Turkeys weather Wisconsin winters BEFORE TURKEYS were planted in Portage County in 1989, there was real doubt that they could survive this far north. Historical evidence indicated we had been right at, or maybe above, the northern edge of the turkey range in pre-settlement times. But the landscape had changed, with farmland replacing much of the forest, thus creating more turkey habitat. So, with some financial help from the Portage County Wildlife Club, birds trapped by the Department of Natural Resources in southwestern Wisconsin were released along Spring Creek in the town of Lanark. They thrived, and in spring 1993 the first turkey season in history was held in eastern Portage County. The birds continued to expand their range and numbers, and now most of the county is open to spring and fall turkey hunting. And the species is living in parts of northern Wisconsin where even the most devoted turkey fans doubted they could make it. Does that mean the wild turkey can handle anything a Wisconsin winter can throw at it? Maybe. While the last three winters were mild, we had some extremely low temperatures before that, down in the -30 range. And in 1994 there was a deep, crusted snow here which made it hard for turkeys to scratch for food. Yet most of the birds survived. But one thing we haven't had is deep snow that comes early and stays late. Deep snow would make it hard for turkeys to move about and hunt for food, and this could lead to starvation, especially if it's coupled with extreme cold. But this has proven to be a tough bird. If we do have a winter of extreme cold and heavy snow there may be casualties, but chances are the turkeys will bounce back, just as deer do after a die-off in a bad winter up north. * * * DEC. 10 IS THE deadline for applying for a spring turkey hunting permit in Wisconsin. The DNR expects to issue a record 150,129 permits, compared with 131,063 in 2000. Zone 22, a huge area which includes northeastern Portage County and parts of several other counties, had a kill of 2,842 turkeys last spring, more than any other zone in the state. Thirty-five percent of the hunters in the zone got a turkey, better than in nearly every other unit. But so many applied in zone 22 that 3,000 applicants failed to get a permit. However, 7,000 additional permits for the zone are available this year. Zone 23, which takes in southeastern Portage County and parts of other counties, had a kill last spring of 2,589 turkeys, third highest in the state. About 1,000 applicants failed to get a permit there last spring, but the zone will have 3,000 more permits in spring 2001. * * * JIM SCHUH wrote a while back in The Gazette about the kudzu, an Asian plant that is an enormous pest in the southeastern states. It's called "the vine that ate the South." In Dixie, they say you have to close your windows at night to keep kudzu out. It supposedly was introduced by the Japanese, who built a garden filled with their native plants at the Centennial exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. Gardeners were captivated by kudzu's sweet-smelling blossoms and never suspected it had a dark side. And this was before Pearl Harbor! The United States government aided and abetted the spread of kudzu. The Soil Conservation Service promoted it for erosion control in the 1930s, and in the 1940s farmers were paid for planting it. Although kudzu seems to be creeping up into the northeastern states, we don't have it here, thanks to our wonderful Wisconsin weather, which also keeps out other heat-loving vermin like the fire ant and the killer bee. But we have our share of imported pests, including purple loosestrife and spotted knapweed. Loosestrife is an attractive flowering plant you see growing in wet areas. The Wisconsin River has tons of it. It was brought to this country from Europe, possibly by accident and possibly because it was thought to have medicinal value. But it's useless. Worse than useless, because it displaces native plants and has no value for wildlife. All it does is take up space. An attempt is under way to control it with imported beetles and weevils, and the outlook is beginning to appear promising. The beetles, especially, look good. Spotted knapweed is also a European import. Beekeepers may have brought it in for the nectar content in its blossoms. There's a lot of knapweed around here. If, while driving down the highway in late summer you see a pinkish-purplish haze along the roadside, that's knapweed blossoms. Go out West and you'll see a lot more. They hate it there because it takes over open land and crowds out everything else. Livestock won't eat it, and neither will elk and other wildlife. It doesn't seem to be quite that big a problem around here, but we could do without it. As in the case of loosestrife, imported insects offer some hope in controlling it. One thing you can bet on is that kudzu, loosestrife and knapweed aren't the last exotic pests we'll see in this country. Travel around the world is so easy these days that things will slip through no matter what. That goes for human diseases, too. Witness the West Nile virus, brought here from Africa, which has killed people on the East Coast. Eventually it will get here because it's carried by birds, especially crows. Foreign plants and animals often increase explosively because insects and diseases that control them aren't found here. Once established, it's almost impossible to eradicate them. The only hope is biological control, which works (sometimes). An example was prickly pear cactus, which was exported from America to India and became a real nuisance until another export, an insect, checked it. But you have to be sure the controls themselves don't become pests. The mongoose was brought to Hawaii to control rats and became a nuisance itself. * * * IF YOU'RE AN adventurous diver, here's a deal for you: The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin have produced a set of dive guides and a Web site featuring Lake Michigan shipwrecks. You can use the information to explore seven of those wrecks. One of the wrecks is the Niagara, a "palace steamer" that went down in 1856 enroute from Sheboygan to Port Washington, taking more than 60 people to their deaths. The waterproof dive guides include site maps, historical information and technical explanations. A similar set was produced previously for seven wrecks in Lake Superior's Apostle Islands. They're available for $25 by calling the State Historical Society at (608) 271-8172. They're also on sale at dive shops around the state. The Web site can be accessed at www.seagrant.wisc.edu/shipwrecks. * * * ANCIENT OUTDOOR HISTORY: The prairie chicken classic, a Brittany spaniel national field trial, was held last week on the Buena Vista Marsh. Rand Constalie of Westby, secretary of the Badger Brittany Club, said about twice as many prairie chickens were seen as in most previous years. (Stevens Point Journal, Oct. 4, 1977)