If you didn’t purchase your ticket before the July 4-6 event began, you’re out of luck. But it’s not too late to join the others, including the 43rd annual Kewaunee/Door County Salmon Tournament July 11-20. Buy your ticket by July 8 for a chance at extra prizes.
Everyone on the boat needs a ticket, including the captain and mate if you’re on a charter boat. Cost is $30, or $10 for age 10 and under to make it easier on family groups.
K/D tickets can be purchased at Center Court BP and Yacht Works in Kewaunee, Algoma BP (24/7 station) and Citgo in Algoma, Greystone Castle and Howie’s Tackle in Sturgeon Bay, JP Express north of Carlsville (24/7 station), Baileys 57, and Mann’s Mercantile on Washington Island. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/kdsalmon2025/.
Meanwhile, here are some other contests:
• Racine’s annual lakewide Salmon-A-Rama runs July 12-20. There are prizes for salmon, trout and perch in multiple divisions. More info at https://www.salmon-a-rama.com/.
• The 46th annual Two Rivers Kiwanis Fish Derby runs July 19-20. More info: https://www.exploretworivers.com/explore/page/46th-annual-kiwanis-fish-derby-festival.
• The 45th annual Marinette & Menominee Brown Trout Derby is July 26-27. Check the M&M Great Lakes Sport Fishermen Facebook page.
• The Ultimate Salmon Derby allows fishing on lakes Michigan and Huron. It runs through mid-August. More info: https://theultimatesalmonderby.com/.
Wisconsin had 1,370 Managed Forest Law (MFL) enrollments this year, and nearly one-third are new landowners in the program. A total of 88,105 acres were added, nearly 15,000 more than the number of acres that expired at the end of 2024.
There were 1,352 enrollments by individual landowners, and 18 added land to large ownerships with at least 1,000 acres. The average size for individuals was about 60 acres and for large ownerships, about 300 new acres enrolled.
Last year, MFL landowners accomplished 3,874 mandatory timber harvest and thinning practices, which generated sound forest management across 65,849 acres. An additional 1,395 non-mandatory practices (timber stand improvement, site preparation, invasive species control, etc.) were completed on 23,535 acres.
The MFL program is a landowner incentive program that encourages sustainable forestry on privately-owned woodlands. In exchange for following sound forest management, the landowner pays reduced property taxes. It was enacted 40 years ago and replaced the Woodland Tax Law and the Forest Crop Law.
To participate, landowners designate property as “Open” or “Closed” to public access for recreation and commit to a 25 or 50-year sustainable forest management plan. The plan sets the schedule for specific forestry practices which landowners must complete. In return, MFL participants make a payment in lieu of regular property taxes.
State conservation wardens, U.S. Coast Guard staff and a number of police and sheriff departments will be active for Operation Dry Water July 4-6. The annual campaign, emphasizing the importance of sober boating, promotes a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol on the water.
The message encourages everyone on the boat — not just the operator — to remain sober. Impairment from alcohol or drugs significantly increases the risk of accidents, injuries and fatalities. Impairment also poses risks to passengers.
Boating under the influence is illegal in Wisconsin, and alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in recreational boater fatalities and a significant cause of boating incidents. Learn more at https://community.nasbla.org/operationdrywater/home.
Meanwhile, the 7th annual AIS (aquatic invasive species) Landing Blitz is underway. See a map of all the area locations at https://www.glc.org/work/blitz.
Get a head start on late summer and fall hunts by practicing with your bow and gun and using online and “boots on the ground” effort to figure out some new places to explore.
Wisconsin has more than six million acres of land open to hunting. A good place to start your online search is the public access lands site, at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/lands. You can also try out a public access lands mapping application at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/fl/RealEstate/PALApplication.
Lake Michigan’s water levels rose about two inches since late May, but are down 10 inches in the past year and 39 since the record June high in 2020. The water levels are about five inches below the 100-year average, but still 27 inches above the record June low, set in 1964.
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