Season Over Until Further Notice

Basically just closed by edict.

You're right, in most of the places there is nothing there other than the land and no one from the Fed Gov't partrols the area. But the word is passed down from the Dept of the Interior that all those areas are now closed to the public. All they have to do is stick a sign in the parking lot. Which I suppose anyone can ignore if they want to take a chance on trespassing and hunting closed Federal land.

At places that do have actualy facilities, like the Horicon, they will close the visitors center, throw up the gates at the Auto-loop, etc.

No I haven't seen any signs because I haven't gone to one yet. But the entire Leopold Wetland Management District, as well as the Horicon, are part of the National Wildlife Refuge system. Federal land, not state.

Take my word for it. It's shut down.

Thought the government shutdown wouldn’t hurt your hunting plans? Think again. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has suspended operations after the federal government officially shut down Tuesday. The suspension effectively closes all 561 National Wildlife Refuges to tourists, hunters and anglers, and bars any hunting activities on public land. This is especially bad news for waterfowlers already constricted by land access, and the news is compounded with duck season either under way or starting soon.

“In these times of ever-dwindling access, losing any public ground opportunity due to political infighting is painful, especially since it is largely hunter’s dollars that fund so much of this habitat management through the federal duck stamp program and monies from the Pittman-Robertson act, among many other programs,” says WILDFOWL Editor Skip Knowles.


National parks and nearly all national forests have also been closed by the shutdown, but all other federal lands are open to hunting and fishing in accordance with federal and state game laws.

To find out more on which areas near you are closed, contact your local game and fish department

_____________________________________________

Dodge County -
One already noticeable example of the government shutdown in our area is the Horicon Marsh in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties.

About two-thirds of the marsh operated by the US Fish and Wildlife service is now closed to the public.

Shared by the federal and state government, the Horicon Marsh is a popular place for trails and sightseeing, but now a larger northern section is blocked by gates with a sign posted turning visitors away.

It won't change until Congress restores funding.

"Right now if you're interested in recreating on the Horicon Marsh, the state side, the southern end, is where people would want to go," said Bret Owsley, Wisconsin DNR Horicon Area Wildlife Supervisor.

State officials say the marsh can attract up to 500,000 people per year.

The concern is with a portion closed some people might stay away and that could hurt local tourism.

Owsley said, "What we've done is worked on a communication plan to make sure everyone knows that what's open and what's closed. I think that's the biggest question that people are asking is that, 'Can I be here?' because nobody wants to be somewhere they're not supposed to be is how we look at it."

The marsh is divided between state and federal land. The northern portion is federal land covering about 22,000 acres. The southern area is about 11,000 acres which is state land and still open to the public right now.

"For the most part we offer the same opportunities. One of the popular items on the US Fish and Wildlife side is the auto tour which will be closed down, but other than that we all offer trails very similar," said Owsley.
www.wbay.com/story/23584731/2013/10/01/government-shutdown-closes-portion-of-horicon-marsh

I'm not making this stuff up. I hunt alot of these places.

Is the Mississippi River open for hunting? I don't know I'm curious to know?

No they can't close the Mississippi river*. And the can't close the state owned areas of the Horicon. They can't shut down most areas. BUT they can, and have, shut down areas that are entirely within USFWS jurisdiction. Such as Uihlein WPA and the other areas I mentioned in my first post. (Except Jackson, Jackson may not be a Federal WPA)

Simply put, if you hunt somewhere that has one of these signs, it's closed.



I wish it were true that "no ones" hunting spots were being affected by the shutdown. And I'm glad it doesn't seem to be an issue for anyone else here. Unfortunately, I hunted Uihleins on opening day and had planned to go back next weekend. Also had a couple of solo hunts planned for another WPA area. Those areas are closed. So, I'm affected for sure. I just hope they get it together soon, but I have a feeling it may drag on at least a couple of weeks, if not more.

Here is the contingency plan set forth on Sept 27 and put in effect when the shut down occured. Key points:

• National Wildlife Refuges will be closed to public access. Visitor Centers and other
buildings will be closed.

• All activities will be canceled on federal lands and public buildings until the government
reopens. This includes hunting and fishing activities on public lands.

www.doi.gov/shutdown/fy2014/upload/FWS-Fact-Sheet.pdf

That's pretty cut and dried. It's hard to get additional info because the DOI is obviously not manning it's website during the shutdown. I can't get a response from Bruce Luebke who manages the Leopold District because he's probably been furloughed or is handling some other duties.

All that being said, I have half a mind to go anyway. And I just might. They can give the federal workers backpay, but they can't give me back my hunting season once it's gone. So I'm seriously considering blowing off the shutdown. It's starting to look like State authourities have no plan to enforce the shutdown.


*The Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge is also "closed".

It is bogus but I obviously still have some other options. Was planning on doing the Grand River Marsh area later on, I may just have to move that up. The timing of the shutdown stinks though.

I'd love to take a ride up to Uihleins this weekend and see if people are still hunting it but I won't have time. I'm very tempted to stick with my plans to go next week but the last thing I'd want to see as I come out of the marsh is some gung ho USFWS officer standing by my truck.