Contributor
View AllPatrick Durkin
Outdoors writer/editor, weekly columnist for 17 Wisconsin newspapers, regular contributor to American Hunter magazine, and former editor of Deer & Deer Hunting magazine.
Topics
- Whitetail Deer (15)
- Wildlife Management (10)
- Big Game (5)
- Policy & Legislation (5)
- Gear (1)
- Endangered Species (1)
- Wild Turkey (1)
- Natural History (1)
- Upland Birds (1)
- Grouse (1)
- Small Game (1)
- Waterfowl (1)
- Geese (1)
- Cooking Techniques (1)
- Butchering & Processing (1)
- Environmental Issues (1)
- Habitat (1)
- Predators (1)
- Grizzly Bear (1)
- Freshwater (1)
Latest
Policy & Legislation
Deer Farmer Defies CWD Law, Faces Potential Jail Time
Patrick Durkin
Mar 18, 2020
A Minnesota deer farmer defied a statewide quarantine in January by trucking three captive bucks to a hunting show in St. Paul. He will try on March 23 to convince a judge that the Department of Natural Resources lacked authority to impose the travel ban on privately-owned whitetails.
The case highlights Minnesota’s ongoing struggles with chronic wasting disease, which has been linked to captive deer or elk (cervid) farms in three of the state’s...
The case highlights Minnesota’s ongoing struggles with chronic wasting disease, which has been linked to captive deer or elk (cervid) farms in three of the state’s...
Freshwater
Human Catch and Release: Tales and Tips for Unhooking Anglers
Patrick Durkin
Feb 26, 2020
Fishing guides and emergency room doctors can’t help but recall gory wounds and pasty faces when hearing the phrase, “get hooked on fishing.”
After all, those professionals must often remove fish hooks from the ears, hands, fingers, and other body parts of panicky victims. Guides are often the casualty or the extraction expert, given that they must constantly attach lures, net fish, and unhook fish; and then stand again in harm’s way as clients...
After all, those professionals must often remove fish hooks from the ears, hands, fingers, and other body parts of panicky victims. Guides are often the casualty or the extraction expert, given that they must constantly attach lures, net fish, and unhook fish; and then stand again in harm’s way as clients...
Wildlife Management
Wounding Loss: How Agencies Account for Unrecovered Big Game
Patrick Durkin
Nov 13, 2019
Wildlife agencies could more easily assess their state’s elk, deer, or pronghorn populations if every animal alive in August fell into one of two groups by Christmas: those registered as hunters’ kills, and those destined to see spring’s fawning or calving seasons.
It’s never that easy, of course, because legal hunting harvest isn’t the only drain on a herd’s bottom line. The long list of other possible deductions includes disease, injury...
It’s never that easy, of course, because legal hunting harvest isn’t the only drain on a herd’s bottom line. The long list of other possible deductions includes disease, injury...