By State Senator Julie Lassa

It may seem like summer just got here, but it’s already time to start making plans for the fall hunting season.   A number of the most sought-after hunting permits require hunters to submit applications to the Department of Natural Resources prior to August 1, a deadline that is fast approaching.  Hunters who don’t want to miss out on a chance to harvest a turkey or take geese or sturgeon in prime areas should act now.

Turkey hunters require a turkey license, a turkey stamp and a turkey permit.  The DNR estimates they will have 96,700 wild turkey permits available for the fall 2014 turkey hunting season, which is on par with last year.  Turkey permits are distributed by a drawing using a cumulative preference system. Preference goes to resident landowners, residents who applied for but didn’t get a permit for the same season last year, residents, and finally non-residents.  Any fall turkey permits remaining after the initial drawing will go on sale at 10 a.m. on August 23.  This year’s fall turkey season runs from September 13 to November 20 in all seven turkey management zones, with an extended season covering the month of December in all but the two northern zones.

Hunters who wish to harvest geese in the Horicon Zone must also register for a permit by August 1st.  A permit is also required to hunt Canada Geese, although hunters may apply for it at any time before or during the season.  August is also the month the Natural Resources Board meets to set both the goose hunting season and the early season for Canada Geese.  Along with any required permit, goose hunters need a small game license with a Wisconsin waterfowl stamp privilege printed on it, a Federal migratory bird stamp, and be registered in the national Harvest Information Program.

A drawing is also used to award permits for hunting or trapping bobcats and for trapping otters and fishers; all have an Aug. 1 application deadline.   The DNR anticipates awarding approximately the same number of permits for these species as last year; hunters who are unsuccessful in this year’s drawing receive preference for future years’ drawings.  Resident bobcat hunters are also required to have a tag as well as a valid small game license.

Restrictions on the number of sturgeon that may be speared in the lakes upriver from Lake Winnebago also require fishermen to register for a lottery to be awarded license to spear fish in Lakes Butte des Morts, Winneconne, and Poygan.  As with the other lotteries we’ve discussed, applicants who don’t receive a permit this year get a preference point for future lotteries.   The DNR awarded 500 such permits for the February 2014 spearing season; however, the harvest cap for the upriver lakes was just over 400.  The August 1^st application deadline enables the lottery to be held early enough so that those who don’t receive an upriver license will still have time to buy a license to spear sturgeon in the rest of the Winnebago system before the October 31 deadline.

Finally, August 1 is also the deadline to participate in the wolf harvest.  The DNR recently announced that the harvest quota for wolves to 156 statewide.   A random drawing system will be used to distribute half the available wolf permits, with the second half reserved for a preference point drawing for those whose previous applications were unsuccessful.  A valid wolf hunting license and pelt tag are also required.   The wolf season begins on October 15 and continues to February 1^st, 2015, or whenever the DNR determines the harvest quota has been met.

To learn more about the permitting process, to apply for licenses and permits online, or to review all of Wisconsin’s hunting and fishing regulations, visit the DNR website at dnr.wi.gov.