The spring Conservation Congress hearings are quickly approaching! This year, they will be held on April 8th at 7:00 pm in every one of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.
Since 1934, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress has served as a way for legislatures and policymakers to hear the opinions of Wisconsin’s citizens. If you have an opinion, however slight, about natural resource management, this is your chance to provide input and direction for the Wisconsin DNR and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC). You can…
- Provide input on proposed changes to fish and wildlife regulations
- Elect local Wisconsin Conservation Congress delegate representatives
- Introduce your ideas for change as citizen resolutions
This year, the WCC and WDNR are providing an online opportunity to weigh-in on the spring hearing questions. Read more about providing input online HERE.
Here are some of the questions specific to our waters:
- Do you favor reducing the daily walleye bag limit from 5 to 3 in total (only 1 may be a sauger or hybrid) on the Lake Winnebago System in Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago counties? (Yes or No)
- Do you support a regulation to better define a spear by limiting the head to a single row of tines in a straight line with a maximum width of 18 inches for use during the annual lake sturgeon spearing season on the Winnebago System? (Yes or No)
- Do you favor a daily bag limit of 2 fish and no minimum length limit for northern pike, except that all pike between 25 to 35 inches must be released on the following waters: Lake Emily, Dodge County; Big Cedar and Gilbert lakes, Washington County; Okauchee and Upper Oconomowoc lakes, Waukesha County; and Little Lake Butte des Morts, Winnebago/Outagamie counties? (Yes or No)
- Would you support a rule prohibiting the use of underwater cameras as an aid in spearing Lake Sturgeon during the sturgeon spearing season on the Winnebago System? (Yes or No)
- Would you support a rule prohibiting the use of any electronic fish locator/fish finder equipment as an aid in spearing Lake Sturgeon during the sturgeon spearing season on Winnebago System? (Yes or No)
Click HERE to read the entire questionnaire.
Spring hearings will be held at the following Winnebago System locations this year:
Calumet: Calumet County Courthouse, Room 025, 206 Court Street, Chilton, WI 53014 (7:00 pm)
Fond du Lac: Theisen Middle School, Auditorium, 525 East Pioneer Road, Fond du Lac, WI 54935 (7:00 pm)
Waushara: Waushara County Courthouse, Board Room 265 (Door H), 209 S Saint Marie Street, Wautoma, WI 54982 (7:00 pm)
Winnebago: Oshkosh North High School, Auditorium, 1100 W. Smith Avenue, Oshkosh, WI 54901 (7:00 pm)
Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.
Follow the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.
This post was written by Austin Pethan for the Winnebago Waterways Program. Questions or comments? Contact Austin at austin@fwwa.org or (920) 851-4295.
