MADISON -- A shout out from an angler out on a lake at dusk or a hunter in his stand at dawn is becoming routine. It’s all in a day’s work for the Department of Natural Resources Call Center, which brought expanded hours and services on line one year ago this month.

“Our customers don’t have to wait for traditional daytime, weekday business hours to get help. If you have a question about tagging your deer, the slot size for your fish, or want to enroll in a safety class, we’re here for you seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Diane Brookbank, Customer Service and Licensing Director for DNR. The center offers a toll-free number, an on-line, live chat room, and customer service specialists speaking Hmong and Spanish as well as English.

The expanded hours Call Center – unique among state natural resources agencies – has handled more than 239,000 customer contacts in the last year, one third of them at night and on weekends. Some 8,700 more customers have taken advantage of on-line chats. The highly trained staff responds to a wide variety of DNR issues, from clarifying regulations on hunting and fishing to restrictions on firewood transportation. As a result, state game wardens are feeling a little like the Maytag Repairman – they’ve experienced a 90 percent reduction in routine telephone calls -- but it has allowed them to dedicate more time and energy to public safety and wildlife programs.

The most common phone-in questions Customer Service specialists get involve clarification of deer season rules and regulations, registering for a safety education class, and requirements for registering a boat, snowmobile or ATV. The operators also field tips about suspected fish and game violations and possible land or water toxic spills. Operators have gotten calls from lost hunters and have helped guide rescue teams to them, and have gotten off-beat questions like, “I’m walleye fishing, can you tell me what one looks like?”

DNR created the Customer Service Call Center by reallocating positions and workload internally – the enhanced public service came at no additional cost to license buyers or taxpayers.

“We’re pretty proud of what we’ve done here. People recreate throughout the day and on weekends. We need to serve them on their schedule, not ours. We’re got great service specialists who love their work. Call us,” said Brookbank.

Operating under the tag, “We’re here for you,” the public can contact the call center seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., at 1-888-WDNR INFo (1-888-936-7463). To report spills call 1-800-943-0003 or to report suspected fish and game violations call 1-800-TIP-WDNR (1-800-847-9367.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: DNR Customer Service - 1-888-936-7463