Studies Trigger Tighter Fish Advisories

In a move that may spark similar decisions in other Great Lakes states,
Wisconsin has changed its fish advisories because of mercury
contamination. The changes are based on new studies which show mercury
is more of a health concern than previously thought. Those studies have
found that even smaller doses of mercury can lead to heart and nerve
problems. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy has more:

Maple Syrup Season Starts to Flow

Across the Great Lakes region the maple syrup season usually
begins around mid March. The watery sap flows best on spring days when
temperatures rise to the low forties and drop below freezing at night.
Harvesters gather the sap and boil it down to sweet maple syrup. But
in
the past few years unseasonably warm weather and other factors have
reduced the harvest. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der
Puy has the story:

Wolf Killed by Government Order

A timber wolf has been shot by a federal officer in Wisconsin. For the
past twenty-five years the wolf has been listed on the federal
endangered species list. But now the wolf’s status is being changed from
endangered to threatened making it easier to use lethal force on problem
wolves. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy has more:

A North Woods Bait Shop

Fishing season opens in the Wisconsin northwoods and the sign outside
the baitshop says, "Crappie (Crop-pee) Minnows a dollar seventy-five a
scoop." The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy visits a
local bait shop to talk about fishing:

Study on Great Lakes Cooperation

A report released this week (5/10/99) by sporting and conservation
groups in the upper Midwest calls for regional cooperation in dealing
with mercury contamination in fish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Nick Van Der Puy reports:

A Midwestern Wolf Hunt?

Wolves have made a spectacular recovery the past twenty years through
protection by the federal endangered species act. But now the
State of Minnesota is debating a public hunting and trapping season. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy reports.

Native Americans Run for Treaty Rights

A group of ten Indian tribal members are running from northern Wisconsin to Washington D-C to show their support for Chippewa hunting and fishing rights. On December 2nd, the U-S Supreme Court will hear a case between the State of Minnesota and the Millelacs Band of Chippewa. A favorable ruling for the state may jeopardize hunting and fishing rights for Native Americans nationwide. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy reports:

Bringing Back the Loons

For many residents of the Great Lakes region, the loon is synonymous with wilderness – an enduring symbol of the wild outdoors. But, in northern Wisconsin, as development pressures increase, there are fewer and fewer places for the loons to nest. Now, one woman has decided to do something about it. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy reports:

Annual Sturgeon Spawn

Northeast Wisconsin is home to one of North America’s largest sturgeon populations. Every Spring, those sturgeon swim north from Lake Winnebago to spawn. The fish are huge, prehistoric-looking creatures. Some of them are more than six feet long and weigh a hundred pounds. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy was there and has this report:

The Deer Hunter

Just south of Lake Superior, Nick Van Der Puy and his friends hunt deer the old fashioned way, from a tent-camp deep in the Wisconsin north-woods. Van Der Puy remembers one hunt when he tangled with a big buck: