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Sarona Landfill Group Files Second Appeal
Sarona, Wisconsin
In 1999, the Sarona Landfill received 36,378 tons of MN trash - by 2003,
it received a whopping 255,605 tons. During the same period, MN trash
dumped at the 7- Mile Creek Landfill in Eau Claire went from 11,859 to
112,798 tons. Together they represent 95% of the TOTAL increase of MN
trash generated across the entire state.
On February 10, 2005, attorney Matt
Weber of the Boardman Law Firm representing six Sarona residents, filed
a second appeal - this time to the Wisconsin State Circuit Court of
Appeals, against the Washburn County Board of Adjustment (BOA) and its
failure to overturn the Zoning Committee’s granting of the landfill
expansion permit. The Saronna residents are asking the higher court to review the hearing
records and agree that the permit as granted is “vague, unenforceable
and should not be permitted to stand” - and that it needs further
scientific review in order to establish the real impact of the expansion
on the health and safety of the citizens of the County.
Read
more about the Sarona Landfill and how
you can help Washburn County residents
at
http://www.wsn-archive.org/sarona_landfill_021605.html
New
Conservation Program for Apple, Cherry
Production
Signup
Period Feb 16-March 4
From:
"Anderson, Renae - Madison, WI" <renae.anderson@wi.usda.gov>
Wisconsin apple, cherry and other orchardists may now
apply for cost-sharing for environmental practices suited to orchard crops. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) has announced that the statewide signup period for orchard
practices will open Feb 16 and continue through March 4, 2005, at all USDA
Service Centers in Wisconsin. For the
first time this year, the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program offers
financial and technical assistance to help orchard producers with improved pest
management.
Pat Leavenworth, State Conservationist for NRCS in
Wisconsin, announced that $100,000 will be available this
year to help apple, cherry and other fruit growers apply pest management
practices to reduce chemical use.
Growers will work with private-sector crop consultants to implement
approved pest management plans.
The Environmental
Quality Incentives Program, called EQIP, is a competitive and very popular
program. EQIP also provides costsharing
in all counties for a wide range of conservation practices for all types of
agriculture. Special statewide signups
are underway for animal waste storage and cranberry production.
To apply for
conservation costsharing, growers should contact the NRCS office at the USDA
Service
Center for their
county. More information on costsharing for
conservation practices is available on the NRCS website at www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov under
Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
Renae Anderson, PAS
USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service
8030 Excelsior Drive
Madison, WI 53717
608-662-4422 x 227
Wisconsin
Farmers - Sign Up
for Grassland Reserve
Program by April 29
From: "Anderson, Renae - Madison, WI" <renae.anderson@wi.usda.gov>
Wisconsin
farmers have until April 29, 2005, to
apply for the USDA Grassland Reserve Program, said Pat
Leavenworth State Conservationist for the USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service. This year, the Grassland Reserve received over
$1 million for Wisconsin farmers.
The Grassland Reserve offers eligible producers the
opportunity to enroll a minimum of 40 acres of pasture, grassland or hayland in
permanent or long-term easements or rental contracts.
Applications received at USDA Service Centers by April 29
will be reviewed and ranked for funding this year. Those applicants that are not selected this
year will be held over and considered for funding when the 2006 funds are
available, says Leavenworth, as will
farmers who apply for the program at any time after April 29. There are currently 122 applications in
backlog.
The Wisconsin NRCS website has more information on the
Grassland Reserve, including the ranking process to help users see if they are
eligible and find out how their application will rank. It is available at www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov under
Programs, Grassland Reserve (GRP).
The Grassland Reserve helps landowners restore and protect
grassland, pastureland, shrubland and certain other lands and provides
assistance for rehabilitating grasslands. The program will conserve vulnerable
grasslands from conversion to other uses.
Wisconsin’s allocation so far is
$1,110,332 for fiscal year 2005.
U.S. Wetland Grants
Program instructions available
Proposal
due dates - March 4 and
July 29
From:
Tim Grunewald <Tim.Grunewald@dnr.state.wi.us>
The 2005 U.S. Standard grant instructions are
now available on the NAWCA web site at http://birdhabitat.fws.gov
Click on Wetlands
Grants Program and then click on U.S. Standard Grants. The 2005 proposal due
dates are March 4 and July 29.
Technical
Assessment Question #3 is still being revised and will be posted soon.
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DNR's report on Act 118 is now available online
On
March 1, 2005, the DNR submitted its report
to the Legislature on Act 118, as required by the statute. All portions of the
report are available online for you to download and/or open and read using Adobe
Reader.
The
Act 118 report: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/air/hot/act118/actreport2.pdf
Links to the report and all
appendices and title pages: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/air/hot/act118/index.htm
If
you have questions about the report, please contact Jon Heinrich, phone
608-267-7547 or email jon.heinrich@dnr.state.wi.us
Volunteers needed for Sturgeon Guard program
When the sturgeon in Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago System begin
their annual spring spawning run up the Wolf and upper Fox rivers volunteers
from across Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota come to protect them. When
sturgeon spawn along the rocky shorelines of these rivers, they pay little
attention to people and are very susceptible to illegal harvest.
To protect them, the volunteer "Sturgeon Guard" maintains a presence at the
spawning sites 24-hours a day throughout the spawning season, which usually
begins in late April and lasts through early May.
The program is intended to protect the system’s population of lake sturgeon,
which is considered one of the healthiest populations in the world. Sturgeon are
harvested from the system during a spearing season each winter. The season this
year ran 12 days from Feb. 12 through 23, with 1,238 sturgeon taken from Lake
Winnebago and the Upriver lakes.
The volunteers in the "Sturgeon Guard" program maintain a presence and visual
deterrence to poachers at the spawning sites throughout the spawning season. The
protection effort is directed by Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement
staff and funded, in part, by Sturgeon for Tomorrow, a local sturgeon
conservation organization. Anyone interested in signing up for the 2005 Sturgeon Guard program should send
an e-mail message to: <sturgeon@dnr.state.wi.us> (e-mail
is preferred if possible) or call the Sturgeon Guard Hotline Coordinator at the
DNR Oshkosh Service Center at (920) 303-5444.
For
more information See DNR
article
Get
ready for Earth Day
April
22, 2005
In preparation for Earth Day 2005, April 22nd, people and organizations
around the country are developing events in their communities that will
build awareness and draw attention to environmental health issues. They are
planning rallies, festivals, community dialogues, church services,
canvassing and many other activities.
This
year's theme is "Protecting Our Children’s Health and Our Future."
Earth
Day Network has set up a
registry for organizations
to post their events. See
www.earthday.net. Click on Earth Day 2005 Events
and follow the links to join the network and register your event.
For more information on organizing an Earth Day event, see
the Earth Day Organizer’s Guide at
http://www.earthday.net/pdf/howto/edog_book.pdf. For
more information, call 202-518-0044 or
earthday@earthday.net.
NRCS Seeks Comments on
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
Deadline
for written comments, March
21
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is seeking comments from
Wisconsin landowners and organizations on its flagship conservation costshare
program, the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP). Pat Leavenworth, State Conservationist for NRCS in
Wisconsin, is launching a comment period to allow public input on EQIP through
March 21, 2005.
Public listening sessions will be held in each State in cooperation with the
State Technical Committee. NRCS is looking for a wide array of public and
stakeholder input from these sessions. Feedback from agricultural organizations,
environmental groups, commodity organizations, agencies, individuals and others
is encouraged. NRCS is also conducting special outreach efforts to ensure that
traditionally underserved groups are informed and represented.
Comments can be made on the web at: http://www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/contact/eqipcomments.html
For
more information See
the NRCS announcement
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