Letters To The Editor

WIND POINT IN WINTER

My son Matthew and I were at Wind Point Beach, Lake Michigan north of Racine, in February. He has special needs, autism, and loves the outdoors. We had a great day! I’m sharing this photo with you since I normally think of shells on the beach as a tropical thing. This beach under our feet was nothing but shells. Thanks for your great magazine!

–Steve Sandberg Racine

Thanks for sharing, Steve, Wisconsin does have amazing beaches! Read more about some of the state’s best beaches, including Wind Point, on Page 30 in this issue. The story focuses on summer use, but your letter is a good reminder that Wisconsin’s beach areas can be enjoyed all year long.

Nikki Hansen

MAKING MILLER’S TASTY TROUT

“Next Level Local with Chef Tory Miller” (Winter 2021) was an inspiring story of restaurant and sustainable agriculture collaborations and a homage to Wisconsin trout. I made Chef Miller’s rainbow trout chowder recipe from the article, and it was outstanding!

–Sue Jones Madison

ON BARNS AND BAT HOUSES

Bat house install complete, just in time for spring! Hope they find the houses while we work to get holes in the barn patched up.

Thanks @wi_dnr for the design specs! And @pearl_forge for stepping up to the plate yet again, with a creative solution for getting the houses hoisted into the air safely via a makeshift pulley system.

Posted by @bfadeck13 on Instagram

Fish-rearing ponds operated by Mashkiiziibii near Odanah are part of tribal infrastructure used to stock Wisconsin's inland lakes with game fish eveyr year.

Jason Maloney

TRIBAL FISH STOCKING

We enjoyed your article “Tribal Harvest Tradition” in the Spring issue. One important facet of tribal activity on the Ceded Territory in Wisconsin is that the Native American sovereign nations are instrumental in conserving and preserving natural resources we all enjoy.

For instance, tribal fish hatcheries hatch, rear and release large numbers of game fish in northern Wisconsin inland lakes every year. Much of the public is well aware of Native American fishing, but few are aware of the extensive annual fish stocking that Native American fisheries undertake for the benefit of all anglers.

We live on the shore of Lake Superior between Miskwaabikaang, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Mashkiiziibii, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Most of the conservation initiatives undertaken in our area are led by our Native American neighbors, their governments and their organizations; the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission; and the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council.

–Jason Maloney and Cindy Dillenschneider Washburn

FEELING RESTORED

Hi, WNR team, I wanted to send my thanks for another excellent issue, Spring 2022, and possibly the best one yet. I've been a subscriber for a very long time; might be the mid-2000s when I first subscribed. In this issue, I learned something new on just about every page. You kept me reading from cover to cover.

Your magazine helps keep me traveling around Wisconsin and nearby states to help restore my inner balance and exercise my senses of awe and wonder in the natural world. Thank you so much for your great work, each and every one of you. Keep it up!

–Anna Nirva La Crosse

SIGNS OF WILDLIFE

This image was taken by my primary physician, Dr. Efrain Sueldo of Eau Claire. It depicts a short-eared owl on one of our state wildlife areas. Perhaps it will find a home in the magazine. Dr. Sueldo has given me permission to share this with my DNR colleagues.

–Christian W. Cold retired DNR wildlife technician and educator Ladysmith

NO-FLY ZONE

In your story on bait for trout fishing (Spring 2022), you neglected all the people who use spinners and nightcrawlers. I do not have flyfishing equipment. All of my fishing for trout has been with nightcrawlers. I have gotten very nice trout from streams in Wisconsin and out West with this bait.

–Fred Rist Alma

Thanks for the email, Fred. While the Spring story focused on fly fishing, there indeed are plenty of anglers who enjoy fishing for trout by other means. Glad to hear you’ve had such success!

Write in by sending letters to DNRmagazine@wisconsin.gov or WNR magazine, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.

Facebook Q&A

You asked, our DNR experts answered. Here is a quick roundup of interesting questions sent to us on Facebook.

Q: So many birds are nesting in the spring. Is it OK for prescribed burns to happen at that time?

A: Many of the sites we burn are intended to restore higherquality habitats. Areas scheduled for prescribed burn are typically those where nesting habitat has become degraded and are most likely not ideal sites for nesting birds. Spring burns occur at the very beginning of the nesting season, so most nests are not yet established. Even if the amount of grasses and thatch in these sites is acceptable for nesting, the location likely will not provide crucial food or brood-rearing cover unless maintained with fire.

Without prescribed fire, food sources for recently fledged birds begin to diminish. Finally, many of these species rely on fire-dependent habitats and have experienced fire before. Many will readily renest, especially if it's early in the season.

We recognize that nest loss is difficult to consider. Still, the overall benefits for wildlife in that area far outweigh any loss. In line with our endangered species management, if any endangered/threatened bird species are known to nest in the area, we will exclude those units during nesting season to account for their smaller numbers.

Q: I've seen only three bobcats in the wild, one in Wyoming and two in Wisconsin. But I have heard their screaming-type noise in the woods, and it's kind of scary. I don't know if it was a breeding call or what, but it was loud and very eerie. Why was this cat making such a noise? I could see the bobcat about 100 yards away from my tree stand, so I know it was a bobcat for sure.

A: Bobcats make various vocalizations, including purrs, hisses, growls, screams and sounds that are almost like a bark. They do this for several reasons, including territorial defense, breeding behavior to call those in the area and communication with other cats. Their calls can definitely be very eerie! The short "Rah!" type yells and some types of the screaming or almost moans are more of a mating call.

Q: Sturgeon are amazing. We were able to actually touch them at Discovery World in Milwaukee. My 5-year-old grandson is wondering if they are possibly related to sharks because they “kind of look like sharks.”

A: Although sturgeon look a little like sharks, particularly with their tell-tale heterocercal tail where the upper lobe is longer than the lower lobe, they are not related. Sturgeon are very primitive fish that have very little actual bone and are more cartilage. Fossils of sturgeon first appeared in rocks over 170 million years ago. Ancestors to Wisconsin's lake sturgeon have been around for 100 million years!