Citizen Teamwork Key to Fun, Safe Hunts for All
An article from WWA’s Words From The Wardens.
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s March 2023 eNewsletter.
By Lt. Tyler Strelow/Mississippi River Warden Team
With the waterfowl season wrapped up for 2022, it is time to pull together some of the enforcement data to look at any trends and submit Wisconsin’s numbers to the flyway for tracking.
As you read the findings, the main thing to remember is that the public’s partnership, support and passion for the resource are front and center of every successful and safe season. Groups like Wisconsin Waterfowl Association are incredibly valuable in the mission to protect Wisconsin’s truly remarkable and stunning resources. Your DNR Conservation Warden Service values our work with this group, communities and individual citizens. We are strong together.
SPOILER ALERT: Nearly all waterfowl hunters do the right thing! Make that 95 percent in that category.
However, a few intentionally violate the law or mess up so badly that enforcement action is required to get them back on the right path. That’s the goal: learn from mistakes and go forward to experience a legal and safe hunt.
Lowest-Level Enforcement with Education
The DNR Division of Public Safety and Resource Protection uses enforcement action to bring people into compliance with the rules. Wardens use the lowest level of enforcement to accomplish this. Enforcement actions range from a verbal warning to a physical arrest. For the most part, natural resource violations are handled by warnings and written actions.
For this column, I will focus on the various enforcement actions issued for the 2022 waterfowl season. Historically, migratory bird citations only make up about 3% of all the enforcement actions that wardens issue each year. The past five years of data show wardens issue, on average, 150 migratory bird-related actions each year and handle approximately 350 calls for service each year related to migratory bird issues.
In 2022, wardens issued 180 enforcement actions, up a bit from past seasons but not so far outside what we have seen in past years to be overly concerned. Calls for service were also up, with wardens handling 414 migratory bird-related calls.
Your question may be: What are the most common migratory enforcement actions issued? Year after year, the top five violations tend to be the same. Below are the top five actions for 2022 and the five-year average.
Wardens Value, Rely on Strong Public Partnership
Wardens continue to focus on waterfowl seasons, ensuring hunters are safe and following game laws. With more than 75,000 waterfowl hunters in Wisconsin, wardens can’t check every hunter or be out in the field when all the violations occur.
We need strong citizen partners and ask that you continue to be our eyes and ears. We cannot protect this pastime and the people enjoying the natural resources without your help.
If you observe a violation in the field, please call or text 1-800-847-9367. Have a great off-season; only seven more months until the duck opener.