By Bruce Ross, Executive Director
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s May 2020 Newsletter edition.
2021-2025 Open Water Zone
With the promise of a new Lake Michigan (Open Water) Zone, there will be greater attention to this unique hunting opportunity. WWA has asked a long-time Lake Michigan hunter to give us a couple of articles in the future focusing on: (1) How has this opportunity developed over the past 20 years? And (2) What should be considered when setting season dates, as we will for the 2021 season? And I expect we’ll ask WDNR Warden Lt. Strelow for his enforcement take on the new zone, too. And there will be new opportunities to better understand the waterfowl and hunters using that micro-flyway. Stay tuned.
But before those articles, here’s a snapshot of some upcoming research. Since there is no direct means of gathering input from the hunters that use the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan, researchers will be trying to change that; you can play a role.
In the 2020 season, the US Geological Service and UW Stevens Point are teaming up to survey hunters using launches on Wisconsin’s Big Water east coast. They could use some help:
- WWA Volunteers at these launches would help them collect more data in a shorter period of time (and a neat by-product is knowing what’s going on in the Lake/Bay).
- Since research funds are always short, they are hoping to find some “bunks of opportunity” to avoid the high cost of (particularly) Lambeau-fueled Green Bay. Want to take in a researcher for a night or two? And benefit from knowledge of what’s happening around the lake.
Let me know (bruceross@wi.rr.com) if you want to play a role and I’ll share your contact information with the researchers and you can take it from there! Neat stuff beginning to happen around this unique hunting opportunity – stay tuned.