Outdoor Capsules WATERFOWL HUNTERS CONFERENCE SET FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY IN STEVENS POINT: The 2004 Waterfowl Hunters Conference is set for Friday and Saturday, March 5-6, in Stevens Point. Co-sponsors of the event include the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, Ducks Unlimited and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The conference begins at 1 p.m. Friday and ends at 4 p.m. Saturday. Discussion items include waterfowl updates, earlier hunting seasons, hunting zones in Wisconsin, predator control, and waterfowl habitat management. The conference is open to the public and waterfowl hunters are urged to attend. For reservations and more information, contact Don Gamble at (262) 675-6414 or jadag@nconnect.net. * * * GERMAN AND WISCONSIN FOREST MANAGEMENT TOPIC OF TUESDAY MEETING: The Wisconsin Family Forests New Hope Alliance will present "German and Wisconsin Forest Management: A Comparison" on Tuesday, March 9, in Sunset Lodge at the Central Wisconsin Environmental Station. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) forestry professor Hans Schabel will be the speaker. Schabel's presentation begins at 7 p.m. A potluck will be held at 6 p.m. For more information, call 824-2490. The New Hope Alliance formed in December 2002 when about 80 landowners from the town of New Hope crowded into the Town Hall to learn about gypsy moths and oak wilt and to discuss the formation of a Wisconsin Family Forests chapter. The goals of the alliance are to enhance understanding of forest ecology and management and promote a sense of local community. * * * TIME RUNNING OUT FOR PRUNING OAK TREES: Oak trees should not be pruned, wounded or removed from April 1 to Oct. 1, according to Todd Ernster, city of Stevens Point forester, because during this time oaks are susceptible to the fatal tree disease oak wilt. Oaks are at their highest susceptibility to the disease from April 15 to July 1, but oaks have contracted the disease after the July 1 date, so the safest approach is to wait until after Oct. 1. If between April 1 to Oct. 1, a property owner needs to remove a hazardous branch or a developer wants to clear a lot, all stumps, wounds and pruning cuts on oaks should be sealed immediately with pruning paint, Ernster said. Any paint will do, as long as the wounds are immediately sealed. New trees are infected with oak wilt by sap-feeding beetles that carry the oak wilt disease on their bodies. The beetles are active during these dates and are attracted to new wounds on oaks to feed on the sap. In one research project, beetles were found feeding on oaks wounded only 15 minutes earlier. Once the disease infects an oak tree, it can move into the tree's root system. Oak tree roots often graft together. Because of root grafting, oak wilt can spread from oak tree to oak tree, and from one property owner to another. Firewood from oak trees recently killed by oak wilt should be covered with a plastic tarp and the sides sealed to the ground until the following fall, so the wood can't attract the sap-feeding beetles that spread the disease. For more information, residents can call the Stevens Point Forestry Department at 346-1532, visit the city of Stevens Point forestry Web page at stevenspoint.com/forestry or contact a certified arborist in the tree service section of the phonebook. * * * GREEN CIRCLE TRAIL SEEKS STEWARDSHIP GRANT: The Community Foundation of Portage County has made an application to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a $15,000 cost-sharing grant to help fund the acquisition of a 15-acre tract of land in Portage County. The parcel is located in Section 6, Township 23 North, Range 8 East. The Green Circle Trail currently runs through this property via a temporary easement with Stora Enso North America. The Community Foundation is purchasing the land from Stora Enso to ensure that the Green Circle Trail would remain open to the public. DNR cost-share money would be via the Stewardship funds designated for nonprofit conservation organizations. In accordance with Wisconsin Administrative Code NR 150, the DNR has made a preliminary determination that the proposed acquisition will not involve significant adverse environmental impacts, and preparation of an environmental review document is not warranted. Public comments on this preliminary determination, as well as the proposed acquisition, are welcomed and should be received by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 5, to Karen Blodgett, Community Services Specialist, DNR, 1300 W. Claremont Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54702-4001 or telephone (715) 836-6574. Comments can be verbal or written. * * * NO BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS FOUND IN STATE DEER: There is no evidence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in any of the approximately 15,000 wild white-tailed deer screened for the disease in Wisconsin over the last year. For the second year in a row, the DNR took advantage of the intensive chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance process by screening nearly all collected deer for TB at the same time they removed tissues for CWD testing. To date, about 58,000 wild deer have been screened with no TB-positive results. Wisconsin has been testing the wild white-tailed deer herd for TB since 1996, after Michigan reported finding TB in its wild herd. Bovine TB has not been found in wild Wisconsin deer or elk, but has been diagnosed in seven captive elk herds in the state since 1991. These captive herds have been depopulated. Bovine TB is a contagious respiratory disease that can infect most warm-blooded animals, but primarily affects cattle. Bovine TB is a slowly progressive disease in deer, meaning it can take years before physical signs of illness emerge. In rare cases, bovine TB can affect people. Bovine TB is believed to spread through the air when an infected animal comes in close contact with other animals. An infected animal can release disease-spreading bacteria when coughing or sneezing. Current research suggests that bovine TB can also be contracted from contaminated feed. Scientists believe that deer baiting and feeding sites facilitated the establishment of TB in parts of the Michigan wild deer population. * * * TURKEY PERMITS ISSUED: More than 185,000 permits have been issued for the spring 2004 Wisconsin wild turkey hunting season, and state wildlife officials say all successful applicants should have received their permit notification by mail. Only successful applicants are notified of their permits. Those who were not successful in the drawing do not receive any notices. Hunters who did not receive a postcard but who wish to double check on their permit status can call any DNR service center or check the online license sales site at www.wildlifelicenses.com/wi/ (click on the Permits button) to find out the status of their permit application. The spring hunting season will run from April 14 to May 23. The season is divided into six five-day (Wednesday through Sunday) time periods. A total of 43 zones, 15 state parks and Fort McCoy will be open for hunting. There were 168,000 permits issued for the 2003 spring season and hunters harvested 42,970 turkeys for a success rate of about 25 percent. * * * STATEWIDE FOREST PLAN AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW: A draft statewide forest plan, crafted with extensive public input over the past two years, is now available for review on the DNR Web site at www.dnr.state.wi.us or by requesting a printed copy. The draft plan is an effort to craft a commonly held vision for Wisconsin's forest resources and develop a strategy to achieve that vision. The plan includes goals, objectives and a partial list of example actions suggested by stakeholders and forestry professionals to achieve the common vision. State forestry planners are seeking comment on the goals and objectives, as well as ideas for additional actions to carry out all aspects of the plan. The plan is based on comments from more than 2,000 Wisconsin citizens and stakeholders who responded to a statewide mail survey from which 55 trends and issues impacting forests and forest management were identified. The Governor's Council on Forestry, a forest management advisory group appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle, will sponsor a conference in November at Madison's Monona Terrace Convention Center to prioritize the action list identified in the plan. Wisconsin today can claim over 16 million acres of forestland - 46 percent of the state land area - a recovery from the cutover and burned forests left from the logging era of the late 1800s to early 1900s. Today, Wisconsin has the most forestland recorded since the beginning of statewide forest inventories in 1936. More than 2 million acres are considered urban forests - including such areas as parks, greenways, boulevards and backyards - in communities across the state. This year has been declared the Year of Wisconsin Forestry. * * * FISH STOCKING DATABASE UPDATED: An online database that gives anglers and others convenient access to information about which waters state fisheries biologists have stocked with what fish species has recently been updated. The database now includes stocking information dating back to 1972. For the small proportion of waters where stocking plays an important role in maintaining fishing opportunities - Class 2 and 3 trout waters, and Category 0, 2, 3, and 4 musky waters, and walleye waters supported primarily by stocking - this older information can give anglers an idea of what kind of fishing to anticipate, said Mike Staggs, DNR fisheries director. Anglers can determine what was stocked two to four years ago because those are the fish they would be catching today. The fish stocking database can be accessed at www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/fish/pages/stocking.shtml. The database, which debuted in mid-2003, previously contained information about a single year of stocking, 2002. Now, the stocking reports contain information on the county, waterbody, species, strain, location and average length of the fish stocked from 1972 through 2002 by DNR fish hatcheries, ponds, rearing stations and co-op ponds. Information covering stocking from 2003 will be added this year. People can use an interactive map of Wisconsin to retrieve and view or print a stocking history for a particular county, all counties at once, Lake Michigan or Lake Superior.