Public input sought on Wisconsin panfishing; meetings set in Iron, Ashland counties

Lawrence Eslinger, Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist, will host two informational meetings where local anglers and stakeholders will be asked for their thoughts regarding local and statewide fisheries management issues.

The public meetings in Mercer and Butternut are two of the 28 being held in February and March by the DNR’s fisheries managers to discuss the future of panfish management in Wisconsin.

In addition to panfish management discussions, Eslinger will also be looking for stakeholder input on bass management in the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage.

The evening’s agenda will include brief presentations on both panfish management in Wisconsin and bass management on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage. Attendees will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire on both issues to help DNR understand their concerns, issues and priorities.

The panfish questionnaire and background materials presented are now also available online by going to the DNR home page, dnr.wi.gov, and do a keyword search for “panfish plan.” The Turtle-Flambeau Flowage bass questionnaire is still being developed, and specific questions on this issue should be directed to DNR fisheries biologist, Lawrence Eslinger.

Contact Lawrence Eslinger, DNR fisheries biologist, at (715)-476-7847 with questions.

The Iron County meeting will be held at the Mercer Community Center, 2648 W Margaret St., Mercer, and Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m.

The Ashland County meeting will be held at the American Legion Hall, 126 4th St. N., Butternut, Thursday, March 7 at 6 p.m.

Panfish account for nearly two-thirds of all fish caught in Wisconsin, according to a 2006-7 mail survey, with nearly half of all panfish caught being kept for the table. The DNR has long had management plans in place for game fish species such as walleye, bass, musky and northern pike, and biologists and some anglers believe such attention is necessary for panfish.

Tags: ashland county, outdoors, animals, dnr, wisconsin