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Patrick Durkin
Jun 20, 20204 min read
Past, Present Fishing Trips Inspire Lifelong Souvenirs
All good fishing holes from our youth have their secrets and charms, and we revisit them often, if only in our memories. Lakes Mendota...
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Patrick Durkin
Jun 11, 20204 min read
Dad’s Firefighting Network Created a Hunter, Angler
My dad was never much of a hunter or fisherman, but that didn’t stop him from raising me to hunt and fish. Dad found more fun and...
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Patrick Durkin
Jun 6, 20204 min read
Wis. Board Picks Barstool Biology Over Elk Science
The Natural Resources Board once again ignored recommendations from a citizen-focused advisory team by voting 5-2 at its May 27 meeting...
289 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
May 30, 20204 min read
Final-Day Turkey Hunt Proves Golden
Dawn’s gray light blurred the small monuments marking my Aunt Mona and Uncle Terry’s buried ashes on the hillside above their former...
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Patrick Durkin
May 23, 20204 min read
It’s Time for DNR to Reclaim Deer Program
Let’s hope Wisconsin’s seven-citizen Natural Resources Board realizes its folly after the hunting community trounced the Board’s...
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Patrick Durkin
May 15, 20204 min read
Oshkosh Artist Crafts Killer Turkey Calls
If tom turkeys had any respect for artists or knowledge of their work, they wouldn’t let hunters sit idly against giant oaks, admiring...
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Patrick Durkin
May 7, 20204 min read
Spring Hearings’ Votes are In, but Verdicts are Out
Two weeks and six days after Wisconsin’s conservation community filled out a record 64,943 online surveys during the annual fish and...
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Patrick Durkin
May 7, 20203 min read
Record Numbers Weigh in to Rout Deer Hunt Proposals
A record-smashing 64,943 conservation voters weighed in online April 13-16 during the statewide spring fish and wildlife hearings, and...
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Patrick Durkin
May 7, 20204 min read
Today’s a Good Time to Plant, Tend and Hug Trees
Those who find little or no pleasure in gardening often focus their nurturing instincts on trees, shrubs and other longer-lived plants,...
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Patrick Durkin
Apr 27, 20204 min read
Wisconsin Attracts More Golden Eagles
Everyone loves the bald eagle’s good-looks, piercing eyes and merciless temperament, but few sports teams claim the big raptor’s name....
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Patrick Durkin
Apr 19, 20205 min read
Wis. DNR’s Cole Prolongs Failed CWD Policies
Sixteen months have passed since Gov.-elect Tony Evers chose “the tree guy,” Preston Cole, to run the Wisconsin Department of Natural...
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Patrick Durkin
Apr 8, 20204 min read
‘Sand County Almanac’ Forever Links Hunting, Conservation
Two 1948 books delivered dire warnings and “unleavened gloom” about Earth’s environmental future, and initially outsold Aldo Leopold’s...
1,373 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Apr 7, 20204 min read
Online Spring Hearings Tackle Deer Hunt, Lead Shot
One year ago Wisconsin allowed citizens to participate online in its tradition-bound fish and wildlife hearings for the first time in the...
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Patrick Durkin
Apr 6, 20204 min read
‘Dreadlocks Dave’ Proves Nice Guys Win
SODA SPRINGS, Idaho — When last I saw “Dreadlocks Dave” he was heading up the mountainside behind me Sept. 14, pausing once to pick his...
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Patrick Durkin
Apr 6, 20204 min read
Contrasting Styles: 2 Hunters Share Public Land Differently
SODA SPRINGS, Idaho – After bowhunting elk in Idaho’s Caribou-Targhee National Forest for 13 years, I often felt spoiled when realizing I...
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Patrick Durkin
Mar 27, 20204 min read
Wisconsin's Deer Advisory Committees Need Your Help
I know what Wisconsin deer hunters are thinking: We don’t need March Madness, Major League baseball, or the National Basketball...
157 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Mar 20, 20204 min read
Anglers, Hunters Embrace Self-Confinement
Until COVID-19 triggered advisories to claim 6 feet of personal space whenever leaving home, I just assumed closer versions of...
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Patrick Durkin
Mar 15, 20204 min read
Today’s Bowhunting Gear, Norms Differ from 1958
After tossing pruned cherry limbs and winter’s snow-felled pine boughs onto our burn pile, I paused to inspect the bowhunting targets on...
117 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Mar 8, 20204 min read
CWD Burnout Threatens all Outdoor Recreation
Overheard in the men’s room while attending the 43rd annual Southeast Deer Study Group meeting in late February at Alabama’s Auburn...
808 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Mar 7, 20204 min read
Perch Eggs: Take Them Home for Dinner
My good friend Karl Malcolm knows how to inflict pain to make a permanent point. Seconds after I tasted fried perch eggs for the first...
10,114 views1 comment
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