Conservation Wardens Need Your Help!

Assembly Bill 411 Seriously Undermines Fish and Game Enforcement

Assembly Bill 411 threatens the ability of Conservation Wardens to effectively enforce hunting, fishing and trapping regulations on the 80% of Wisconsin that is privately owned.

Under current law any law enforcement officer including conservation wardens has the authority to enter open fields of private land to assure compliance with laws. They do not have authority to enter buildings or areas near buildings.

Wardens need the authority to enter open fields to assure that individuals hunting, fishing or trapping have the appropriate licenses and stamps to hunt, fish or trap and to assure that individuals on private land are complying with all hunting, fishing and trapping regulations.

Fish and wildlife are owned by the public and unless conservation wardens are allowed to go onto the open fields of private land to enforce hunting, fishing and trapping regulations, fish and game on that property from a practical standpoint becomes private.

There should be the same fish and game regulation enforcement on private lands as public lands.

Support your local Conservation Warden

Ask your State Senator and State Representative to Vote NO on Assembly Bill 411.

Go to the legislative website first page to find out how to contact your legislators: www.legis.wisconsin.gov

Source: Wisconsin Wildlife Federation’s - Wisconservation

WCSFO Joins Other Statewide Sports/Conservation Groups Opposed to State Budget

In a joint letter to the Joint Committee on Finance, the Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations (WCSFO) and 14 other statewide Sport and Conservation Groups went on record as being opposed to portions of the proposed State Budget presented by Governor Scott Walker.

The Statewide groups represent over 200 Clubs in Wisconsin with over 100,000 members. The letter was written to urge the Committee to support retaining the 18.4 DNR research scientist positions in the 2015-2017 state budget.

Click Here to review letter and fact sheet.

^{Wisconsin Trappers Association}

^{Ruffed Grouse Society,}

^{Wisconsin Waterfowl Association}

^{White Tails Unlimited,}

^{Wisconsin Federation of Great Lakes Sports Fishing Clubs}

^{Walleyes for Tomorrow}

^{Wisconsin Sporting Dogs Association}

^{Sturgeon for Tomorrow}

^{Wisconsin Deer Hunters Inc.}

^{Sharp Tailed Grouse Society}

^{Wisconsin Muzzleloaders}

^{Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations}

^{Izaak Walton League-Wisconsin Division}

^{Wisconsin Association of Field Trial Clubs}

^{Wisconsin Wildlife Federation}

Fact Sheet--SS SB24/SS AB24--Alteration of Navigable Waters

SS SB24 and SS AB24 will have significant adverse impact on Wisconsin lakes and streams and will greatly limit the opportunity for Wisconsin citizens to have public input on lake and stream development projects. Specifically;

SS SB24 and SS AB24 substantially limit Wisconsin Citizen’s ability to protect their lakes and streams. Lake and stream users including hunters, anglers and trappers and riparian owners have the Constitutional right to object and intervene in DNR decisions that adversely affect lakes and streams. The bills specifically:

1. force citizens to evaluate proposed projects on incomplete information from applicants;

2. eliminate notices of applications to citizens in their local newspapers. Many citizens, especially in rural areas, do not have easy access to internet notices;

3. reduce the amount of time that citizens have to review applications from 30 days to 20 days;

4. put the burden of proof on an application on the citizen rather than the permit applicant.

SS SB24 and SS AB24 significantly weaken environmental regulations protecting fish and wildlife habitat. The bills substantially reduce DNR’s ability to evaluate projects that will lead to inadequate application of environmental regulations and also directly remove environmental standards. The bills specifically:

1. limit DNR’s authority to ask the applicant for additional information about a project even when the applicant continues to not provide the needed information;

2. force DNR to make permit decisions on incomplete applications;

3. prohibit DNR from denying a permit application on grounds that the application is incomplete even when the applicant does not provide the needed information;

4. create default permits when DNR is unable to process an application in time even when the DNR has insufficient staff to process the permit or even when the applicant has not provided adequate information;

5. remove DNR’s authority to prevent serious environmental damage by the construction of piers in the state’s most sensitive water areas known as “Areas of Special Natural Resource Interest”

6. require DNR to issue a general permit to any riparian owner to remove five 10 yard dump trucks of material from the bed of a lake or stream on an annual basis for their pier or boatlift. The cumulative affect of this considering the hundreds of thousands of piers in Wisconsin can have serious adverse affect on fish and wildlife habitat and water quality;

7. require DNR to issue a general permit to any riparian owner to remove fifty 10 yard dump trucks of “plant and animal nuisance” (undefined) from the bed of a lake or stream on an annual basis. Once again, individually or cumulatively, this can have serious adverse impacts on fish and wildlife habitat and water quality;

8. remove DNR’s authority to designate additional areas of the most valuable and significant scientific value for protection from development in lakes and streams;

9. require DNR to establish expedited procedures for the approval of certain dams. Often these dams can cause serious environmental damage and block spawning fish from getting to their spawning habitat.

SS SB24 and SS AB24 violate the Constitutionally based Public Trust Doctrine protecting navigable waters by allowing private development on public lake and stream beds. The beds of lakes and the water area of streams are owned by the Citizens of Wisconsin under the State Constitution. Private structures in those areas are to be limited to whatever is necessary to allow riparian owners to use the waters for their navigation. The bills specifically:

1. remove DNR’s authority (prospectively and retroactively) to prevent the construction of private condominiums and other private structures on filled public lake beds and streams which are protected by the Public Trust Doctrine. This provision has been placed in the bills partially because of a lawsuit currently underway in the Circuit Court of Manitowoc County. These bills will directly intervene in that litigation.

2. would grandfather many very large structures such as party decks and gazebos on the beds of lakes and streams that were built illegally. This would be contrary to a legislative compromise that was entered into in 2004 and voted for by several current legislators.

SS SB24 and SS AB 24 weaken environmental standards that apply to metallic mining in Wisconsin. Metallic mines require permits and approvals under many Wisconsin environmental laws. Many of these laws have been weakened by the provisions contained in these bills. The bill specifically:

1. would remove the requirement for the permit applicant for a major new stationary source of air pollution to perform air dispersion modeling before obtaining an air permit. This means that the proposed Penokee mine in Ashland and Iron County would not have to model their air emissions to ensure that their taconite pellet processing facility and their large electrical generating plant will meet compliance with air quality standards;

2. would create default permits for mine prospecting permits in the state.

Mine prospecting can cause significant damage to land and water if done improperly and the bills would grant default permits to applicants if DNR was unable to process the permit in time;

3. would create default permits for high capacity wells. Metallic mining

operations such as the proposed Penokee mine will need substantial makeup water for their operation which they will likely gain through high capacity wells. It would be virtually impossible for DNR to complete the necessary hydrological studies necessary for the mine in the short period of time set out for the high capacity well default permits;

4. would allow DNR to issue general permits rather than individual permits for the many stream alterations necessary for metallic mining projects;

5. would create default permits for the approval of licenses for oil and and gas production wells in Wisconsin. Oil and gas extraction, if not done properly can cause serious environmental damage and authority to do so should not be granted by default permits with inadequate DNR review.

Source: Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

New Law (Act 21) Delays Implementation of Important Public Safety Regulation

Poynette: Today, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation identified that a new law passed by the Wisconsin Legislature, (Act 21), which adds substantial delay and red tape in the process for adopting hunting, fishing and trapping rules will cause substantial delay in the implementation of a non-controversial sports fishing regulation designed to protect public safety while sports fishing on the Great Lakes.

In June 2010, a sports fishing boat trolling off of Sheboygan, Wisconsin sank within a minute of having its fishing lines becoming snagged on a commercial trap net in Lake Michigan, resulting in a sports anglers death and the rescue of his companions. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation along with the Wisconsin Federation of Great Lakes Sportsfishing Clubs petitioned the Department of Natural Resources to adopt regulations preventing similar tragic accidents. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board responded by adopting a simple and inexpensive Emergency Rule which required that starting in 2011 all Great Lakes sports fishing boats must have a wire cutters on board to be able to quickly cut any of their lines that become ensnared on commercial fishing nets in the Great Lakes. The cost of compliance for any sports fishing boat to have this life-saving tool is less than $10. There was no sports anglers’ opposition to this public safety regulation.

The emergency rule by law expires at the end of the 2011 sports fishing season and cannot be renewed. Under the former law governing the adoption of administrative rules, the DNR would have been able to initiate a permanent rule process and adopt a non-controversial rule for the 2011 Great Lakes sports fishing season. However due to the extensive delays and red tape built into the administrative rule adoption process by new Act 21, including a detailed economic analysis, it now takes between two and three years to adopt a permanent rule, and the wire cutter permanent rule cannot be put in place until July 2013. That is in spite of the fact that there has not been a single complaint by sports fisherman about the simple, inexpensive requirement.

“While well-intended, Act 21 has already started to cause severe problems in adopting simple hunting, fishing and trapping regulations,” indicated Chuck Matyska, (Cecil), Wildlife Federation President. “Virtually all of the many regulations governing hunting, fishing and trapping in Wisconsin must be adopted by administrative rule and are supported by sportsmen and women and there should not be unproductive delays and bureaucracy in their adoption.”

“In this tragic situation, the Natural Resources Board came up with a simple and cheap rule that will significantly increase the safety of Great Lakes sports anglers, only to find it ensnared by the Legislature’s adoption of this new law,” stated Larry Freitag, (Sheboygan), Chair of WWF’s Great Lakes Fishing Committee. “This was a rule that was unanimously supported by both sports and commercial anglers and needs to be in effect for the 2012 sports fishing season.”

The Wildlife Federation is calling on the Governor and the Legislature to modify Act 21 to allow the adoption of non-controversial and inexpensive hunting, fishing and trapping regulations without the added red tape and delay caused by the new law.

Make your voice heard - Request Veto of Assembly Bill 371

In this session of the legislature there have been a flurry of bills where legislators have tried to set hunting regulations for turkey hunting, archery deer hunting and bear hunting. This was done intentionally to bypass the input of the thousands of sportsmen and women who normally would have a chance to vote on hunting regulations at the Conservation Congress Spring hearings.

Due to the effort of sportsmen and women several of these bills were stopped before they reached the Governor's desk for signature. However one of them, AB 371, is now before the Governor for his decision to either sign it or veto it.

AB 371 makes several changes to the fall bear hunting season which will be disruptive to archery deer hunters, small game hunters and the majority  of bear hunters. The proposed changes to bear hunting in AB 371 were on the Conservation Congress Spring hearings on April 12, 2010 and were voted down by as much as an 82% to 18% ratio, with 71 out of 72 counties voting against and one county tied.

As a sportsman or woman, it is important for you to take action and contact the Governor and ask for him to veto AB 371. This time the changes affect bear hunting, next time it may be your favorite form of hunting, fishing or trapping. Don't let the regulations affecting your sport be changed without having the opportunity to vote on them at the Conservation  Congress hearings.

The Governor can be contacted by calling 608-266-1212 or writing him at:

Governor James Doyle
115 East, State Capitol
Madison WI 53702

He can also be contacted through the email contact form on the Governor's Office Website: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/

It is important to make this contact in the next week!

Groundwater Protection Law Important to Protect Right to Hunt, Fish and Trap

Poynette: Whether you are duck hunter on a wind-swept marsh, a trout angler on a coldwater stream, a trapper in a shallow swamp or a bass angler on a small Wisconsin lake, protection of Wisconsin groundwater is extremely important. Sportsmen and women know that over drawing our groundwater resource can and has had a negative impact on Wisconsin lakes, streams and wetlands.

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and its 168 affiliate clubs strongly supports SB 620, the Groundwater Protection Act. Additional oversight of groundwater withdrawals is necessary to prevent further unregulated loss of important fish and wildlife habitat.

“Living in Plover, Wisconsin, I have had a first hand opportunity to see the drying-up of the Little Plover River the last five years,” indicated Jerry Knuth, Board Member of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. “The Little Plover has joined Long Lake in Waushara County and Bloody Run Creek in Wood County as bodies of water near to where I live that have been largely destroyed by insufficient oversight of pumping from high capacity wells”

“The Legislature had graciously adopted the Constitutional Amendment to hunt, fish and trap in Wisconsin,” stated Don Hammes, Board Member of the Federation. “However our constitutional right to hunt, fish and trap is a mere piece of paper unless the Legislature adopts stronger laws governing the withdrawal of groundwater which is vital to the fish and wildlife habitat in our lakes, streams and wetlands.

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation strongly endorses SB 620 and encourages its rapid adoption by the Legislature

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is the state’s largest conservation organization comprised of 168 hunting, fishing and trapping organizations. The Federation is dedicated to conservation education and the adoption of strong conservation policies.

Webmeister Note: WCSFO unanimously supported this Bill at the recent March 20th Spring Meeting held in Franklin, WI.

Governor Doyle, 38 State Representatives Reject Wisconsin Sportsmen and Women on DNR Secretary Appointment Bill

Poynette: Yesterday, Governor James Doyle and thirty-eight Wisconsin state representatives rejected the request of 270 hunting, fishing, trapping, forestry and other conservation and environmental groups to restore the appointment authority of the DNR Secretary back to the Natural Resources Board.

While the State Assembly voted by an overwhelming 58 to 38 margin to override Governor James Doyle’s veto of AB 138, the bill that would have restored the appointment authority to the NRB, a two-thirds majority was required because of Doyle’s reversal of his fourteen year support for the Board appointment. Doyle had repeatedly indicated such support to sports groups and individuals when he ran for elections. When the change was made to a Governor’s appointed system, then Attorney General Doyle called it a “wholesale attack on the way we protect the environment.”

In the last week before the vote, big business interests, such as the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the Wisconsin Builders Association, the Wisconsin Realtors and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau lobbied state representatives heavily and the two-thirds majority to override the veto was lost. These groups and others opposed to the override contribute heavily to Doyle and the thirty-eight representatives that voted against Wisconsin sportsmen and women. As an example, it has been reported that these interests contributed $4.14 million to Doyle since 2003. Doyle’s aides including a DNR employee were actively lobbying against the override in the State Capitol yesterday.

Approximately two hundred blaze orange clad hunters, anglers trappers and other conservationists were at the Capitol to show their strong support for the veto override.
The following thirty-eight state representatives actually looked those sportsmen and women in the eye and voted no on the veto override.

Republicans Voting Against the Override: Ballweg, Brooks, Davis, Fitzgerald, Friske, Gottlieb, Gunderson, Gundrum, Honadel, Huebsch, Kerkman, Kestell, Kleefisch, Knodl, Kramer, LeMahieu, Lothian, Montgomery, Murtha, Nass, Newcomer, Nygren, Al Ott, Jim Ott, Petersen, Petrowski, Pridemore, Rhoades, Stone, Strachota, Townsend, Vos, Vukmir and Zipperer.

Democrats Voting Against the Override: Steinbrink, Young and Zepnick.
Independent Voting Against the Override: Wood
Democrat Paired Against the Override: Kessler

A special thank you to the following 58 representatives who resisted the heavy lobbying by the business interests and the Governor and voted to support Wisconsin sportsmen and women:

Republicans Voting for the Override: Bies, Kaufert, Meyer, Mursau, Nerison, Ripp, Roth, Spanbauer, Tauchen, Van Roy, and Mary Williams.

Democrats Voting for the Override: Barca, Benedict, Berceau, Bernard Schaber, Black, Clark, Colon, Cullen, Danou, Dexter, Fields, Garthwaite, Grigsby, Hebl, Hilgenberg, Hintz, Hixson, Hraychuck, Hubler, Jorgensen, Krusick, Mason, Milroy, Molepske, Nelson, Parisi, Pasch, Pocan, Pope-Roberts, Radcliffe, Richards, Roys, Schneider, Seidel, Sheridan, Sherman, Shilling, Sinicki, Smith, Soletski, Staskunas, Toles, Turner, Van Akkeren, Vruwink, Ziegelbauer and Zigmunt.

Democrats Paired for the Override: Annette Williams

Republican Scott Suder, a cosponsor and a strong supporter of the bill did not vote due to his active duty deployment in Afghanistan. We greatly appreciate his service and support.

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is the state’s largest conservation organization representing 168 hunting, fishing, trapping and forestry-related groups. The Federation is dedicated to conservation education and the advancement of sound conservation policies.

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation - George Meyer

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation--Letter Addressing Rep. Gunderson's Issues on AB 138 Override

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

February 19, 2010

Representative Scott Gunderson
Room North,
State Capitol
Madison, WI 53708

Dear Scott:

Thank you very much for your letter of yesterday to the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. The Federation truly appreciates the opportunity to address the issues that you raised in your letter on this eve of one of the most historic votes ever taken on behalf of Wisconsin’s sportsmen and women.

In your letter you have raised two major reasons that are given by the opponents of the override of the Governor’s veto of AB 138, the bipartisan bill that restores the appointment authority of the DNR Secretary to the Natural Resources Board. The Federation’s Board of Directors has carefully considered these reasons over the last three months and strongly believes that they are not significant concerns to prevent strong support for a veto override. We have been consistently talking to the thousands of hunter, anglers and trappers that we represent and when the issues are explained in detail to them, sportsmen and women agree that the effort to override the Governor’s veto must continue as a high priority.

The policy issues that you raised in your letter:

1. The Senate Amendment to AB 138. The Senate amended AB 138 to include a Senate confirmation vote of any Secretary appointed by the Natural Resources Board. The Federation does truly consider this to be a minor amendment to the bill and one that does not significantly alter the great benefits of the bill restoring the appointment authority to the Natural Resources Board.

Ironically, the Senate amendment was added to the bill to address a concern raised by the bill’s opponents that the strictly Board appointment of the Secretary did not include any scrutiny of the appointment by elected officials. To have an up or down vote by the Senate gives a voice to all of the citizens on the merits of the Board nominee. This is a check and balance that bill opponents have called for in the past.

The argument is made that having Senate confirmation of the Board appointee interjects politics back into DNR operations. Let’s review that argument. I can personally shed some light on it because of my personal experience of having twice gone through Senate confirmation as a DNR Secretary appointee.

As the bill is drafted, the politics would be that the Secretary appointee, once every four years, would need to meet with Senators and urge them to vote to confirm him or her. That is a very modest interjection of politics into the operational aspects of running the DNR. It pales in comparison with the current daily political interference of the Governor’s Office in the operations of the DNR where, as we have seen, the head of the agency can and three years ago was fired for properly carrying out the responsibilities of the position because it was contrary to the direction of the Governor’s Office.

The Senate confirmation does not mean that the Senate makes the appointment. Based on historical practice, the Natural Resources Board, after a thorough search and careful interviews, will make a decision and name a new DNR Secretary. The Senate will hold a hearing and then have an up or down vote on the nominee. That is a routine function in state government. In the forty years that I have been associated in state government, I have seen hundreds if not more Senate confirmations of individuals. During that time I can recall less than ten appointees that were voted down by the Senate. When I was appointed by Governor Thompson, I was approved by the Senate by a 32-1 vote the first time and the second time, the Senate did not even bother to vote, thereby allowing me as the incumbent to continue in the position. The Senate confirmation process is a valid check and balance to assure that an individual outside the broad mainstream will be placed into the DNR Secretary position. It directly addresses the issue of “accountability” that the bill opponents raise to fight the bill. It also directly addresses the concern that you raise in your letter about having a Natural Resources Board appoint a Secretary that does not support hunting, fishing and trapping in Wisconsin.

When the Senate amendment and its ramifications are actually explained to sportsmen and women they either do not have concern about it or actually like it. The Federation will continue its efforts to explain this issue to hunters, anglers and trappers.

2. Need for Legislative Bills Addressing the Make-up of the Natural Resources
Board. Representatives LeMahieu, Vruwink and Danou have introduced bills that place into statute for the first time that three of the seven members of Natural Resources Board must hold hunting, fishing or trapping licenses and that one of the members of the Board must have an agricultural background. These are all good bills strongly supported by the Wildlife Federation and a great majority of Wisconsin sportsmen and women and should be passed by the Legislature.

Some of the opponents of AB 138 insist that these Board make-up bills must be passed before the veto override of AB 138 takes place. While adoption of these bills should occur, the veto override of AB 138 should take place regardless of whether these other bills have fully completed their adoption by the legislature and signing by the Governor, since these bills will have no affect on the selection of DNR Secretaries for many years in the future. Sportsmen and women are seriously and legitimately concerned that some of the bill opponents are using the passage of these bills to justify their opposition to a veto override of AB 138.

Please let me explain why these bills will not change anything for many years. Currently, the Natural Resources Board has four, possibly five members that meet the bills’ requirements that three of the seven Board members have had hunting, fishing or trapping licenses seven of the last ten years. Historically the Board and its predecessor the Conservation Commission have always had more than three such members from 1928 through 2010. In addition there currently is a member of the board with an extensive agricultural background and the Natural Resources Board has had a member meeting that requirement since early in the 1970s. While it may be good to enshrine these requirements in the statute, there is no current impact of adopting these bills into law immediately. Secondly, by their own provisions, the LeMahieu, Vruwink and Danou bill don’t take affect for four and six years respectively.

When this is explained to Wisconsin sportsmen and women they respond that while they want these bills passed, the passage or non-passage of these bills immediately should not be used as a justification to not vote for the override of the Governor’s veto of AB 138 on Tuesday.

3. Benefits of the Bill Override the Above Issues. Wisconsin sportsmen and
and women strongly support AB 138 for three main reasons and are convinced that those reasons strongly supercede the above concerns raised by the opponents of AB 138.

a. Inexperienced Leadership at DNR under a Governor-appointed Secretary system. Under the Governor appointed DNR Secretary system we have seen very inexperienced Secretaries appointed. The last two DNR Secretaries, Hassett and Frank, were appointed as DNR Secretaries without a single day of natural resource management experience. It takes years for such individuals to totally learn the scope and depth of the agency’s responsibilities. Sportsmen and women understand the ramifications of this lack of natural resource management experience of the agency’s leadership on the day-to-day management of the state’s conservation and environmental programs. This is not a reflection on these individuals but rather on the highly flawed system of Governor appointed DNR Secretaries. By contrast, the Board appointed system has had a high degree of selection of well-trained natural resource management professionals to run the agency.

b. High Turnover of Leadership at DNR. Natural Resource management programs by their very nature need long-term steady management without constant turnover of leadership. Under the Governor appointed DNR system, we have had three new DNR Secretaries in the last nine years, an average tenure of three years. It is highly likely that we will again have a new Secretary in less than a year. This high revolving door leadership of the Governor appointed system is in stark contrast to the fact that in the fifty years immediately prior to the change there were four Secretaries of the Department, an average tenure of twelve years. This steady management of the agency led the Wisconsin DNR to be rated as one of the top five to ten natural resource agencies in the country. Sportsmen and women know that they are best served when you have long-term steady management of DNR with experienced leadership.

c. Political Involvement in Day-to-Day Management of DNR. All you have to do is speak with members of the public that work with the agency on a frequent basis or with employees of the agency. They will tell you of the current very high degree of the Governor’s Office involvement in the day-to-day agency’s management of natural resources. Sportsmen and women for almost one hundred years have strongly opposed significant political intervention in the management of natural resources, believing that natural resource management should be professional and science-based and guided by sound conservation policies adopted and reviewed by the legislature. That has been lost by the current Governor appointed DNR Secretary system.

Sportsmen and women and other citizens are also appalled that a Governor appointed Secretary was terminated three years ago by the Governor because he faithfully carried out his duties to enforce state air regulations against a state-owned facility contrary to the wishes of the Governor’s staff. This would not have happened under a Board appointed Secretary system.

Scott, once again thank you for the opportunity to address the concerns that you raised in yesterday’s letter. There is a great deal that you, the Federation and Wisconsin sportsmen and women agree on and that surely includes that we have knowledgeable and experienced steady leadership making natural resources decisions based on sound public policy and science and without day-to-day political intervention.

Wisconsin sportsmen and women overwhelmingly support AB 138 and are strongly calling for its override. They are very savvy individuals and are very capable of sorting out the wheat from the chaff. They recognize that the arguments They know that the arguments raised by the bill’s opponents are not persuasive. They believe that the current version of AB 138 is a far, far more preferable way of selecting a DNR Secretary than our current Governor appointed system. They are strong and diligent in their request to you and your colleagues to vote for an override of the Governor’s veto of AB 138. It is and will remain a high priority for them.

Thank you for your hard work for conservation.

George Meyer
Executive Director
Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

Cc: Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Board of Directors

WWF Calls for a Strong Bipartisan Vote on DNR Secretary Bill Veto Override

Poynette: Today, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation comprised of 168 hunting, fishing, trapping and forestry-related organizations is calling on members of the Assembly of both political parties to vote on Tuesday for the override of the Governor’s veto of Assembly Bill 138, the bill that restores the appointment authority of the DNR Secretary back to the Natural Resources Board.

AB 138 was introduced on March 9, 2009 by sixty-eight legislators, sixteen Republicans and fifty-two Democrats. The bill passed the Assembly on September 2009 with a strong bipartisan vote of 61 to 32 with forty-nine Democrats and twelve Republicans voting in favor. The bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan 21 to 11 vote with sixteen Democrats and five Republicans voting in favor.

A virtually identical bill, AB 504 was introduced in the last session of the Legislature by Republican Representative Scott Gunderson. That bill had forty-nine sponsors, with twenty-five Democrats and twenty-four Republicans.

“This issue should not be a partisan issue, 90 percent of Wisconsin sportsmen and women have repeatedly made a strong statement that Assembly Bill 138 as it is currently written should be passed into law,” stated John Nissen, (Dousman), President of the Wildlife Federation. “This should not be a partisan political issue, the sportsmen and women in this state view this issue as what is good for natural resource management in Wisconsin, not what political advantages can be gained.”

“Unlike the Board-appointed system, Wisconsin’s sportsmen and women have seen repeated turnover of Governor-appointed Secretaries with the average tenure being three years. We have seen the last two Secretaries become appointed with literally zero days of natural resource management experience and we have seen a Secretary replaced because he had the courage to make an enforcement decision that was unpopular with the Governor’s staff, indicated Ralph Fritsch, (Townsend), Past President of the WWF. “Wisconsin did not have these major problems under the Board appointed system that we had in place between 1928 and 1995. This inexperience and rapid turnover is contributing to the serious natural resource management problems that we are experiencing in the state with deer, wolf and bear management.”

“The Wildlife Federation is asking for legislators of both parties to look past minor issues such as whether other bills should be passed first or the minor amendment added to AB 138 by the State Senate and to stand strong with their sportsmen and women to override the Governor’s veto of the bill. It is time to restore experienced, professional natural resource leadership to the top of the Department of Natural Resources,” stated George Meyer, WWF Executive Director.

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is made up of one hundred and sixty-eight hunting, fishing, trapping and forestry-related organizations in Wisconsin.

The Federation is dedicated to conservation education and the advancement of sound conservation policies. For further information, contact George Meyer, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation at 608-516-5545.

Need Your Help: Public Hearing Scheduled on AB 138, Natural Resources Board Appointment of DNR Secretary

Dear Conservationist:

This is it ! We all have worked hard and Assembly Bill 138 restoring the DNR Secretary appointment authority to the NRB has 68 cosponsors, including a majority of the Assembly and a majority of the Senate. The Governor is still sounding reluctant about signing the bill and that is why this public hearing is so important.

To get this critically important measure passed, we will need very strong support from the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, the full Assembly, the Senate Natural Resources Committee and the full Senate. We need to have AB 138 land on the Governor's desk with a two-thirds majority in both houses, a sufficient margin to override a potential veto.

The next key step is to have a huge turnout of citizens at the public hearing held by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. Please plan on attending:

Public Hearing on AB 138---Tuesday, July 28th at

11:00 am in Room 417 North, State Capitol

Wisconsin citizens have repeatedly shown their strong interest in restoring the appointment authority of the DNR Secretary Board to the Natural Resources Board. Please make sure that your voice is heard at this public hearing! If you personally cannot make it, please arrange for a member of an organization that you are affiliated with to be there to either speak or register in favor of AB 138.

At last years public hearing on a similar bill, there were 142 conservationists in support of the measure. We will need the same large turnout in order to send the message to legislators and the Governor that this is the year this bill must become law.

It is important that every area of the state be represented so that committee members from throughout the state know that this is important to the voters in their legislative districts.

If you have any questions, please contact me by email: georgemeyer@tds.net or phone-- 608-516-5545.

See you on July 28th !

George Meyer
Executive Director
Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

Unprecedented Legislative Support for DNR Secretary Appointment Bill Has Overwhelming Conservationists Backing

Poynette: Today, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the state’s largest conservation organization, comprised of 164 hunting, fishing, trapping and forestry organizations, extends its deepest appreciation to the 68 state senators and representatives that have cosponsored Assembly Bill 138 which restores the appointment authority of the DNR Secretary back to the Natural Resources Board. The Board appointment authority was initially established by the Legislature in 1928 under the leadership of Aldo Leopold and other conservation leaders with the strong political backing of hunters, anglers and trappers. The concept of a Board appointed Secretary is to promote professionally based natural resources management with broad public input over direct political influence in natural resource decision-making.

“The sportsmen and women in this state overwhelmingly support the restoration of the appointment authority of the DNR Secretary to the Board,” indicated Lil Pipping, (Elkhart Lake), Federation President. “When this measure is brought up before the Wisconsin Conservation Congress it receives 90% approval from the state’s sportsmen and women.”

“Wisconsin’s hunters, anglers and trappers would like to thank each and everyone of the sixty-eight legislative cosponsors of the restoration bill,” stated Ralph Fritsch, (Kaukauna), WWF Wildlife Committee Chair. “A special thank you and appreciation is due to the bipartisan efforts of the lead cosponsors of the bill: Representatives Spencer Black (Madison), Dean Kaufert (Neenah) and Mary Hubler (Rice Lake) and Senators Bob Wirch (Kenosha) and Rob Cowles (Green Bay).

“In the thirty-eight years of observing and working with the Legislature, I can not remember a majority of both houses of the legislature endorsing a substantive piece of legislation of this nature,” provided George Meyer, WWF Executive Director. “This incredible legislative support is a reflection of the deep seated feelings, tenacity and hard work of Wisconsin’s sportsmen and women on this issue, it is really a visceral issue to Wisconsin hunters, anglers and trappers.”

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is dedicated to conservation education and the advancement of sound conservation policies on a state and national level. The WWF is the state affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. For further information, please contact George Meyer, Executive Director, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation at 608-516-5545.

EPA Forces Wisconsin to Adopt Weak Federal Permit on Invasive Species

DNR to Use State Permit to Add Protections for Wisconsin Waters

MADISON, WIS. (December 16, 2008)―To meet an unreasonable federally-imposed deadline that could have shut down shipping in Wisconsin waters, the Wisconsin DNR yesterday withdrew its proposed improvement of an EPA invasive species permit and allowed the original ineffective EPA permit to go forward unchanged. At the same time, the DNR committed to issuing a state permit that contains the protections against invasive species that the EPA measure lacked.

“Wisconsin and other Great Lakes states are being dealt a tough hand due to the U.S. EPA, which for decades neglected its responsibility to protect U.S. waters from invasive species, and now has issued at the 11th hour a weak permit that does little to stop the introduction of those species,” said Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office. “While we would prefer to have a tough, national EPA permit, we believe our best chance for protecting Wisconsin’s waters is to encourage the state to use whatever authority it has to prevent invasive species.”

The state action comes days before a court-imposed December 19 deadline, by which time EPA required states to certify a water quality permit issued by the EPA intended to address aquatic invasive species introduced by ballast water discharge. EPA had sent a letter to the DNR threatening enforcement action against ships in Wisconsin waters after December 19 if the DNR maintained its efforts to improve the EPA’s permit.

“We look forward to working with the DNR to protect Wisconsin’s waters much more effectively from ballast water discharges of invasive species,” said George Meyer. “A state permit, if done right, can give the state the protections it needs. The EPA permit certainly does not.”

As NWF and WWF begin working with the DNR on a state permit, they are also looking at options for legal challenges in federal and state courts to toughen the protections in the federal permit.

More than 185 aquatic invasive species have entered the lakes, disrupting the food chain, fouling beaches and damaging infrastructure―costing citizens, industry and businesses at least $200 million per year. The No.1 way aquatic invasive species enter the Great Lakes is through ballast water discharge from ocean-going vessels. One new non-native species enters the Great Lakes, on average, every 28 weeks.

“People, businesses and communities have borne the cost of invasive species long enough,” said Buchsbaum. “It’s time to slam the door shut on non-native species once and for all, before the problem gets worse and more costly. It’s time to stand up and protect the Great Lakes, our economy and our way of life.”

Contact:
Andy Buchsbaum, National Wildlife Federation, (734) 887-7100, buchsbaum@nwf.org
George Meyer, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, (608) 516-5545, georgemeyer@tds.net
Jordan Lubetkin, National Wildlife Federation, (734) 887-7100, lubetkin@nwf.org