The critical funding was announced recently by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, part of more than $1.2 billion generated by manufacturers who pay federal excise taxes on ammunition, firearms, archery and angling equipment, and a fuel and small engine tax.
Wisconsin’s share includes more than $23.4 million in wildlife restoration funding, more than $13.4 million in sport fish restoration dollars, and $962,450 for state wildlife grants to support species of greatest conservation need.
Learn more about where the money comes from, and how it’s distributed, at https://partnerwithapayer.org/funding-sources/.
More than 100,000 leftover spring wild turkey permits will go on sale the week of March 16, including more than 33,000 in Zone 3, 17,500 in Zone 2 and just over 3,000 in Zone 5. Zone 2 leftovers will go on sale at 10 a.m. March 17, Zone 3 March 18 and Zone 5 extras on March 20.
All hunters who applied by the deadline and checked all the boxes — including the third option to take a tag in any available week — should have received a Zone 2 tag.
Bonus authorizations are $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. You must have purchased a license allowing spring turkey hunting and a wild turkey stamp before getting a bonus permit. The regular turkey license is $15 for Wisconsin residents and $65 for nonresidents. The 2026 wild turkey stamp is $5.25. Conservation Patron license buyers have those included.
This year’s youth turkey hunting weekend is April 11-12, with the first of six seven-day hunt periods beginning April 15 and ending May 26. There will also be some Learn To Hunt events held prior to the regular season. Keep an eye on those via a link at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/Education/OutdoorSkills/lth.
Registration is open for this year’s Fox-Wolf Watershed Cleanup, a region-wide volunteer event May 2 that will bring together people of all ages to remove trash from parks, trails, riverbanks and lakeshores.
More than 65 sites will be cleaned across the watershed, from Green Bay to Waupaca and south along the Lake Winnebago shoreline.
Organized by the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, the annual event connects cities, towns, and rural areas across the Upper Fox, Lower Fox, and Wolf River basins in one of Wisconsin’s largest coordinated conservation efforts.
A year ago, nearly 1,800 volunteers collected 8,165 pounds of trash from public spaces across the watershed. Afterward, volunteers gather for a picnic at Tellulah Park in Appleton, with lunch, live music and family activities.
Registration is free. Early sign-up is encouraged to ensure preferred site placement and shirt availability. Learn more at https://fwwa.org/what-we-do/trash-free-waters/cleanup/.
Students from kindergarten through 12th grade have just a few more days to submit their artwork for the Art of Conservation Fish Art Contest, hosted by Wildlife Forever.
The annual contest invites youth to mix art with conservation and science by exploring fish species and aquatic habitats through original artwork and creative writing. Participants can earn state and national recognition, as well as prizes from contest sponsors.
Contest resources, guidelines, and entry forms are available at http://www.fishart.org/.
Meanwhile, Wildlife Forever recently announced the state, national and international winners of its 2025 Songbird Art Contest. See the best chosen from more than 3,500 entries from students across 36 countries and 43 U.S. states at https://www.theartofconservation.org/2025-songbird-art-winners.
The North American Invasive Species Management Association has organized a series of activities as part of National Invasive Species Awareness Week Feb. 23-27. The goal is to involve local, state, tribal, federal, regional and international organizations to increase awareness of invasive species, the threats they pose and the actions that can be taken to reduce or prevent their spread.
Learn about the effort at https://naisma.org/programs/nisaw/. For more on invasive species in Wisconsin, visit
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives.
Lake Michigan water levels are down an inch from late January, are four inches lower than last year at this time, and are a foot below the long-term February average. Lake levels have dropped 49 inches since the all-time monthly high set six years ago, and are about 16 inches above the record low in 1964.
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