You can help WI DNR designate the monarch as our state butterfly

Wisconsin has a Conservation Congress that holds annual public hearings so that the public can provide input "on how to responsibly manage Wisconsin's natural resources for present and future generations."  That’s the good news, if you didn’t know about it already. The bad news is that you must attend in person to provide input. But you can. I have. It’s quite an education. And you get to vote on a wide variety of issues. This year there are two questions related to the monarch butterfly. 

I want to thank the Friends of the Monarch Trail for the following info:

DNR spring wildlife hearing and annual Conservation Congress county meetings
on
April 13, 2015 - 7:00 pm

Please go to your county’s Conservation Congress meeting location and cast your vote to encourage the DNR to designate and protect the monarch butterfly. (You do not need to vote on all items on the questionnaire. go to page 47 and vote on items 19, and 20.)

Locations:

·       Milwaukee:  Nathan Hale High School, 11601 W Lincoln Avenue, West Allis, WI 5322

·       Waukesha: Waukesha Co. Tech. College, Richard Anderson Center, 800 Main Street, Pewaukee, WI 53072

·       For all other Wisconsin County locations: http://dnr.wi.gov/About/WCC/Documents/spring_hearing/2015/2015locations.pdf

LAND USE COMMITTEE ADVISORY QUESTIONS

QUESTION 19.  Saving the monarch butterfly (450114)

Wisconsin’s monarch butterfly population is at historic lows. The major reason for the monarch population reduction is that female monarchs only lay their eggs in/on milkweed plants and there has been a widespread loss of milkweed plants in Wisconsin resulting in the migration of fewer monarchs.

19. Would you support DNR efforts to institute a public awareness campaign aimed at restoring more milkweed vegetation in Wisconsin?   

Please vote YES!

QUESTION 20. Designation of the monarch butterfly as Wisconsin’s state butterfly (450114)

Twenty-seven other states already have a designated state butterfly. Designating the monarch butterfly as Wisconsin’s state butterfly could support and enhance efforts to save the monarch butterfly in Wisconsin.

20. Would you support legislation to designate the monarch butterfly as Wisconsin’s state butterfly? 

Please vote YES!

Should the fate our natural resources be up to hunters and trappers?

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Wisconsin Conservation Congress meets next Monday

Let me say at the outset that I am not and never have been opposed to hunting. Deer hunting, that is. In a well-regulated manner and in proper locations.

In recent years the State of Wisconsin, influenced heavily by hunters and trappers, has expanded the types of hunting and trapping allowed, the locations and times these activities can take place, and the age at which young people can participate, among many other things. To give just one example, although the population is still tenuous, as soon as the Gray Wolf was delisted as an endangered species a proposal to allow hunting was passed. 

The fate of Wisconsin’s natural resources is indeed left up to hunters and trappers, for the most part. This is because hunters and trappers make up the overwhelming majority of participants in the annual Conservation Congress, which is the most influential public hearing on DNR policies and regulations.

DNR policies affect everyone who enjoys the natural resources of Wisconsin: hikers, birders, canoeists, kayakers, skiers, etc. The hunters and trappers are always well represented at the Conservation Congress and they have a right to be there. But other voices need to be heard as well.

How about yours?

I plan to be there, but it will take a lot of voices to balance those who represent hunting and fishing interests.

Please attend:

Wisconsin Conservation Congress

When:

Monday, April 14, 2014 @ 7:00 p.m.

Where:

Nathan Hale High School Auditorium, 11601 W Lincoln Avenue, West Allis

(This location is for residents of Milwaukee County. If you live in another county, please attend the appropriate meeting: DNR spring hearings locations.

Among the questions on this year’s ballot are the following:

·      Question #48: Do you support legislation to allow hunters to enter private property without asking permission, to follow their packs of dogs?

·      # 36: Do you support the legislature authorizing the DNR to start a tundra swan hunt?

·      # 35: Do you support the legislature authorizing the DNR to kill our 75 rare white deer statewide?

·      # 45: Do you support the DNR dropping any hour restrictions for trapping statewide in state parks and all publicly purchased lands, so trappers can be out trapping all night?

·      # 43: Children of any age can trap.  Do you support the DNR making it easier for children of any age to trap by allowing them to trap mentored by an adult present, since they are not old enough to understand or attend a trapping course?

Thank you to Patricia Randolph, who blogs at Madravenspeak, for the above information.

I encourage you to read the fair and balanced article about the upcoming Conservation  Congress from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Have your say on state's natural resources.”

Wisconsin's Conservation Congress needs you!

The Conservation Congress is a citizens' advisory body to the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Board. Anyone can attend and vote on delegates who will act as advisors to the DNR and NRB. These delegates represent whatever interests them and lobby for and against proposed policies, including natural resources, fish and wildlife management. Wisconsin is the ONLY state that does this.

Historically the Congress has been attended mostly by hunters and fishermen and those interests are extremely well represented as a consequence. Lately hunting and fishing policies have been expanded, including controversial policies on wolf hunting and hunting in state parks.

The Conservation Congress needs to hear from a more diverse selection of the population, especially the majority of state citizens who do not hunt and who value the natural environment. I have attended the Congress and the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of the hunters, who attend in force. Balance is needed. (For the record, I am not opposed to all hunting, although I do oppose wolf hunting, among other policies. I delight in hiking our excellent state parks and I worry about the proposed expansion of hunting in the parks, which is on the agenda for this Congress.)

Here's the scoop:

Wisconsin Conservation Congress Election and Spring Hearing

When: Monday, April 8, 2013 at 7:00 pm.

Where: For Milwaukee County residents: Nathan Hale High School, 11601 W. Lincoln Ave. West Allis, WI

This is an annual election that takes place in EVERY county in Wisconsin. If you're not in Milwaukee county, find out where YOUR vote is at  DNR.gov  then click on 2013 Spring Hearing Locations.

Candidates are nominated to run on the spot and the vote follows. To win a delegate must get a majority of the votes cast. Candidates sometimes win by only a few votes, so this is a case where every vote really counts! Two delegates are elected every year and there are five representing each county. The Wisconsin legislature often looks to this body to support bills relating to natural resources and sometimes the Congress begins the process that leads to creation of a new law - lets make sure it represents all Milwaukee County residents.

In addition to voting for delegates, you can vote on natural resource questions such as, #70"Should we expand hunting in Wisconsin state parks?" #68"Should we prohibit the use of dogs for hunting?". Click on the link above and then on 2013 questionnaire to read all the questions before you vote. You can also submit your own resolution to be voted on such as - "Should we end the wolf hunt in Wisconsin?" 

photo courtesy Kewl

Thanks go to Barbara Eisenberg for providing some of the information above--and for her tireless advocacy!

For more information, go to DNR.gov.

Patricia Randolph is another passionate advocate on these issues. To read her column on the subject go to Madravenspeak.

Conservation Congress: Help save Rainbow Springs for wildlife!

The results of the balloting in Monday's Conservation Congress are in. Having been there, it comes as no surprise to me that most of the proposals passed, including the controversial ones to expand hunting and trapping in State Parks. To see the tally, go to DNR Summary of Results.

I plan to write up another post with reflections and concerns about the Conservation Congress meeting and process. In fact, I may have to make it a series. There are a number of issues that I think will be of interest. But I feel the need to begin with an appeal.

One of the things I learned about at Monday's meeting was the issue of using funds from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund to buy golf courses with the intention of converting them to natural areas. It's a complicated issue that may get more complicated and there are controversial aspects. I'll try to explain it as succinctly as I can based on my limited understanding of the issues. I welcome comments that will provide clarification and further information.

Stewardship funds are currently not allowed to be used to purchase golf courses. However, there has been a request for an exception to be made for Rainbow Springs Country Club, which was developed on the Mukwonago River. Environmentalists objected to this at the time, but it was done. Now a plan has been proposed to purchase the golf course using Stewardship funds, designate it as part of the Kettle Moraine State Park, and convert it to wetlands.  This is something the hunting/fishing community that form the majority of those attending the Conservation Congress approve. I.e., hunters/fishermen and conservationists are on the same side of this issue. As I see it, there are two potential problems:

1. Using Stewardship funds to purchase Rainbow Springs would set a precedent.
2. Some people - golfers, presumably - want to keep the golf course.

A group called Friends of the Mukwanago River are advocating for the restoration and protection of the river and this land. They are requesting help and recommend the following:

Take Action

GOLF COURSE PROPOSAL

COMPROMISES RAINBOW SPRINGS

Help us serve as the voice of the Mukwonago River

•   Please contact Senator Lazich’s office and let her or her staff know that you are a Friend of the Mukwonago River. (Senator Lazich represents this area in the state legislature.)

•   Tell Senator Lazich that the protection and restoration of the river is of the utmost importance to you.

•   Urge her NOT to introduce legislation that compromises the future of newly-designated Mukwonago Kettle Moraine Unit. 

•   Senator Lazich can be reached by phone at (608) 266-5400 or toll free at (800) 334-1442. Her email address is sen.lazich@legis.wi.gov. 

A proposal to continue the existence of the Rainbow Springs golf courses could threaten the Mukwonago River and planned restoration.  The construction and operation of these golf courses in the floodplain and wetlands has been a detriment to water quality, aquatic habitat, wetland function, proper water flow through the area, and fish and recreational passage.

The Friends of the Mukwonago River believe that the Mukwonago River Unit’s future should be as has always been the plan: restoration of the Mukwonago River, surrounding wetlands, and the river’s floodplain for the benefit of water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and nature-based recreation opportunities for the general public.

For more details about this issue check out "Recent News" at www.mukwonagoriver.org.

If you contact Senator Lazich, please report your call at friendsofthemukwonagoriver@yahoo.com.

Conservation Congress provides quite an education

If you read my previous post about yesterday's Conservation Congress (CC) with surprise and concern, you were not alone. Many people did and I appreciate the feedback I've gotten. I went last night; I listened; I spoke up once; and I voted. And I do intend to report on my experience there, which was illuminating if not edifying. Please be patient. It will take some time for me to formulate a report that does the issues justice. I hope you'll check back for it later.

In the meantime, I've just posted the Cherokee Marsh piece below, which has been in the pipeline and which got bumped by the CC issue. I hope you enjoy it.

Wisconsin’s wildlife more endangered than ever!

Vote April 5 and at a Conservation Congress on April 11 – Please!

As everyone knows, Governor Walker has made national headlines over controversial proposals. He seems to relish the publicity as well as the fight he provoked. Much of the ire has been directed, appropriately, at his attempts to bust unions and gut public education. But much more is also at stake, including wildlife and peaceful recreation in our state parks. Tomorrow’s voting is widely viewed as a referendum on Walker’s proposals. Let’s make it so. But there’s another important opportunity to vote next week.

The Wisconsin DNR is holding a Conservation Congress next Monday, April 11 to determine the fate of 85 proposals for changes that could have a dramatic effect on our state parks.

Here are just five of the proposals to be voted on:

1.     To allow widespread hunting and trapping in state parks.

2.     To kill 350 of the state’s 700 wild wolves.

3.     To allow shooting within 100 feet of a human-occupied building.

4.     To allow hunting of the 200 elk in the state.

5.     To allow bears to be killed with dog packs.

With some exceptions for the annual hunting of deer, turkey, and other designated animals in designated sections of the parks, none of these things currently are legal in Wisconsin state parks.

You can make a difference by voting no on these and other ballot questions! But here’s the kicker: the rules stipulate that no public comments will be accepted. You must vote in person, you must vote on April 11, and you must vote in the one location designated for your county.

If you live in Milwaukee County, please vote at Nathan Hale High School in West Allis at 7 pm on April 11.

If you live in another county, click here to find the location.

To read ballot questions 52-53, which proposes to allow hunting and trapping, click here.

For more information, click here.

For the record, I have never opposed hunting deer on private lands in Wisconsin. Please join me in voting no on April 11 to opening our parks to widespread hunting. Who thinks 200 elk are too many for the state of Wisconsin, anyway?!!

Here's another thought: why is this voting so restrictive? It seems as if it's deliberately designed to reduce participation. Let's tell our legislators that our parks and the people of Wisconsin who use them deserve more respect.