Patrick Durkin
Wisconsinites Invest Time, Labor in State's Fish, Wildlife Areas
Whether you fish, hunt, hike or birdwatch on one of Wisconsin’s 200-plus fish and wildlife areas, you’ll benefit even more if you “adopt”...
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Patrick Durkin
Feb 94 min read
Honoring Leopold on 75th Anniversary of Fabled ‘Almanac’
Several anniversaries come to mind as we approach “Leopold Week,” the annual celebration of legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold and...
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Patrick Durkin
Feb 34 min read
Light-Biting Crappies Keep Anglers Guessing and Learning
When crappies bite too lightly to see or feel with your best icefishing rod, you assume they’re spurning your bait as they rise, retreat...
440 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Jan 274 min read
Baiting Remains Hunting’s No. 1 Violation in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s deer-baiting violators should get credit for at least one thing: They work consistently hard disregarding the state’s baiting...
474 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Jan 214 min read
State Lawmakers Hear, Follow Bad Advice on Deer, CWD
When folks say politicians and the Department of Natural Resources “don’t listen to us” about deer, give them a reminder or three,...
847 views3 comments
Patrick Durkin
Jan 145 min read
Friends Rush Between Blizzards to Bury ‘the Captain’
We buried Tom Heberlein on Jan. 12, shoveling fast to fill his grave with the forest’s red dirt before winter’s first blizzard howled...
1,021 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Jan 65 min read
Famed Professor Tom Heberlein Hunted Old T till the End
Professor Tom Heberlein was forever vigilant about his deer camp’s buckpole, even though it hung empty more often than heavy each...
916 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
Dec 31, 20235 min read
Tales and Laughter of Past Hunts Create New Hunters
Whether you look under the table, beneath the bed or behind the barn, you’ll find few men who’ve introduced more people to hunting than...
392 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Dec 23, 20234 min read
Bird, Animal Names Fraught with Cutesy and Historical Perils
Let’s hope the American Society of Mammalogists is tracking efforts by the American Ornithological Society to rename all birds that honor...
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Patrick Durkin
Dec 16, 20234 min read
Wisconsin’s Deer-Bait Business Thrives While CWD Worsens
Baiting and feeding deer is illegal in 59 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, so wildlife professor Scott Craven thought it odd Dec. 7 to see...
1,006 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Dec 9, 20235 min read
Wisconsin’s New Age of Deer Hunting Brings Little Joy
You might assume Wisconsin hunters were happy they shot a deer every other second during November’s nine-day gun season. Pfft! You’re...
2,706 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Dec 1, 20235 min read
Consider these Great Books and Other Gifts for Outdoors Folks
The books piled atop my dresser fight silent battles for my attention, with some struggling for years to deliver my bedtime education and...
464 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Dec 1, 20232 min read
Update: Necropsy Finds Bow-Killed Wisconsin Cougar was Healthy
A necropsy on the cougar killed in mid-November by a bowhunter in Wisconsin’s Buffalo County found the cat was healthy, well fed and...
2,074 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Nov 26, 20234 min read
Family Deer Camp Carries 50-Year Heritage Across Wisconsin
The Welke family’s deer camp moved from the scrub oaks of northern Marinette County to the stately oaks of northcentral Crawford County...
747 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
Nov 20, 20235 min read
Bowhunter Acted ‘Reasonably’ in Killing Cougar that Stalked Him
Benjamin Karasch of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is the bowhunter who killed a mountain lion Nov. 11 in Buffalo County after it spotted him...
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Patrick Durkin
Nov 11, 20234 min read
Family Farm in CWD Zone Yields Big Buck for Wisconsin Bowhunter
How long can hunters function without their smartphone and good cellular service? Jason Munz, 42, of Eau Claire made it roughly four...
1,503 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Nov 4, 20235 min read
Legislature Sits Indifferent as CWD Infects 60% of Counties
Wisconsin welcomed the deer herds of Polk and Trempealeau counties to its CWD-tainted roster in late October, leaving only 29 of the...
483 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Oct 28, 20234 min read
Northwoods Deer Outnumber Bears, Wolves in Trailcam Survey
Folks who scorn gray wolves often claim they see more of them than white-tailed deer when poking around Wisconsin’s Northwoods the past...
1,192 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Oct 21, 20235 min read
Hunters Gather for October Grouse at ‘Checkpoint Charlie’
Tom Heberlein has long trimmed two faint trails through the back end of his Northwoods 40 to ease access to the Chequamegon National...
399 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
Oct 14, 20234 min read
Staffing Wardens’ Ranks Still Challenges Wisconsin DNR
Long after Wisconsin “realigned” the Department of Natural Resources to “streamline state government” in November 2016, the agency’s...
923 views0 comments
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