Spring Hearing questions involving Shawano, Oconto counties pass

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released the results from the 2021 Spring Hearing on April 19.

A pair of questions regarding Shawano and Oconto counties, plus a citizen resolution for Oconto County, all passed.

Spring Hearing results now available

The Shawano County question asked if individuals favored “applying a daily bag limit of three trout in total with a minimum length limit of eight inches for all trout species in the Little Wolf River from its headwaters to the downstream end of the classified section.” The question included the connected creeks of Comet Creek, Jones Creek, Jackson Creek, Flume Creek, Rainy Creek, and Bradley Creek in Marathon, Portage, Waupaca and Shawano counties.

The question passed by a vote of 4,915-753, with 4,169 people having no opinion. Of people who indicated they recreate in Shawano County, the question passed 368-62, with 105 listing no opinion.

The lone Spring Hearing question involving Oconto County was asking if individuals “support applying no minimum length limit for largemouth bass and a daily bag limit of five bass in total for White Potato Lake.”

The question passed 4,935-1,270, with 3,990 with no opinion. Of those that recreate in Oconto County, 480 were in favor, 98 were against and 110 had no opinion.

The lone citizen resolution submitted in Shawano or Oconto county came from Oconto. The resolution was to remove burbot from the list of Wisconsin rough fish, which would require legislation.

A total of 78 individual voted on the resolution, with 54 in favor and 24 against. Twenty-one individuals had no opinion.

Of the 57 total Spring Hearing questions, only two were voted down.

People voted against legalizing the harvest of white (not albino) deer statewide. A total of 4,895 people were against it, while 4,704 were for it. An additional 880 people had no opinion.

Individuals also voted against allowing dog training, trialing, and hunting on state-owned land from April 15-July 31 without requiring the use of an 8-foot leash. After the votes were counted, 4,870 people were against it, while 3,934 were for it and 1,595 not offering an opinion.

Only 12,641 individuals participated in the online input, as opposed to 64,943 in 2020.

Full results can be found at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc/springhearing.