Patrick Durkin
Wood Turtles Don’t have it Easy in Wisconsin
If you feel persecuted because your boss says you’re slow, and drivers don’t yield when you step into crosswalks, be grateful you’re not...
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Patrick Durkin
- Jul 30
- 5 min
Deer Czar Kroll to Meet with Natural Resources Board
Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board will welcome back Texas’ Jim Kroll to its meeting Aug. 10 to catch up on all things white-tailed...
1,135 views2 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Jul 23
- 4 min
Research: Biologists Spend Ample Time in Deer Woods
One baseless accusation heard again in June during our eternal deer debates is that this biologist or that forester is only “book smart,”...
406 views2 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Jul 16
- 5 min
Mid-July Trip to Northwoods Delivers Fish, Enduring Bonds
Scrapbook photos from August 2011 show sturdy piers, tightly stacked firewood, a proud grandfather, and an 11-year-old grandson shooting...
309 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Jul 7
- 5 min
Tiffany, Grothman Co-Sign Bill to Cripple Conservation
When hunters share hunting’s conservation scorecard with folks who know little or nothing about it, we boast of paying for wildlife...
831 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
- Jul 2
- 4 min
Too Soon to ‘Fix’ Turkey Hunt Format, Permit Numbers
If you weren’t impressed that Wisconsin hunters bagged 39,007 turkeys this spring, a 5% increase over 2021, you probably saw few gobblers...
401 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Jun 25
- 4 min
Wisconsin Board Rudely Overrules Locals and Deer Science
The good ol’ boys holding a 4-3 majority on Wisconsin’s Natural Resources reduced Bayfield County’s antlerless deer recommendations for...
707 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
- Jun 18
- 4 min
Shipwreck Museum a Reminder of Region’s Deadly Waters
When storms lash inland oceans like Superior and Michigan, we cringe when thinking of the thousands killed on the Great Lakes in...
638 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Jun 10
- 4 min
Red Fox Raids Grackle Nest High Up a Spruce Tree
A pair of grackles near Stoughton learned the hard way in early June that red foxes can climb trees far better than what humans claim in...
326 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Jun 4
- 5 min
Ol’ Maynard Made Ducks and Duck Hunting Memorable
Maynard James Christensen was one of those people you knew by one name, and it wasn’t “James” or “Christensen.” Yes, his given name is...
397 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- May 27
- 5 min
With Kazmierski, ‘Lost in Translation’ is Standard Communication
Greg Kazmierski, reigning chairman of Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board, often described himself falsely the past three decades, but...
505 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
- May 23
- 4 min
Turkeys, Spiders and Bears, Oh My!
My humble hunting goal for the spring 2022 turkey season was to be a helpful, competent, memorable guide for three special people. Pfft!...
271 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- May 14
- 4 min
Time to Turn Great Wildlife Book into a Wisconsin Classic
Here’s a book every Wisconsin hunter, birder, trapper and all-around history-loving conservationist should own: “Wildlife in Early...
439 views2 comments
Patrick Durkin
- May 7
- 4 min
Northwoods Gobbler States its Heartfelt Intentions
The turkey’s gobble was just distant enough to doubt, obscured as it was by light winds swishing through red-pine boughs overhead. Tom...
307 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Apr 30
- 4 min
Wisconsin DNR Depicts State Scenes with East European Photos
Details that look trivial to casual observers reveal the essentials to experts and specialists. In fact, nothing can damn a hunting or...
1,318 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
- Apr 23
- 6 min
Wis. Conservation Hearings 2022: Another Record-Setting Event
Wisconsin’s outdoor community favored a 350-wolf population goal, and stricter safeguards for hunter education and drinking water when...
357 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Apr 15
- 4 min
Anglers Often Set the Hook into Everything but Fish
A self-righteous fisherman once wrote that fishing is more sporting than hunting because the line creates a fragile, spiritual link...
288 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Apr 8
- 4 min
Hungry Redpolls Flocked to Wisconsin this Winter
Redpolls flocked to Ryan Brady this winter like, well, choose your trite analogy: moths to light, bears to honey or pigeons to bread...
1,343 views0 comments
Patrick Durkin
- Apr 3
- 4 min
Wisconsin Hunter Gored by Buck Gets Fined for Illegal Baiting
A crossbow hunter who nearly died in early January after getting gored by a wounded buck he was tracking has paid $343.50 in fines for...
1,036 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
- Mar 26
- 5 min
Wisconsin's Conservation Hall of Fame to Induct Three Legends
This year’s three inductees to the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame impressed friend and foe alike by eagerly and respectfully working...
218 views1 comment