NR 1.015(2)(a)(a) The department’s wildlife program ranges from endangered and threatened species management to the production of huntable game. At its best, wildlife management is a process that requires a considerable degree of harmony between people and land to provide the quality landscapes and diverse habitats necessary to produce and support all types of wildlife.
NR 1.015(2)(b)(b) Public concern for the welfare of wildlife resources can help to instill a land ethic in what has become a predominantly urban population. Public support for the maintenance of native or near-natural plant communities, as necessary wildlife habitat, indirectly assures continued opportunities for a whole range of human interactions with nature that goes well beyond hunting or wildlife-oriented recreation.
NR 1.015(2)(c)(c) The department’s wildlife management program is financed in large part by user contributions, particularly license fees and excise taxes on selected equipment purchased by hunters; however, management programs directed at hunted game species provide very significant indirect benefits for a wide range of other wildlife. New sources of funds are needed to supplement the existing financial base and provide more adequate programs for nongame fish and wildlife, especially threatened and endangered species.
NR 1.015(2)(d)(d) Larger quantities of wildlife habitat are required to meet management objectives for hunting and trapping than for most other uses. The future of hunting, however, depends upon more than wildlife habitat. It depends upon the quality, the behavior and sense of responsibility of today’s hunter, the willingness of private landowners to provide access, and the tacit approval of people who don’t hunt. Since many hunters do not own the land on which they hunt and because wildlife belongs to all citizens, mutually acceptable relationships between hunters, landowners and the nonhunting public are required for hunting to continue as a socially acceptable form of outdoor recreation.
NR 1.015(3)(3)The natural resources board directs the department to implement its statutory wildlife responsibilities through the execution of the state wildlife policy as set forth herein. For the purposes of this policy, wildlife means all varieties of birds, mammals and terrestrial vertebrates other than man and domestic animals.
NR 1.015 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, July, 1977, No. 259, eff. 8-1-77.
NR 1.02NR 1.02Inland fisheries management. The following actions are essential to carry out an effective fish management program.
NR 1.02(1)(1)Land acquisition and development. The department shall provide for the protection of habitat essential to the maintenance of fish populations and for providing quality fishing opportunities through the acquisition of lands by gift or purchase. These lands shall be developed to provide access or be maintained as wilderness areas according to their potential.
NR 1.02(2)(2)Habitat protection and improvement. The department shall actively protect and maintain habitat capable of supporting aquatic species. Management efforts include deterring point and nonpoint pollution, vegetation control, rough fish control, water level manipulation and limiting shoreline development. Habitat shall be improved where fish populations can be increased and such improvements are economically and ecologically feasible. Improvements include in-stream devices, wing deflectors, bank riprap, stream bank fencing, fish shelters, dredging and streamside brushing. The application of these techniques shall be consistent with the wild and wilderness policies of the board.
NR 1.02(3)(3)Surveys and research. Programs shall be based on sound surveys and research. The department shall survey lakes and streams to obtain information needed to develop and implement management programs. Research shall be conducted to evaluate and resolve problems that have been defined.
NR 1.02(4)(4)Propagation, rearing and distribution.
NR 1.02(4)(a)(a) The department shall rear fish for stocking in waters lacking adequate natural reproduction and where reasonable returns are demonstrated by surveys. Stocking priorities will be based on use opportunities, hatchery production capabilities, cost and habitat potential. Stocking of exotic species shall be thoroughly evaluated.
NR 1.02(4)(b)(b) The department shall implement fish stocking strategies that recognize economic impact by species, provide opportunities to resident and non-resident anglers, and ensure that fish stocked are best suited to survive and thrive in the unique ecological conditions found throughout the state.  These strategies shall be developed in coordination and consultation with private aquaculturists to ensure effective coordination and partnerships in protecting, sustaining and improving the genetic integrity of native, nonnative and self-sustained populations of fish of the species defined in s. NR 40.02 (30) within the state.
NR 1.02(4)(c)(c) Preserving the genetic integrity of fish stocks that are documented and proven to survive and thrive in Wisconsin waters is a central goal of fisheries management in Wisconsin. All fish stocking in Wisconsin inland waters shall be authorized under a permit issued by the department and shall be conducted to maintain the genetic boundaries of fish best adapted to those waters. Stocking shall be considered an important restoration tool used to reestablish naturally reproducing populations and may not be conducted to the potential detriment of natural reproduction.
NR 1.02(4)(d)(d) In order to effectively meet statewide stocking goals, the department shall, on an annual basis, make available fish or fish eggs to private entities so they have access to the same genetic fish strains the state maintains in its hatchery system. This will provide additional resources and opportunities to ensure that statewide stocking needs are met through coordination and partnerships between the department and private entities.
NR 1.02(5)(5)Population manipulation. The department may, where feasible, control fish populations that are stunted or harmful to more desirable fish species. Control measures include mechanical removal, predator stocking, commercial harvest and chemical treatment.
NR 1.02(6)(6)Rules. The department shall regulate the sport and commercial harvest of aquatic resources to achieve optimum sustained yields. Pollution and habitat destruction shall be stringently opposed through the strict enforcement of all laws and administrative rules. Special regulations shall be used to provide diverse angling opportunities and to distribute use in heavily fished areas.
NR 1.02(7)(7)Trout stream classification. The department shall identify and classify trout streams as follows to ensure adequate protection and proper management of this unique resource.
NR 1.02(7)(a)(a) For the purpose of this subsection, the following terms are defined as:
NR 1.02(7)(a)1.1. “Classification survey” means a fishery survey employing techniques generally accepted by fisheries biologists that:
NR 1.02(7)(a)1.a.a. Investigates the variety of habitat types present in the water being surveyed;
NR 1.02(7)(a)1.b.b. Provides a representative sample of the fish species present, and their relative abundance;
NR 1.02(7)(a)1.c.c. Provides the length distribution and the age structure of the trout population.
NR 1.02(7)(a)2.2. “Trout spawning habitat” means areas of gravel, small rubble or coarse sand which are infiltrated by groundwater or stream flow of sufficient quantity and quality to allow successful hatching of trout eggs and emergence of fry.
NR 1.02(7)(a)3.3. “Trout habitat” means those areas having sufficient quantity and quality of water, cover and food to allow trout to complete one or more life history stages.
NR 1.02(7)(b)(b) Classification of trout streams, as determined by classification surveys, shall be based on the following criteria:
NR 1.02(7)(b)1.1. ‘Class I.’ A class I trout stream is a stream or portion thereof with a self-sustaining population of trout.
NR 1.02(7)(b)1.a.a. Such a stream contains trout spawning habitat and naturally produced fry, fingerling, and yearling in sufficient numbers to utilize the trout habitat, or
NR 1.02(7)(b)1.b.b. Contains trout with 2 or more age groups, above the age of one year, and natural reproduction and survival of wild fish in sufficient numbers to utilize the available trout habitat and to sustain the fishery without stocking.