The former state fisheries director and now writer for Wisconsin Outdoor News, Lee Kernen will be our January speaker. He will discuss a number of issues and share some stories. For those readers of the News, his recent articles featured a 98-year-old duck hunter who still hunts 3-4 times a year, and most recently, his top 10 fishing trips of 2003. He writes some great articles.

Also, we will award various annual awards for efforts in conservation and with the DCCL. See related article.

Our annual election of officers will also take place. Four directors will be elected. At this time three incumbent board members will seek reelection. Ron Skaife has elected to continue as an active League member but not run for another term. Our thanks to Ron for his years as an active director of the League.

Ed Brost – Our senior board member has been active in the League since the 50s. He has been involved in all areas of interest and looks forward to seeing our involvement in the area.

Ed Fuss – Another longtime member and past League President, Ed looks forward to working with membership while having some fun doing it.

Dwaine Rundle – Dwaine has served the League as an active member as well as board member. He is actively involved in the farm, banquet, and cook when available.

Jennifer Smith - Jennifer has expressed an interest in becoming a board member. Besides being involved in a number of league activities including attending board meetings, she is also willing to serve as treasurer when Dave Wilken elects to retire as treasurer.

We also will have our annual longest tail contest, and the raffle this month will include a Benelli Nova Camo shotgun, Motorola radios, framed print, and League items.

Last but not least, a longtime League tradition will take - the longest pheasant tail contest. Tail must be from the 2003 hunting season. We have had some close ones over the past few years.

Meeting time is 7:30, and the location is the VFW Hall at 133 E. Lakeside, -Madison.

There are many great banquets in the works. With the closest one being Pine Bluff’s DU Chapter on February 9 and Badger Chapter of Federation of Flyfishers Spring Opener on January 24.

The League’s tenth annual fundraising banquet is set for Thursday, April 22. Expect your formal invitation around the beginning of February. As in the past, we will limit the number of attendees, so be ready as we sell out before the early deadline. The event will be held at Turner Hall off S. Stoughton Road.

A number of members in the past have offered door prizes or desired to sponsor various raffle prizes. If you are so inclined, please contact Dwaine Rundle at 276-9427

At our annual meeting the DCCL will recognize Bill Lawrence and Bid Schlotthauer as our co-members of the Year. Both of these people have been with the League a number of years and are active in many ways not only with us, but others as well.

Bill Lawrence, was involved in a number of activities at the farm, especially seeing to the integrity of the new nets for pens 3 & 4, even spending a number of days in the hot sun hog ringing the perimeter and seams, but his efforts allowed for a tan he hasn’t had since his Navy days. For those who attend our annual banquet, the registrars face you see is Bill’s. He has been doing this for soon to be his sixth year.

Bid Schlotthauer has sorted lumber for bird houses while also helping to build them and has set up for numerous banquets and fishing expos along with any other activity we are involved with. He attends a number of board of directors meeting too as an interested member. A number of his family have been and continue to be involved in League activities.

This year’s Junior Member of the League is Amanda Maund, daughter of Brian and Sue Smith. The care of the farm and birds has been of interest to Amanda along with other League functions. Thanks, Amanda, for your efforts, and we look forward to awarding you our Junior Member Award for 2003.

The Board of Directors will formally recognize Dave Wilken as the League’s 2003 Dane County Conservationist of the Year at January’s annual meeting.

Dave was nominated by Lowell Carter who along with many of us recognizes Dave for his efforts to maintain prairie lands in Dane County. His property outside of Blue Mounds has been in prairie, and Dave was instrumental in creating the League’s prairie. He also built fifty-four boxes with a prairie seed placed in each 2*2 box with a card identifying each planting. This in addition to being active in a number of League activities and pursuing the League’s focus on species preservation and activities in Dane County.

The League is looking to work with a Boy/Girl Scout group(s) for special projects. Potential projects include working to develop our prairie this spring and assisting with raising birds during the year. We also will conduct our annual bird-nesting project, scheduled for early spring. Scouts are more than welcome to assist with this great cause. We plan to rebuild half of our pheasant pens this spring. Please contact one of the officers listed in this newsletter if you are interested in completing some conservation work or earning merit badge credit.

Scott Hassett will be our February speaker. His talk will be timely due to the extensive cuts being made by the DNR as a result of the tight state budget.

Penni Klein will be the March speaker and will discuss a restoration project the League helped support with money, grant writing support, and some physical labor. Her talk will include a great slide show of results that can be made on our environment.

If the year 2004 or LIFE shows at the top of your mailing label, it means we have received your renewal for this new year. If we did not, but should have, please contact one of the directors.

If no date shows, then we have not heard from you, so please consider doing so soon. If you cannot locate the renewal notice that was mailed in late December, we have enclosed a copy of the renewal form in this newsletter. Please consider renewing as you can see by the items covered in this newsletter, our members do make an impact in Dane County and the state of Wisconsin. We value and need your membership. Thank you.

The bluebird house building project will be held in mid to late April at the old milk house. Many thanks to Bid and William Schlotthauer who will be pre-cutting the nesting structures again this year. We will be making the Olsen and Peterson style bluebird houses, plus the always favorite bat houses. This is a truly family friendly project, so we hope many people will bring their children to help with the building.

Please bring along any electric screwdrivers you may have. The League will also provide some tools for those who need them. We will be sending out the final date of this project in our mini newsletter. Hope to see a great turnout for a rewarding and long time League project.

Don’t forget everyone who helps build a house gets to take home one of the structures.

League members helped with setups at the Madison Fishing Expo.

League Scholarships were awarded to High School graduates;