Conditions vary
as warm temps
finally arrive

Thousands of anglers would normally be converging on the North Woods this weekend as fishing seasons open for walleye, northern pike and trout this Saturday, May 4, but a slow-to-arrive spring has delayed ice-out across Vilas and Oneida counties.

Opening day of the 2013 regular inland fishing season follows the coldest March and April on record and is shaping up as the polar opposite of the 2012 season opener, which followed the hottest March on record.

As of Monday, a majority of the lakes were still ice-covered in northern Wisconsin and water levels are higher than normal on many rivers as the snow melts. Warm weather finally arrived last weekend, with the high temperature hitting the upper 60s and lower 70s Saturday through Tuesday.

Tourism officials and sports

Washington connector
would include 3 roads

A proposal to use four miles of gas tax roads in the Vilas County town of Washington for an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) route to connect with town roads in Three Lakes and the Forest County town of Hiles was presented to a standing-room-only crowd last week at the Derby Track Expo Hall in Eagle River.

The Three Lakes Nicolet ATV Club wants to use parts of Dam, Nine Mile and Military roads and would need the blessing of the town of Washington in the form of an ordinance allowing ATV travel.

Presently, Three Lakes has opened all but a small part of its road system for ATV use and the town of Washington has no ATV travel permitted on its town roads.

The link to Forest County and the town

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Ranger Jamie Remme recently reminded area residents to exercise caution with debris burning as spring wildfire season approaches.

“When the snow melts, it exposes dead vegetation which dries out quickly with sunny and windy days, thus making it vulnerable to wildfires before other vegetation greens up,” said Remme, who added that people remain the No. 1 cause of wildfires in the state.

“Indeed, most wildfires can be prevented by using fire responsibly, understanding dangers of fire, and using alternatives other than burning,” said Remme.

The DNR recommended recycling, composting

The Eagle River Historical Society, which recently held a kick-off reception for its new museum building on Highway 45 South, is seeking area donors and volunteers to help remodel the venue.

The society’s development chair and vice president, Karen Sailer, said the group is looking forward to using the new space.

“Not only will this give us a permanent home and display space for our collection, which has been unavailable to the public for the past three years,” she said. “It now gives us two sites, including the

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)?recently released a statement informing the public that pruning oak trees from April through July can make them vulnerable to oak wilt, a fatal fungal disease of red oaks.

The risk of oak wilt moving from one tree to another is highest April through July, said DNR?officials.

In fact, homeowners should take special care and avoid wounding oaks in any way during those months, according to Kyoko Scanlon, the DNR’s statewide forest pathologist

“Any action that provides an opening into the tree, such as carving initials into the tree, accidentally cutting exposed roots with a lawn mower or attaching a bird feeder or clothes line, could provide an opportunity for the oak wilt fungus to invade and establish itself in the tree,”

Smoke and fire walls will be built in the Northland Pines K-8 School in Eagle River after the school board  approved a bid last week that came in lower than the recent referendum approved by electors.

Architect Jody Andres of SEH, Inc., told the board 13 firms were invited to submit a bid for the expected $240,000 project, but only one bid was received.

“Bidding documents were publically available in all plan houses and building exchanges in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula,” Andres said. “We received one bid from Miron Construction Company, who submitted a bid of $210,000. They are a good contractor and it was a good bid coming in under

Much of the 1.5 million acres of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) has experienced more snowfall than normal, which will likely delay the opening of 53 developed campgrounds and recreation trails, according to forest officials.

“We recognize this is an issue for visitors and work will be done to get the campgrounds open as soon as possible,” said CNNF?Supervisor Pail Strong.

Recreational trails across the CNNF will also be opening later than usual, he said. All trails will be closed due to the snowpack and wet conditions until approximately May 17.

Trails on the Lakewood-Laona