Presenter: Andrew Hanson, attorney, and Felicia Lin of Midwest Environmental Advocates, Madison, WI.

Description: Agribusiness lobbyists are pushing state agencies and legislators to enact policies and legislation that will preempt local environmental standards and restrict local permitting authority over large livestock operations.  Andrew Hanson and Felicia Lin of Midwest Environmental Advocates will lead a discussion on why local ordinances based on local conditions are the first line of defense in protecting our natural resources, and how state and federal laws are of little help in controlling the impacts of CAFOs.  The group will discuss what you can do to protect local zoning authority in Wisconsin and local democratic institutions in the state.  Come prepared to take action and preserve your right to decide which land uses are right for your community.

 

• Negotiating 101 for conservation and the environment

  Presenter: Glenn Stoddard, attorney with Garvey and Stoddard law firm, Madison, WI.

  Description: Are conservationists being out-negotiated in their dealings with government and business on policy issues?  Learn some time-tested approaches that will improve your negotiating skills from an attorney who has fought many a battle on behalf of grassroots citizens battling high-priced, high-powered opponents.

   

• How money influences and corrupts conservation issues

  Presenter: Anne Sayers, Director of Communications for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Waunakee, WI, and Debby Anderson Meyer, Outreach Director for the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Madison, WI.

  Description: In order to keep Wisconsin’s natural environment clean we need to clean up our campaign finance system.  This workshop can help you do both! Money is corrupting many issues of concern to Wisconsin citizens and natural resource issues are no exception.  We will give a brief overview of the campaign finance system in WI and then look at a couple of the high priority issues of WSN for 2003 to see how they fared in this legislature.  We will track bills and connect the dots between campaign contributions and how they may have influenced decisions or actions on those bills.  We will show you how to do this tracking and be more informed advocates for conservation issues. 

   

• New River Alliance of WI study: The State of Management of Wisconsin’s Rivers

  Presenter: Rich Bogovich, Wisconsin River Alliance

  Description: The State of Management of Wisconsin’s Rivers is an important new report that examines how Wisconsin’s rivers, lakes, and other water resources are managed.  Much of the just-released report focuses on the WI Dept. of Natural Resources.  Besides reviewing the report’s contents, Rich Bogovich of the River Alliance of Wisconsin will work with participants to (1) determine which of the report’s recommendations would be most suitable for Conservation Congress motions on April 12, (2) identify allies who would be willing to introduce and advocate for such motions, (3) identify parties who might be interested in the February-through-May stakeholder process we hope to engage the DNR in to create a joint work plan based on the report’s recommendations, and (4) hold an atypical editorial board meeting about the report if area editorialists can be persuaded to attend the session.

   

• Title: Motorboat gas taxes in the Great Lakes Region: program structures and strategies.

  Presenter: Erin O’Brien representing the Wisconsin Association of Lakes.

Description:Increasing Wisconsin’s formula for estimating motorboat gasoline usage (and the subsequent transfer of gas tax funds to Wisconsin’s Water Resources Account) remains a high priority for many water protection organizations, but a previous legislative initiative was unsuccessful. To inform future efforts, the Wisconsin Stewardship Network commissioned a report to document how other Great Lakes states estimate and allocate motorboat fuel taxes and what strategies were successfully employed to increase their allocation formulas. How does Wisconsin’s program compare to those of our neighbors and what data and legislative lessons can be gleaned from initiatives in other states?  These findings, and a facilitated discussion on whether and when lake and river enthusiasts should launch another campaign to increase Wisconsin’s motorboat gas tax allocation formula, will be presented here.

 

• Title: Tips and tricks for using Adobe Acrobat for your newsletters and documents.

Presenter: Todd Hanson, WSN Executive Director

Description: Adobe Acrobat files are seen everywhere these days to store and present information, especially on the web. This session explores why Acrobat is such a popular tool for newsletters, on-line publications, and other documents when compared to Word or other alternatives. This session is presented by WSN Executive Director Todd Hanson, who uses Acrobat for the WSN’s popular WSNetwork News electronic newsletter and for Trout Unlimited’s Wisconsin Trout newspaper.

 

• Title: Nuclear waste and Wisconsin: a look into the past and future

Presenter: Claire Schmidt, Southern Regional Coordinator for the WSN and Mining Campaign Director for Clean Wisconsin.

Description: Many Wisconsinites remember the battle during the early 1980s to keep a nuclear waste dump out of Wisconsin. This fight brought together many unlikely allies in the effort to protect the Wolf River batholith region of the state. Today, federal and state policies make it clear that the nuclear industry is trying to make a comeback. And unfortunately, Wisconsin’s Wolf River batholith is still the top candidate for a new federal nuclear waste dump. Find out more about what could be coming down the pike for Wisconsin, and what we can do to stop it.

 

• Title:  Effective grassroots campaigning: How to write letters and comments that get attention on mercury regulations, Great Lakes water policy, and other top 2004 issues.

Presenter:  Derek Scheer, Water Policy Director for Clean Wisconsin, Eric Uram, Midwest Office of the Sierra Club, Madison, WI.

Description:  Grassroots groups will have some important opportunities to influence state, regional, and national environmental policy in 2004. Find out about the proposed solutions to mercury and water quantity problems and learn what opportunities exist to influence the outcomes. This session features a comment-writing workshop that uses as its examples upcoming WI groundwater legislation, Great Lakes supply management legislation, and the federal mercury trading policy.

 

• Title:  Legislative efforts to preempt local environmental standards on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Presenter:  Andrew  Hanson, attorney, and Felicia Lin of Midwest Environmental Advocates, Madison, WI.

Description:  Agribusiness lobbyists are pushing state agencies and legislators to enact policies and legislation that will preempt local environmental standards and restrict local permitting authority over large livestock operations.  Andrew Hanson and Felicia Lin of Midwest Environmental Advocates will lead a discussion on why local ordinances based on local conditions are the first line of defense in protecting our natural resources, and how state and federal laws are of little help in controlling the impacts of CAFOs.  The group will discuss what you can do to protect local zoning authority in Wisconsin and local democratic institutions in the state.  Come prepared to take action and preserve your right to decide which land uses are right for your community.

 

• Title:  Good news for northern rivers:  Tools for protecting the most pristine streams in Northern Wisconsin.  

Presenters:  Rich Bogovich, River Alliance of Wisconsin; Lisa Goodman, River Alliance of Wisconsin; and Andrew Hanson, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc. 

Description:  What is an Exceptional Resource Water?  What is an Outstanding Resource Water?  How do these labels protect our public waters?  In 2001, the DNR surveyed thousands of streams in Wisconsin’s 20 northern-most counties and identified many of our most pristine rivers.  However, only some of those rivers receive special protection under Wisconsin law — and about 450 high-quality river segments have been left unprotected.  This session explores how the DNR designates rivers as either Exceptional Resource Waters or Outstanding Resource Waters and how these designations protect our public waters. You’ll also learn how you can participate in an effort to get regulatory protection for Wisconsin’s most pristine but unguarded rivers.

• Title: All-terrain vehicles: a growing concern for state forest lands.  

Presenters:  Jim Wise, ECCOLA; Chris Nehrbass, WSN Member Services Director; and  Bruce Lindgren, WSN Northwestern Regional Coordinator.  

Description:  ATV use — and abuse — is increasing rapidly in Wisconsin, and with it has come environmental damage, forest fragmentation, the spread of exotic/invasive species, and severe erosion. Many in northern Wisconsin are now calling for tougher state regulation of ATVs, but this will demand responses from multiple departments of state government, including tourism, natural resources, commerce, and transportation.  This session will discuss the steps WSN member organizations can take to support state and regional efforts to encourage responsible recreational uses of these vehicles.

• Title: Rewriting Shoreland Rule NR 115 — how can we participate in the process?

Presenters:  Donna Sefton and Jim Wise, WSN NR115 issue co-chairs, and Carmen Wagner, WDNR.

Description Wisconsin DNR is in the process of rewriting NR115, the law that protects the critical shoreland habitats and the waters of Wisconsin. The process began in October, 2002, and will continue through most of 2004.  It is critical that we motivate individuals and organizations to attend the important meetings of the Natural Resources Board and the public hearings planned for the upcoming months.  This workshop will explain where we are in the NR115 rewrite process and what we can do to make sure we get strong protections for the critical habitats, waters, and shorelands of our state.

- see a report from the 2003 WSN Annual Conference

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