Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - News

Devices installed to prevent swans and other birds from colliding with power lines

MADISON – Following the recent loss of four endangered trumpeter swans that collided with power lines in the Cranmoor area near Babcock, state officials are working with power company officials and landowners to install reflective devices that have proven effective in western states in deterring birds from flying into power lines.

Alliant Energy, Rezin Cranberry Corp., and the Department of Natural Resources are combining resources to install 200 of the devices, which are known as “Firefly Bird Diverters.”

The device consists of a heavy-duty plastic card with a special reflective coatings that is highly visible to birds. The 3 1/2-by-6-inche cards hang from a swivel that is attached by a clamp to a power line or a tower guy wire. The card will rotate in as little as 3 to 5 mile per hour winds alerting birds of obstructions. The coating glows at night for up to 10 hours.

“The loss of birds to power line and guy wire collisions is a serious matter,” said Sumner Matteson, DNR avian ecologist who coordinates Wisconsin’s trumpeter swan recovery program. “Thousands of birds likely die each year in Wisconsin alone from such collisions. The firefly diverter has proven effective for a number of raptor and songbird species in other states. I think there is every reason to believe it will prove successful here as well.”

Alliant Energy will install 200 of the diverters on its power lines where the lines cross over lands owned by Ken Rezin Cranberry Corp. in an area near Wisconsin Rapids. The power company purchased the diverters at a cost of $25 each and will provide a crew to make the installation. PR Techologies, manufacturer of the diverter, is providing the product at a reduced price as a contribution to this wildlife conservation effort.

“Alliant Energy understands the importance of protecting endangered species and is committed to partnerships that find solutions to improve habitat and allow this species to flourish,” said Kathleen Lipp chief environmental officer for Alliant Energy.

Ken Rezin Cranberry Corp., operated by co-owners Russ and Karen Rifleman, is an enthusiastic supporter of the effort to reintroduce the trumpeter swan in Wisconsin.

“We’ve had several nesting pairs of trumpeter swans on the farm over the past seven years,” said Karen Rifleman. “It’s been a pleasure to watch them successfully produce families and each year we wait for their return in the spring. We’ve lost four trumpeters to the power lines this year and we see this cooperative effort between DNR and Alliant Energy as a very positive step toward solving this problem.”

The trumpeter swan recovery effort started in 1987. One of our largest waterfowl, there are now 80 nesting pairs and an estimated 400 to 450 total birds in the state population. Trumpeter swans migrate as family groups to Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, with some Wisconsin birds being recorded as far south and west as Texas and northeast Arizona, and as far east as the Chesapeake Bay. Many Trumpeters also overwinter near Hudson in western Wisconsin. The birds are classified as a state endangered species in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.

In addition to power lines, major causes of death to adult and young trumpeter swans are shooting and lead poisoning.

Although lead shot has been banned from use over wetlands for years, occasionally swans uproot and ingest pellets that have been buried in mud and muck for years. It takes only as few as one to two of these heavily rusted lead pellets to sicken and kill a swan according to Matteson.

“If this project is successful and we are able to decrease or eliminate collisions in the Cranmoor area, we’ll have addressed a major concern,” says Matteson. “Alliant Energy has a biologist that will monitor the project with DNR assistance.

“We are grateful to Alliant for financing this effort and to PR Technologies and Rezin Cranberry Corp for their contribution. This relatively simple technology could save thousands of other bird lives yearly. Many more species could potentially benefit in addition to trumpeter swans, including our growing flock of wild whooping cranes recently introduced into the Necedah area.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Sumner Matteson (608) 266-1571

100 years of professional forestry: from stump fields to productive forests

By Paul DeLong, Chief State Forester, Wisconsin DNR Division of Forestry

As we enter the second century of professional forestry in Wisconsin, I find myself thinking about how things have changed and how they’ve stayed the same through the first 100 years of professional forest management in Wisconsin.

What is probably the most remarkable change in the past century is the transformation of Wisconsin’s forests from the cutover forests of the early 1900s to the healthy and productive forests of today. We have over 16 million acres of forestland in Wisconsin, more than at any point in time since the first statewide inventory was taken in 1936. The majority of it, over 9 million acres, is in private-family ownership.

What has stayed the same is probably the most important single concept in modern forestry -- commitment to sustainable forest management. Sustainability is the guiding principle of professional forestry practice. It guided our first professional foresters and it guides our decisions today. Sustainable forestry assures that we and future generations will have healthy and protected forests, diverse forest ecosystems, a steady flow of forest products for our economy and a wide variety of recreational opportunities.

Although the guiding principle remains the same, our knowledge of forests and society’s demand for the range of benefits provided by forests have increased over time. Wisconsin’s forests faced many challenges 100 years ago and that has not changed; what has changed is the complexity and range of issues facing our forests and our society.

Last month the Department of Natural Resources presented an updated statewide forest plan to the Natural Resources Board. The plan centers on 52 trends and issues Wisconsin’s forests and professional forestry are facing as we enter our second century. These trends and issues were developed with input from landowners, local, state and federal governments, businesses, conservation organizations, and individual citizens.

It’s a big plan – nearly 70 pages in hard copy. In keeping with wise resource use we’ve chosen to publish it on the Internet on the DNR Web site. Based on comments we received from early reviewers, we’ve included a feature allowing the reader to sort the write-ups on the 52 trends and issues according to their interests. For example, a person interested in forest recreation could enter “recreation” as a topic of interest, and all trends and issues related to recreation will pop up.

In November, the Governor’s Wisconsin Council on Forestry will host a working conference in Madison to begin the process of implementing the new plan. Seven working themes have been developed to address critical trends and issues facing forestry today. These working themes include biological diversity, urban forestry, private forestry, forest economy, land use, invasive species and recreation.

Some 250 representatives of government at all levels, tribes, universities, professional associations, businesses, and landowner, conservation and environmental groups, to name a few, will divide their talents across the seven themes and work to identify actions needed to meet these challenges. More information on the conference can be found on the Internet at <http://wisconsinforestry.org (Exit DNR)>.

This brings me to my final thought on things that have not changed in forestry in the past 100 years. During the past century, the cooperative efforts of government, industry, conservation groups, academics and individual citizens have brought us from the charred stump fields of the early1900s to the healthy, productive forest resource we have today. No one organization or agency has the ability to manage Wisconsin’s forests alone. Effective, collaborative partnerships are critical to ensure that our forests continue to provide the full range of ecological, economic and social benefits for future generations. One hundred years ago, E.M. Griffith, our first state forester, foresaw a bright future for Wisconsin’s forests. I share his vision and look forward to working with our partners to embrace the opportunities and challenges of the next century of Wisconsin forestry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul DeLong - (608) 264-9224

WoodLINKS offers high school students exposure to forest industry jobs

MADISON, Wis. – Modeled on a successful program developed in Canada, WoodLINKS-USA (Exit DNR), a non-profit educational program promoting careers in wood products and related industries, currently has 14 Wisconsin high schools enrolled in this industry-sponsored career training program.

“The wood products industry is a major employer in many local and regional economies and offers a great many opportunities,” says Terry Mace, a forest resource specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “But the range of opportunities and careers may not be easily visible to many high school students or their schools don’t offer the kinds of coursework needed to prepare them for today’s wood industry jobs. WoodLINKS is intended to give high school students exposure to the vast array of forest products industry jobs available, give them the skills necessary to get started in those jobs, and ultimately support local economies with a supply of skilled workers.”

First brought to Wisconsin in 1998, WoodLINKS was developed in part to address a shrinking labor pool foreseen by the wood products industry as older, traditional wood industry workers retire and plants modernize to meet global competition in the marketplace. Computerization of production woodworking machinery has changed the role of the woodworker and the education system has found it difficult to keep up with the expensive changes in woodworking technology.

“Key to the success of this effort is forging a link between employers and the education system,” says Mace. “Each participating high school has at least one local industry sponsor that acts as either a formal or informal advisor depending on the nature of the partnership. Industry provides input on the skills they’re looking for in entry-level workers and opportunities for outside the classroom learning and earning through summer employment. For their part, educators adapt and implement the WoodLINKS curriculum in their schools and classes.

“In addition to the technical skill needed in a modernizing industry, newer manufacturing methods also utilize the resource more efficiently making the best possible use of forest as a renewable resource.”

“The WoodLINKS curriculum offers both introductory and advanced wood manufacturing courses for senior high school students,” says Steve Ehle, WoodLINKS Wisconsin coordinator. “Students in the WoodLINKS program can take certification tests to demonstrate their skills and knowledge to prospective employers. Certification reduces the risk an employer must accept in hiring a new employee. WoodLINKS produces skilled, trainable new employees who frequently start at a higher wage compared to other new hires. ”

Wisconsin’s 14 participating high schools are producing about 125 certified students per year, according to Ehle. Currently, 16 states have WoodLINKS programs in at least one high school. Wisconsin is the leader among WoodLINKS states with two times more participating schools than the next closest state.

“The program emphasizes job training and broad exposure to the forest industry and career opportunities in forestry-related jobs,” says Mace. “The feeling is that a lot of kids want to stay in their home towns but don’t think they can find living-wage jobs. This program shows them there are good jobs at home.”

“Much is being said about jobs going off-shore,” says Ehle. “And we’re seeing that in the domestic and residential furniture sector of the wood products industry. But Wisconsin’s strength is in our raw material and secondary wood products production. These are items such as windows and doors, architectural woodwork, custom cabinets and flooring.

“These products are somewhat protected because of the custom nature and special order marketing of many of these products. Off-shore factories can’t react quickly enough to fill these markets. Employers are looking for people that can operate the complex computer-controlled equipment that is used to make these products in today's modern factory.”

WoodLINKS is moving forward on several fronts. The program seeks to establish national skills standards for the many wood manufacturing sectors and disciplines, standards would set the bar for schools and vocational training programs and provide consistency across the industry. Along these lines, more is being done to match skills taught to students with industry’s needs. Finally, in what could be called a program to train the trainers, WoodLINKS is working with at least seven colleges and universities to develop on-campus and distance learning master’s programs for high school level educators.

Educators who are interested in establishing a WoodLINKS program in their school should contact Steve Ehle, WoodLINKS Wisconsin coordinator, at (608) 873-7600.

“Wood products manufacturing has roots going back centuries,” says Mace. “While traditional skills are still valuable in many areas, technology and global competition have challenged manufacturers to modernize and refine their production and product lines to meet the challenges. WoodLINKS can help students prepare for good paying jobs and provide employers with a supply of qualified workers ready to be trained in the new technologies.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Mace - (608) 231-9333 or Steve Ehle, WoodLINKS Wisconsin coordinator - (608) 873-7600

Youth deer hunt Oct. 30 statewide

MADISON -- Youth hunters ages 12 to 15 will be able to hunt for antlerless deer throughout the state on Oct. 30 in a special one-day hunt established to provide more youth deer hunting opportunity.

“The youth hunt was established in 2001 through the Deer 2000 and Beyond project,” said Brad Koele, assistant deer and bear ecologist with the Department of Natural Resources. “The youth hunt gives young hunters an opportunity to gain valuable hunting experience and time in the field prior to the traditional gun hunting season.”

Since the hunt’s implementation, Koele says, participation has steadily increased as more youth become aware the hunt.

The antlerless gun hunt will be held in all deer management units, except state park and non-quota units. Any licensed hunter, including youth hunters, can already hunt in a Zone T, Earn-a-Buck, or CWD units on this day, which falls within one of two 4-day antlerless only hunts being held in these units Oct. 28-31.

“This hunt is to give those young hunters who hunt in a regular or Hunter’s Choice unit an opportunity to gun hunt for antlerless deer at a time of year when the whether is a little nicer and there is less pressure from other gun hunter’s in the woods,” says Kurt Thiede, DNR wildlife rules and regulations specialist. “The deer management units that are open for the special one-day youth hunt are those designated as ‘Regular Deer Season’ units on the 2004 DMU map in the center of the 2004 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations.”

Youth hunters must have successfully completed a hunter education program and have purchased a 2004 gun deer hunting license to participate in the special hunt. Qualified hunters may harvest one antlerless deer per hunter’s choice or bonus permit in the unit for which that permit was issued.

Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult 18 years of age or older and one adult may not accompany more than two hunters when participating in this one-day youth hunt. This requirement only applies to deer management units that are not Zone-T, Earn-A-Buck or CWD units.

The regular bow season remains open along with the youth hunt in those units with the special youth hunt. All hunter's, with the exception of waterfowl hunters, must wear blaze orange when hunting on Oct. 30; this includes archery deer, gun deer and small game hunters.

“In those units holding the special youth hunt archers will be able to hunt and are eligible to harvest a buck, but they are required to wear blaze orange since a gun hunt is taking place,” Thiede added.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Koele - (608) 261-7589 or Kurt Thiede - (608) 267-2452