outdoor

It might be awhile before we trudge through cold and snowy weather. The Wisconsin forecast does not include the "S" word at least through the middle of next week. That's bad news for deer hunters who want tracking snow to help them keep up with their targets. The nine-day gun season...

Wisconsin's state-of-emergency for the current drought has been expanded to all 72 counties. Until now, only the southern half of the state was affected, but Governor Scott Walker extended the emergency status yesterday. He told Wisconsin Emergency Management to coordinate the state's...

State officials say the tree-killing emerald ash borer has not been found outside two large areas in southeast and southwest Wisconsin. But the infestation found in March in Vernon County has spread to adjacent to Crawford County. And the infected area now appears larger than...

Groups that bring hikers and kayakers to the Apostle Islands are now required to bring their own privies. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore near Bayfield has some of its rangers on poop-patrol this summer. But it's not animals they're after - it's humans. Park Superintendent...

An extended use permit request for a volleyball court behind a local establishment caused a reaction from a nearby property owner at the North Hudson Village Board meeting last Tuesday. Marc Zappa, a village trustee and owner of Mudd's and Sudd's, requested a temporary amendment...

People who enjoy venturing out into the wilderness, but who want to be prepared in case of a medical emergency, can sign up for a Wilderness First-Aid Basics workshop at the Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center on April 4 - 5. This 18-hour American Red Cross workshop focuses on dealing...

Anglers should be aware that the game fish season on most inland Wisconsin waters closes at the end of the day on Sunday, March 1, according to officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Officials note that the panfish seasons remain open year-round as does...

Anyone with an ice fishing shelter on any water south of Highway 64 must remove it daily and when it's not occupied after March 8. Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources say regulations have changed this year and the new law requires shelters south of Highway...

Officials now say the deaths of hundreds of fish on the St. Croix River appear to be seasonal and there's no cause for alarm. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources biologists tested oxygen Wednesday in the waters on the Wisconsin border near Stillwater. And they found the levels...

If you think you're seeing more birds in Wisconsin this winter, you're right. The National Audubon Society says 305 species of birds in North America are spending their winters further north than they did 40 years ago. The purple finch has moved the farthest. Finches that used...

There's a renewed concern about the use of lead bullets by Wisconsin hunters. The Raptor Education Group in Antigo has been asked to treat 10 trumpeter swans hit by lead shot since last October. They normally get just two such cases each year. Three of the recent swans died, and...

The baiting and feeding of deer would be illegal in all of Wisconsin under a measure passed Wednesday by the state Natural Resources Board. The panel unanimously OK'd a series of requests to the state Legislature and the feeding ban was tops among them.

There's now a $5,000 reward for information about the killings of 70 ducks on the Rock River in Fort Atkinson. The Humane Society of the U.S. and its Wildlife Land Trust put up $2,500 Tuesday for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The Jefferson County Snowmobile...

A Dunn County man was killed in a snowmobile accident Tuesday night on a trail between Wheeler and Boyceville. According to Ed Culhane of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources office in Eau Claire, the accident occurred at around 10 p.m. on a trail that follows Highway...