Beckie Gaskill

Recent Stories

While he is in the stand, she is out on the land Widow’s Weekend

Every November, as the blaze orange army heads to the woods for Wisconsin’s nine-day gun-deer season, women across the state celebrate something a little different: Widow’s Weekend. This weekend is that glorious kickoff to girl time where the only hunting is for good deals, good laughs, and good cocktails.

Hunters will find new boundaries, good bucks in Northern Forest Zone

In the Northern Forest Zone (NFZ), after years of hunters asking for unit boundary changes, 2025 marks the year they will get their wish. In 2014, the state moved to using county boundaries as Deer Management Unit (DMU) after the deer report stated there were too many DMUs that were too small to facilitate proper management. However, in the NFZ, there has been a push for several years to return to more of a habitat-based unit system.

Rhinelander youth bags second wall hanger

Oct. 8, 2025 will be a day youth hunter Claire Laddusire remembers for a long time. She will remember it every time she looks up at the wall. That is the day she arrowed a 10-point buck in Oneida County. The buck had a 16-inch inside spread and received a Northwoods Youth Deer Hunt Challenge score of 26.

Wisconsin Bass Team Trail anglers fight wind and weather at championship on Minocqua Chain

The weekend of Oct 4-5 was one of the windier weekends anglers of the Wisconsin Bass Trail could remember fishing their championship tournament. Spot-Lock ® or shallow water anchors, it was difficult at best to control boats and fish efficiently, many anglers reported. Others said it was impossible to fish docks and other structures in certain areas due to the wind.

Hunter Nation urges sportsmen and women to get out and vote

Hunter Nation held a town hall meeting with Congressman Tom Tiffany, also a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, in Green Bay on Nov. 14. The main topic of conversation with sportsmen, who came from across northern and central Wisconsin, was the progress made, or lack thereof, on wolf delisting.

Oneida County forestry, land and recreation committee stays course on snowmobile trail openings

The county’s snowmobile trail opening policy came before the forestry, land and recreation committee at their regularly scheduled monthly meeting this week. Committee chair Bob Almekinder said he had been asked to put the matter on the agenda for the committee, and said there was also some question as to who should be the representative for the county on the committee.

Wisconsin Headwaters Invasives Partnership steering committee looks at funding concerns, projects, communications plan

The Wisconsin Headwaters Invasives Partnership (WHIP) is one of several Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs) in Wisconsin. The organization is headquartered in Rhinelander in the Lumberjack RC&D office.

Vilas Lakes Partnership offers networking for local lake organizations

Each year the Vilas County Land and Water Conservation Department holds the Vilas County Lakes Partnership meeting at the Boulder Junction Community Center. It is an opportunity for lake organizations and members of those organizations to learn about what issues the county has been seeing in the way of lake health, invasive species and other water-related topics. It is also a place where the county and lake organizations alike can share their successes and stories of their work over the past year.

Lumberjack RC&D helps to fund 2 local projects in 2026

Each year, Lumberjack Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council funds several conservation projects around their nine-county area, and this year, two of those were here in Oneida and Vilas counties.

Nicolet College Learning in Retirement provides wide array of opportunities for members over 50

Nicolet College’s Learning in Retirement program is directed by retired and semi-retired Northwoods residents and was created for those who are retired or semi-retired, and is open to anyone 50 years of age or older. The program offers short-term learning opportunities that allow people to have a wide variety of experiences in what has been described as a relaxed, informal and friendly setting.