The Department of Natural Resources is planning to update the Wisconsin wild turkey management plan. The public will be asked to provide input on the new plan later this year. The current plan covered

Paul A. Smith

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Department of Natural Resources is planning to update the Wisconsin wild turkey management plan.

The current document, titled “Ecology of Wild Turkeys in Wisconsin, A Plan for their Management,” was designed for 2015-25. It followed a DNR plan for the species written in 1996.

The update is intended to cover the next decade, said Taylor Finger, DNR game bird specialist.

But considering the success of Wisconsin’s wild turkey management program, don’t expect the next edition to have any huge surprises.

The system installed decades ago by the DNR spreads hunting pressure across time periods and geographical zones. It has resulted in high hunter satisfaction as well as provided protection of the turkey population and the birds’ annual breeding cycle.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

As other states have had to curtail hunter opportunity in the face of turkey population declines, Wisconsin has had no similar cuts. In fact the number of tags issued in the Badger State has gradually increased and the turkey population remains very strong.

Wild turkeys were native to Wisconsin but wiped out in the late 1800s due to unrestricted hunting and loss of habitat. The last known native wild turkey was in Lafayette County in 1881, according to the DNR.

A 1976 reintroduction of wild turkeys transferred from Missouri to southwestern Wisconsin kick-started what is widely regarded as one – if not the – most successful wildlife restorations in state history.

Wild turkeys are now found in all 72 Wisconsin counties and the DNR holds annual spring and fall hunting seasons.

The spring season has about 130,000 hunters participate, second only to deer hunting, according to DNR data. And Wisconsin often ranks in the top three in the nation in terms of spring turkey harvest.

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Hunters registered 50,287 wild turkeys in the 2025 spring turkey hunting season, according to DNR data. The season ended May 27.

It was the fifth time the Wisconsin spring turkey harvest has topped 50,000 birds and the fifth highest seasonal kill since the DNR began a managed hunt for the species in 1983.

It was second highest spring turkey harvest in the nation, according to preliminary data from state agencies. Only Missouri, with a reported 51,018 turkeys, topped Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin DNR has performed an annual survey of turkey hunters to keep tabs on hunter satisfaction and preferences.

The 2024 survey results underscore the quality of the Wisconsin turkey hunting experience and provide the latest data point what has been a decades-long history of high hunter satisfaction.

Reflecting on the past three years of spring wild turkey hunting seasons, the majority of hunters were satisfied or very satisfied with all aspects of their season included in this survey, according to the 2024 DNR report. Highest satisfaction was expressed for access to areas they wanted to hunt (83%) and the overall quality of their hunts (73%).

One aspect that is likely to change in the updated turkey management plan is the process used for the annual drawing.

Earlier this year DNR conservation warden Jake Donar scoured license data and determined about one in four hunters chosen for a tag through the annual drawing were not purchasing their awards.

Donar shared the finding at the April 2, 2025 meeting of the DNR Turkey Advisory Committee. At least some of the issue was linked to conservation patron license buyers who automatically are entered in the drawing but then fail to buy the tag.

To help make sure such awards can be utilized by hunters instead of resulting in lost opportunities, the committee was in favor of making changes to the drawing process.

DNR data from 2022 through 2024 showed an average of 26.4% of spring turkey hunting awards went unpurchased. This spring, following a April 8, 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on the situation, it improved to 23.2%, Donar said.

However a change in the system, in addition to education, is likely needed to drive the rate below 10%.

Finger said any decisions about changes to the drawing process would likely be made through the turkey management plan update.

“It seems appropriate that the plan would be the best avenue to discuss (this issue) and move forward,” Finger said.

Finger said the DNR is planning to host a series of public meetings beginning in late August or September to collect input for the turkey management plan update.

The timeline calls for the new plan to be written and approved in early summer 2026, Finger said. Any changes in the drawing process or other regulations related to the new plan would likely not take effect until 2027.

‘I broke for lunch before everybody else and all the animals I had been working with were on the table – cut up, fricasseed, roasted and seared’

Interviews by Simon BlandMon 21 Jul 2025 10.12 EDTShare108

James Cromwell, played farmer Hoggett

Chris Noonan, the director, had been in a battle with producer George Miller, who wanted an all-Australian cast for Babe. Thankfully, a wonderful casting director believed I was right for farmer Hoggett and pushed for me to get a meeting.

George had found the book that the film is based on – The Sheep-Pig by British author Dick King-Smith – while on a trip to Europe with his daughter. I thought farmer Hoggett was from Yorkshire, but the studio said: “No. Movies with accents don’t make money.” Of course, Schindler’s List won the best picture Oscar that year and it was filled with accents.

They wanted me to keep my American accent so I thought I’d blow smoke up their ass and spent a whole day using this Texas shit-kicker accent. In the end I had to re-record all of those lines using the British accent I ultimately went with.

During my makeup test, George was standing nearby. As he walked past, he said: “Lose the sideburns.” I don’t know what got into me. I just said: “No. I like them.” George went, “Who the fuck is he?” and walked off. I was very pleased with myself.

We had an animatronic sheep in the middle of real sheep – which doesn’t stick out. The crew used to bet on which one of the flock was fake. At the end of a take, you’d see the real sheep continue to look around and the animatronic one power down. You’d then hear a crew member say, “I got it!”

On the second day of filming, I broke for lunch before everybody else. All the animals I’d worked with that morning were on the table, cut up, fricasseed, roasted and seared. That was when I decided to become a vegan.

The final scene, where the sheep follow Babe, was a miracle. The woman who worked with the sheep spent five months trying to get them to walk three abreast in rows and follow the pig around the circuit. She was working with them right until we shot. I said, “Away to me pig” and those sheep moved through the circuit without a pause. When the gate closed behind them, the crowd – 200 extras we’d gathered from the local town – went berserk.

I asked Chris how he wanted me to deliver my final line and he said: “Right down the lens.” I didn’t expect what happened: reflected back at me in the camera lens I saw not me, but my father. On that thought I laid the line: “That’ll do pig, that’ll do.” At the time I hadn’t forgiven my father, who was a director and very critical of my work, which stung. I didn’t know I had to forgive him. But at that moment, I looked at myself and saw I am my father’s son and I love him. Without a doubt, it brought closure.

The only negative thing I ever heard about Babe was from a woman who said it ruined her relationship with her daughter. They used to enjoy Big Macs together and now her daughter wouldn’t eat animals. I thought: “If that’s what you based your relationship on, it sucks anyway!”

Neal Scanlan, special effects artist

What set Babe apart was that it featured realistic animals and not fantasy characters. The goal was to intercut puppets with real animals.

To have a convincing animatronic Babe, we had to fit a prosthetic band around the puppet’s neck every day and punch in the hairs one at a time with a needle. We’d start early in the morning. We couldn’t afford more than one prosthetic head, so to go from a standing pig to a sitting pig, we had to take off the head, put it on to the new puppet body, and then punch in all the hairs again to make it a seamless blend. If anything went wrong, we had to start the entire process all over again. It was terrifying.

Up until that point, we had always used foam latex for puppets. It’s wonderfully elastic but has no skin-like qualities. We had a chemist working with us who took on the challenge of making skin-like silicone for Babe. He added lots of oil and extra hardener. It set solid but remained flexible. When we’d lay it on paper, it would leach oil. It was a kind of mad chemistry. People who supply silicone skins to the industry use it to this day.

Babe’s eyes were plastic spheres with a plunger inside that moved back and forth. They had a round silicone ball in front of them. We painted an iris on the ball and filled the spheres with clear silicone gel. By pushing the plunger, we could make the pupils bigger or smaller to create her big brown eyes.

Ferdinand the duck was a combination of fur and feathers. We had tried using only feathers but we couldn’t lay them individually and make them move. When I watch the scenes with Ferdy and Babe in the shed, I struggle to know what’s animatronic and what is real.

We shot in Australia and the heat was phenomenal. Silicone is a great insulator so it was like an oven inside animatronic Babe. After we rehearsed, we’d cover Babe in a foil blanket and keep our fingers crossed that nothing overheated.

Closeups of animatronic dogs were a degree beyond what we were capable of. The work everybody did was outstanding but there’s just so much going on under that fur. We failed – they’re impossible. In the end, all dog closeups were digitally enhanced.

James had moments of holding Babe in his lap, and there was never a feeling of ridicule. He engaged with the puppets. It was remarkably rewarding to see him reach that level of interaction with something so dependent on your contribution. We did as much as

As a hunter, I’ve killed a lot of bears,

• Section: Regional news
• / Jul 21, 2025
• https://www.blufftonicon.com/news/2025/07/21/waterfowl-hunting-zone-map-amended-following-public-comment

CLICK to enlarge proposed zones map

JULY 21 MEDIA RELEASE__During the Ohio Wildlife Council meeting on Wednesday, July 16, waterfowl hunting zones for the 2026-2030 seasons were amended in three counties following public comments on proposals submitted in April, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. 

Ohio is divided into three zones that determine fall and winter waterfowl hunting regulations. The newly amended proposal includes Zones A, B, and C, which will have slightly different open hunting dates if approved. The proposed waterfowl hunting zones were created in response to waterfowl hunter surveys and within regulatory frameworks established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Ohio Wildlife Council received the initial proposed changes for waterfowl zones in April, after hearing hunter feedback those revisions were further amended to the following:

Logan County moves from Zone A to Zone C.

Allen County moves from Zone A to Zone B.

Putnam County moves from Zone A to Zone B.

In the new proposal, which includes consideration of public feedback, Zone A falls in northwest Ohio, Zone B includes northeast Ohio and some areas in northwest Ohio, and Zone C covers southern counties and the remainder of the state. Hunters should note that, under the proposed rules, the waters of Lake Erie are part of Zone B, and the Zone A boundary extends 100 yards offshore into Lake Erie.
 
The Ohio Wildlife Council will vote on proposed waterfowl hunting zones for the 2026-2030 seasons during its next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, August 20.  If approved, the proposed zone change would take effect for the 2026-27 waterfowl hunting season. The current waterfowl zones remain in place for the upcoming 2025-26 duck and goose hunting seasons.

OHIO WILDLIFE COUNCIL
1-800-WILDLIFE
(800) 945-3543
wildinfo@dnr.ohio.gov

Stories Posted This Week

Monday, July 21, 2025

• Waterfowl hunting zone map amended following public comment