Wisconsin Mixed Bag: Fall turkey harvest stands at 3,862 birds as of Dec. 3; 2025 application deadline Dec. 10 – Outdoor News
Madison — Wisconsin’s fall turkey hunters registered 3,862 turkeys as of Dec. 3, with Zone 2 hunters leading the way with 993 birds checked in.
The remaining zone harvests as of that date were as follows (zone and harvest total): Zone 1, 570; 3, 781; 4, 637; 5, 275; 6, 395; 7, 211. Hunters registered 4,343 turkeys during the fall 2023 season, 1.3% less than in 2022 when hunters registered 4,398 birds. In 2020, hunters registered more than 4,600 fall turkeys.
The fall season in zones 6 and 7 closed Nov. 22. The season in zones 1-5 runs through Jan. 5, 2025. Bonus authorizations ($10 for residents; $15 for nonresidents) are still available at one per person, per day, until the zone sells out or season ends. Bonus permits remain available as follows (as of Dec. 4, zone and number): Zone 1, 705; 2, 563; 3, 431; 4, 571.
Applications for the spring turkey season are due on Dec. 10.
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2025 Bear Application Deadline is Dec. 10
Madison — All black bear 2025 harvest permit and preference point applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
The drawing for 2025 black bear kill tags will occur in February. Applicants selected in the drawing are notified by mail shortly after and may buy their 2025 Class A bear license beginning in March. Drawing results are posted on the GoWild system.
Hunters must apply at least once in three consecutive years to retain their preference points, otherwise all preference points are lost. Nearly 135,000 people applied for a bear tag or preference point for the 2024 season.
The 2025 bear season structure is as follows: Sept. 3-9, dogs only; Sept. 10-30, all methods; Oct. 1-7, no dogs allowed. In zones C, E and F: Sept. 3 through Oct. 7, but no dogs allowed.
Lake Superior Lake Trout Season Opened Dec. 1
Superior, Wis. — Lake Superior’s lake trout season opened Dec. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2025, or until harvest meets the cap.
The lake’s Wisconsin waters are divided into two management units: WI-1, all waters from Superior to Bark Point (considered the western arm); and WI-2, which includes waters from Bark Point to the Michigan border (considered the Apostle Islands region).
Harvest is a bag limit of three lake trout from the western arm, and only two lake trout from the Apostle Islands region. In both units, the size limit is 15 inches, with only one fish longer than 25 inches per day.
NRB to Meet Wednesday, Dec. 11 in Madison
Madison — The Natural Resources Board (NRB) will meet in-person to consider proposed rulemaking documents at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, in public meeting room G09, State Natural Resources Building (GEF 2), 101 South Webster Street, Madison. The meeting will also be streamed on the DNR’s YouTube channel.
During the December meeting, the board will be considering actions on Minocqua Chain walleye harvest regulations, rule changes for the Deer Management Assistance Program, Lake Superior cisco and lake trout regulations, and a scope statement related to the 2025 wildlife management spring hearing rule.
The meeting agenda is posted on the DNR website.
Audubon Invites Volunteers to Celebrate 125 Years of the Christmas Bird Count
New York — For the 125th year, the National Audubon Society is organizing the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Between
Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, tens of thousands of bird-loving volunteers will participate in counts across the Western Hemisphere.
The 12 decades’ worth of data collected by participants contribute to one of only two large existing pools of information notifying ornithologists and conservation biologists of what conservation action is required to protect birds and the places they need.
The Audubon CBC is a community science project organized by the National Audubon Society in partnership with Birds Canada. There is no fee to participate. To sign up for an Audubon CBC and ensure your bird count data make it into the official Audubon database, find the circle nearest you and register with your local Audubon CBC compiler. All Audubon CBC data must be submitted through the official compiler to be added to the long-running census.
For more information and to find a count near you, visit www.christmasbirdcount.org
Lake Superior Fisheries Management Meeting set for Wednesday, Dec. 11
Superior, Wis. — The DNR will host a public Lake Superior fisheries management meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland to discuss evaluations of brown trout and splake stocking programs and future Lake Superior stocking plans.
The meeting will include a presentation on Lake Superior stocking strategies, followed by an forum for questions or comments related to the stocking plans or any other Lake Superior fisheries topic. DNR fisheries staffers will also introduce a new proposed walleye regulation that will be a question during the Conservation Congress spring hearings.
‘First Harvest’ Certificates Now Available
Madison — Hunters and trappers who harvested their first deer, bear, turkey, bobcat, fisher, or otter this year may commemorate the event with a free “first harvest certificate.” Just check out the online form, fill in all the information, and upload a photo. The DNR will send a printable certificate to the email address.
