June is upon us and recent rains have helped retain and fill those seasonal wetlands both here in Wisconsin and across much of the prairie pothole region. This will definitely be a big help to nesting waterfowl.  Seasonal wetlands are extremely important to waterfowl for a variety of reason and one of the biggest reasons is they dry up periodically, producing food and cover, which then become inundated, providing a buffet of food and cover during runoff events. 

Water levels in wetlands can vary seasonally

Wetlands, where water is held constant for many years in a row, have a decrease in plant and wildlife diversity. Wetlands' natural cycle of periodic drying is important. Even larger marshes need to be allowed be rejuvenated through water control management. Now is the time if this is on your mind. Slow drawdowns, which expose mudflats during the growing season, and post spring runoffs allow a diversity of annual plants to grow.  

Pickerel Weed in Winnebago County, WI

Plants such as pickerel weed, bidens, plantain, etc,. provide an abundance of seed desired by waterfowl come fall. Slow is the key, as you want to keep the soil wet and only expose small amounts at a time. A draw down should take 1-2 weeks to complete properly.  

This time also offers resident wildlife the ability to adjust and spreads out the growing season across a wetland. Come fall these area can be re-flooded, providing access to the food that waterfowl love. Slow again is the key, and remember: ducks only need 2-6 inches of water in the vegetation for feeding.  

The most important thing to remember is that prior to flooding, the plants should have flowered and begun to set seed. If you flood too fast, too early, or too deep you will compromise the food source and ultimately the waterfowl response. You need to let the seeds develop so that the next time you do management to benefit your wetland the seed bank will have been replenished.  

No matter how many ducks use an area, many seeds will find their way to the bottom and lay dormant, just waiting for the next drying period, after which your wetland will reward you with an attractive food source and draw in birds for your recreational benefit. 

Peter Ziegler, Project Director - wwawetlands@gmail.com  

Thanks to all of the shooters who attended our 1st Annual Ozaukee County Sporting Clay course at the Fish & Game club last month. We had a record turnout for our event, the course was awesome and the club members who hosted us were as helpful as any group I have ever worked with. They should be extremely proud of their facilities.  

Missed out?  Well, we have another shoot coming up on July 17, 18 & 19 at Wild Wings in Cambellsport and I hope to see even more of you there. These shoots help you get ready for the hunting season. More hits & less misses mean more fun in the field and less lost game.

Speaking of less lost game, it's time to spend time getting your dogs in shape. We have several items to help you with that at our events thanks to our gracious sponsors, with quality dog food from Nutro and training collars from SportDog.

Summer is upon us so take the kids out and show them Nature close up. It's a lot better than the virtual reality so many of them on little screens. June 13th I will be at Cabela's Outdoor Adventure Youth Days along with many others, so bring your kids out to learn about the events you can participate in the outdoors.

We have many fall events coming and we could sure use some volunteers in the planning of these happenings. Our St. Croix chapter kicks of the 2nd half of our banquet season in July up in Hudson and they could use some volunteers to help them plan their banquet. This is a small group that has done large things and they need some reinforcements. Contact me (414.750.8260) or Chapter Chair Mitch Johnston (651.746.4201) if you could help. A couple hours every several weeks is all it takes. Even if meetings aren't your thing you may be able to help selling raffle tickets for their Pre-Event Raffle. This holds true for all of our chapters. Consider becoming A WWA volunteer this year.  

Thank you for all you do to keep Wisconsin clean and growing.

Tom Seibert - Regional Director - 414.750.8260 or

Great news! Late last week, the final draft of the 2016 Calendar was submitted to the printers, and so we continue to proceed, on target, for a much earlier distribution to sellers for this important fundraising tool. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the board-directors on the Calendar Committee (Al Klug, Randy Helbach, and Rob Monette) we'll have an entirely new program this year - featuring a limited production run of just 4,000 pieces, with improved odds of winning at 1 in 11 or better, and drawings that will be held on the 2nd Monday of each month, featuring the same exciting combination of firearms, Mathew's bows, Parker crossbows, gift cards, WWA apparel, and more - that have made this calendar raffle one to be imitated by others. All of this for the just $20, the same price as when we started this program, six calendars ago - back in 2009!

This year's Calendar features incredible art print images from Scott Zoellick, a WWA life member, and a major contributor to WWA sponsor-print art, back in the days when those images were the peak of popularity. A special thanks to Scott, and our great stable of calendar advertisers, all of whom helped bring this new product together, for another great year. Tom and Don anticipate making deliveries, and shipments of Conservation Calendars to sales locations and volunteer sellers, in the weeks following the 4th of July holiday weekend.   Keep an eye out for the announcement regarding the start of sales - it's our goal, with the changes made, and a "limited edition" to sell out of this Calendar raffle, well before Christmas, this year.

Those of you following WWA Board President Bruce Urben's prior columns have seen mention of the wood ducks nesting in his area of the woods in northeastern Wisconsin.  Bruce was lucky enough to grab the following video of the little guys and gals jumping out of their wood duck box on May 22nd.  Enjoy this short video showing five of the seventeen ducklings making their way out into the world:

WWA Sponsors Envirothon

The exams are based on four categories, Forestry, Soils/Land Use, Aquatic Ecology and Wildlife. The teams also participate in creating a group presentation based on a pre-selected conservation topic, a current issue local conservation professionals are dealing with across the state. The team presentations provide students an opportunity to articulate today's critical environmental concerns and to develop the skills to communicate the conservation ethic in whatever scholastic, career or civic choices lie ahead.  This event offers an opportunity to start developing leadership skills to champion a more sustainable and environmentally aware community. Winners advance to the North American Envirothon /Regional Envirothon to compete in scholarships and prizes.

Sponsor Spotlight - Parker Crossbows

It was just a year ago that we happily announced the addition of Parker Crossbows as new state sponsor to the team of partners that help support the efforts of our volunteer teams, all around the state. I'm very pleased to update this sponsorship, following the completion of a deal, last week, to include Parker in the 2016 WWA Conservation Calendar again.

You may recall, last year we added crossbows to the 2015 Conservation Calendar, an incredible opportunity to add a super-hot item, due to the change in Wisconsin hunting laws. This year we've also able to add Parker crossbows to a number of our outreach events as well, where they've proven to be a popular prize package, and now we've got them in place for the 2016 calendar as well - a significant expansion over last year.

We are very pleased to continue to partner with another company which offers great products, which we can use at our fund-raising outreach events, to offer our supporters really great opportunities to win, while they help advance the missions of WWA.

Check out this information from their website:

"Parker is One of the Leading Archery Companies in the U.S.

• The Parker Bows business has been in continuous operation since 1985 - over 28 years.
• The Parker Bows brand is one of the top selling brands of compound bows and crossbows in the U.S.
• Parker Crossbows are the #1 or #2 U.S. manufactured brand in the industry.
• The Product Development Team at Parker Bows consists of seasoned industry veterans with great insight into the markets, a number of archery Patents, and dozens of first time developments and ideas that have been used by other manufacturers."

Thank you to: Tom Dietz, Regional Sales Manager, and the whole crew at Parker Bows for helping us continue to provide this amazing opportunity to our guests at our fundraising events this year, and to Calendar winners for next year again, as well as for supporting the works of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association. For more information on Parker Bows, check out the logo-links in this E-news update, or on the Sponsors tab of our website: wisducks.org. Check them out today!

Annual terms for the Board expired on May 1st and the following two members have been appointed:

Julie Anderson has served over 24 years in Racine County government as Planning and Development Director, Land Information Officer, Highway Commissioner, and board member of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at UW-Eau Claire and furthered her education at UW-Milwaukee with a Master of Arts degree in geography.  Currently, Ms. Anderson serves as Racine County Public Works & Development Services Director.

"Julie not only possesses the knowledge and expertise to succeed on the Natural Resources Board, she also demonstrates passion for Wisconsin's great outdoors and natural resources," Governor Walker said.  "I am confident Julie will make a wonderful addition to the Natural Resources Board as they work to ensure the Department of Natural Resources serves the state of Wisconsin effectively and efficiently."

Dr. Frederick Prehn is a dentist at Prehn Dental, a third generation dental practice established by his grandfather in 1921.  In addition to his dental practice, Dr. Prehn owns Central Wisconsin Firearms, a full-service firearms dealer located in Wausau.  Dr. Prehn and his wife, Linda, also own Prehn Cranberry Company, where they manage and grow 157-acres of cranberries in Tomah, Wisconsin.  As a long-time outdoorsman, he has held fishing and hunting licenses in Wisconsin for over 42 years.

"Dr. Prehn has had a distinguished career in dentistry and in managing the operations of Prehn Cranberry and Central Wisconsin Firearms," Governor Walker said.  "His multifaceted expertise, sincere appreciation for natural resources, and first-hand knowledge of ecologically friendly practices will be a great benefit to the board."

$8.8 Million in Duck Stamp Funds Allocated to Refuges

The following article was provided by The Friends of the Migratory Bird/Duck Stamp

On the morning of April 29, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) met to make decisions on acquisition of National Wildlife Refuge properties through the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (MBCF), where "Duck Stamp" dollars are held. The commission also decided on the funding of a number of North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) projects.

The meeting was held at the Department of the Interior - South building, a pleasant-looking, three-story, but relatively undistinguished building on Constitution Avenue on the Washington Mall. The meeting was opened by the MBCC chair, Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, and this was the first meeting attended by two new members of the Commission, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

Eric Alvarez, Chief of Refuge Realty and the Secretary for the MBCC, provided for MBCC members - new and old - a thorough summary of the accomplishments of the last year. For FY 2014, he covered MBCF/Stamp collections, disbursements, and acres secured. There were, attendees were told, 54,801 acres conserved: 11,410 fee-title acres, of which 10,301 were at refuges, and 43,391 easement acres.