtles, Badje notes that turtles can normally be found near roads that bisect wetlands, lakes, and rivers from the sand-filled uplands or barrens where females lay their eggs. He encourages motorists and others to help conserve turtles by taking a few simple steps:
Website, wildlife app good sources for more informationFind more information about Wisconsin's turtles, view videos on all 11 species in Wisconsin, and watch tutorials on how to fill out and submit online reports through the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program website.Download DNR's free fish and wildlife app and explore its watchable wildlife portion for a simple identification guide to the 11 turtle species. The app also includes a simple identification guide for non-game birds and mammals, reptiles, amphibians, mussels, and dragonflies. Read more: FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
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Friday, May 2, 2014
DSORe eNews Vol.9 Issue s918
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