As wild rice harvesting begins in northern Wisconsin lakes, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced its 2021 wild rice harvest outlook.
"Pockets of good production exist, although 2021 wild rice production is generally poor across much of northern Wisconsin," said Jason Fleener, DNR Wetland Habitat Specialist. "Harvesters can find opportunities by scouting online and on-the-ground."
Harvest opportunities are much more limited in Vilas, Oneida and Forest counties, where most historic wild rice lakes and river stretches have produced little to no rice over the past decade. Conditions in the north-central and northwest counties are somewhat better, with drier conditions favoring rice production. Access on a few northwestern lakes may be difficult due to low water levels.
Wild rice harvesting offers the opportunity to explore Wisconsin by water, collect wild food, support local economies and help restore this essential resource by purchasing a wild rice harvest license. Wild rice maturity ranges from mid-August through September and differs by water body and rice beds within them.
Some wild rice waters are date-regulated, so harvesters can only gather rice when the waters are open. Throughout the harvest season, the DNR cooperates with GLIFWC to establish opening dates for the subset of date-regulated wild rice waters. Notices of openings and closings are posted to GLIFWC’s website and along lakeshores at public access points 24 hours before opening a date-regulated waterbody for harvest.
Categories: Wisconsin, Harvesting