Action Alert Archives
1/99-7/99

The mining moratorium rules making petition has been placed on the agenda for the next Natural Resources Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1999. The meeting will be held at the Country Inn & Suites on Highway 27 South, in Hayward. We are attempting to gather as many supporters as possible to attend the meeting. (See mining issues page for more specifics on this issue). If you or someone within your organization wishes to speak, contact Judy Scullion at (608) 267-7420 by Friday Aug 20th to schedule an appearance at the Board at the August 25 meeting.
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>
Madison, WI USA - Monday, July 26, 1999 at 10:30:34 (CDT) 
Shoreland protection standards are under attack.An amendment to the state budget by Rep. Gard offers a loophole to the 75' setback standard for structures and allows gazebos and other open or screened structures near the ordinary high water mark of Wisconsin's navigable waters. With the rapid increase in shoreland development, Wisconsin's lakes, rivers, and streams need more not less protection. This budget provision is a serious step in the wrong direction. Click here to send the Governor a message and urge him to veto this item in the state budget. For more information on this threat to Wisconsin's shorelands, click here.
Will Fantle <wfantle@execpc.com>
Eau Claire, WI USA - Wednesday, July 21, 1999 at 14:28:50 (CDT) 
Here is the list of key issues the environmental and conservation networks have been working on together. PLEASE send an email message (complete with your name and address) to any or all of the conferees listed below, or use the Toll- Free Legislative HOTLINE 1-800-362-9472. 1. Reauthorize the State STEWARDSHIP FUND at $60 MILLION bonding per year with separate fudnig for CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program)(adhere to Senate Position) 2. Adhere to Senate position on SMART GROWTH to initiate orderly land use planning based on cost-efficient delivery of public services and discouraging sprawl into productive farmland. Maintain current law on Farmland Preservation, minimum 35 acre rule. 3. Continue mandatory RECYCLING prgram with funding from landfill tipping fees which include money from out-of-state waste haulers. 4. Adhere to Joint Finance Committee position on Mining Local Agreement renegotation if new information. 5. Adhere to Joint Finance Committee position on starting a Pesticide Database System, not just a study, to provide citizen right-to-know information. 6. Adhere to Joint Finance Committee and Senate positions on legislative and public oversight of the Transportation budget. 7. Miscellaneous: a. adhere to Governor and Senate position on fully funding DNR air staff. b. adhere to Senate position on Clean Energy/Reliability 2000 c. adhere to Senate position on River and Stream Protection. The budget conferees can be found by clicking here.
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>
Madison, WI USA - Friday, July 02, 1999 at 12:18:55 (CDT) 
Policy directives impacting conservation and environmental issues are now in the hands of the Senate and Assembly negotiating committee. The WSN has prepared a report looking at key issues of interest to the state's hunting, fishing and environmental communities. (Click here to see this report.) Now we have the opportunity to contact the negotiators with our concerns. To contact the 8 members of the negotiating committee, click here. We only have a few days to act!
Will Fantle <wfantle@execpc.com>
Eau Claire, WI USA - Friday, July 02, 1999 at 08:53:26 (CDT)
Rep. John Ainsworth (R. Shawano)has introduced a budget amendment earmarking funds for the acquisition of the Novitiate Property for the purpose of becoming a state park.  The 167 acre Novitiate Property is located on Red River in the Towns of Herman and Richmond in north central Shawano County, about five miles northwest of Shawano.  It abuts a 62 acre park owned by the Town of Richmond. The clear, cold water of the Red River that cascades through many stretches of rapids is a popular destination for anglers, swimmers and paddlers.  Many details will have to be worked out, but the most important at this point is a strong show of support.  Interested citizens are encouraged to contact their legislators as soon as possible and express their support for the preservation of this beautiful area for recreational use as well as the important ecological functions it provides.  Please send copies of all correspondence to Rep. John Ainsworth, PO Box 8592, Madison, WI, 53708. EMAIL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS through this website: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/
Rich Krieg <rjk@vbe.com>
USA - Saturday, June 05, 1999 at 01:12:46 (CDT) 
Please contact Joint Finance Committeemembers in support of reauthorizing the State Stewardship Fund at $60 million/yr. The vote is expected as early as Tuesday May 25, 1999. For more information, see WSN Issues.  Click here to see a list of Joint Finance Committee members for email, phone and address contacts.
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>
Madison, WI USA - Wednesday, May 19, 1999 at 12:14:29 (CDT) 
DNR ALERT:  Please attend to speak and register your concerns about a legislative proposal (no bill drafted yet) on splitting the Dept of Natural Resources into two agencies, one for environmental regulations and the other for Fish, Game and Outdoor Recreation.  Rep. Scott Gunderson, chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on Fish, Game and Outdoor Recreation, is listening to public testimony.  The hearings are Thursday May 20, 1999 at 3:00 pm at UW-Stevens Point, Laird Rm, 1015 Reserve St, Stevens Point and Thursday May 27, 1999 at 1:00 pm in Ives Grove Office Complex, 14200 Washington Ave, Sturtevant (near Racine).  At a similar hearing on April 29th, the Conservation Congress, WI Wildlife Federation, Madison Audubon Society, River Alliance of WI, WI Wetlands Assoc., WI Science Professionals, WI Stewardship Network raised a number of concerns.  Click here to see what bothers us about this proposal.
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>

Madison, WI USA - Wednesday, May 19, 1999 at 12:05:15 (CDT) 
People living between Superior and Wausau may be interested in knowing that utilities are planning construction of a huge new 345,000 volt powerline. The stated purpose of the line is to transfer power from various regions of the  country to improve reliability concerns for eastern Wisconsin.  But thereal reason for the line may be that the two utilities want to merge in the near future and the new powerline will improve the new company's profitability.  Hearings on the project, its need, and possible routes will begin this summer - perhaps in July. You can read the utility's news release on the project by clicking here.

Will Fantle <wfantle@execpc.com>
Eau Claire, WI USA - Tuesday, May 04, 1999 at 13:06:11 (CDT) 

Please help protect Wisconsin's native amphibian, snake, and lizard species. The DNR is proposing revisions to s. NR 19.27 and creation of s. NR 19.26, Wis. Adm. Code, to regulate the harvest, possession, and sale of native amphibians, snakes, and lizards that are not listed as threatened or endangered. These are reasonable and necessary regulations given the decline of many of these species' populations and the growing market and harvest pressures from the pet industry, biological supply companies, and private breeders. An E-mail Action Alert with more information can be requested by contacting: spotts@ncis.net . Letters in support of these proposed regulations should be sent postmarked no later than this Friday, April 30, 1999 to: Robert Hay, Bureau of Endangered Resources, Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921. If possible, copies should be sent to: Natural Resources Board, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921. Many thanks for your assistance.
Richard Spotts <spotts@ncis.net>
Ashland, WI USA - Monday, April 26, 1999 at 22:13:22 (CDT) 
System (PDS) ACTION ALERT!
   April 22, 1999 Dear PDS Supporter: As an individual or organization who supports the proposal to legislate a PDS for the tracking of pesticide use in Wisconsin, we now need your participation in the process to make this happen.
   The Legislative Joint Finance Committee (JFC) soon will be considering a motion to amend the Governor's budget to create the PDS. The amendment would authorize the design and testing of a PDS that would require the reporting and release of all commercial, government, public place pesticide use information. There would be a temporary farmer privacy provision and the PDS would obtain the best household pesticide information feasible from manufacturers and marketing information firms, surveys, studies, and environmental monitoring.  PDS operation would require further legislative authorization.
   Currently, the Governor proposes a $35,000 "study" on the "feasibility" of a PDS to track outdoor pesticide use. We are encouraged the Governor is starting to see the benefit of a PDS. But, this falls short for three reasons.
   First, we already know a pesticide database for the state is feasible. Several other states have pesticide use databases, and other Wisconsin state programs already use the technology the PDS would use to be the most advanced and efficient in the country.
   Second, because other states' PDSs are not the same as ours will be, and are just now streamlining their systems with the latest technologies, there is no model to study to answer cost and operation issues. We have to design and test a Wisconsin-tailored PDS to estimate and fairly allocate its operational costs.
   Third, the Governor's proposal excludes indoor pesticide use -- information farmers and agricultural groups say should be included in the database to be fair, and which our public health researchers say is essential, especially for protecting children's health.
   We need to express our support for the substitute amendment to create the PDS to the JFC Committee Chairs, and to JFC members with whom you may have special relationships (JFC contacts below).  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Derek Lee, 608/251-7020, Brian Spahn, 414/271-7280, or Tom Dawson, 608/294-9026. Thank you!  (Click here to see a list of Joint Finance Committee members for email, phone and address contacts.)
Tom Dawson <tdawson@itis.com>
Madison, WI USA - Thursday, April 22, 1999 at 17:16:04 (CDT) 
There is still time for decision-making on the Mining Disaster Fund, but you will need to act soon.
The basic concept of the Fund--to establish money available for cleanup of mining pollution should spills or unexpected waste releases occur--was endorsed by the N. R. Board when it first approved the rule in September 1997. In the case of this rule, DNR has had multiple opportunities to require that mining companies place adequate money up front into the fund but instead it has whittled the rule down to the meet the goal of the mining industry--an irrevocable trust without guaranteed minimum funding. We have been told that the Natural Resources Board may act as soon as the April 28 Board meeting in Madison to reconsider the funding requirements for the Fund. We now need to remind the DNR that adequate money for mining-related spills and waste releases be placed into the fund from the beginning. Please consider sending copies of your letter to Sec. Meyer to the Natural Resources Board members. They will be voting on the DNR staff’s recommendations for the rule.  For DNR Board addresses and more details, click here.
Dave Blouin <burroak15@ aol.com>
Madison, WI USA - Thursday, April 08, 1999 at 09:10:58 (CDT) 
ECCOLA needs your help with the Willow Flowage Management Plan. We are asking DNR to put a portion of the new state land into a "Type 2" classification. This piece of land has always been off limits to motorized recreation by the public and we want to see it kept that way. There has always been a select group of papermill employees that could go in there as a perk of working for the papermill that owned the land. There is a big push to open this newly purchased land to ATV and snowmobile and we want to see it kept as is, non-motorized to the public. This will not affect the status quo for hunting and fishing opportunities. Please send a letter of support for this proposal to ECCOLA from your group, our address is POBox 537, Minocqua, 54548. We need these by the end of April. If you have any questions please contact John Schwarzmann 715-356-4206 or eccola@newnorth.net.
Jim Wise <ecowise@newnorth.net>
Tomahawk, WI USA - Wednesday, April 07, 1999 at 08:59:50 (CDT) 

Letters in support of SB 72, Restoring the Office of the Public Intervenor in the Dept of Justice, should be addressed to Sen. Gary George, Chair, Senate Committee on Judiciary and Consumer Affairs, PO Box 7882, Madison WI 53707-7882. Letters will be accepted until April 2.
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>
USA - Friday, March 26, 1999 at 15:08:32 (CST) 
Colleagues,

Here is what you can do to help take back the Mining Moratorium Law. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has refused to promulgate rules for the Mining Moratorium Law after first promising to do so. The DNR is also misinterpreting the Mining Moratorium Law in a manner entirely favorable to the mining industry. The Natural Resources Board may take up the petition for rulemaking for the Moratorium Law by the May Board meeting on May 26, 1999, so it is important to act soon.

The current interpretation by the DNR--two mines equal a single example mine--was made behind closed doors without any public input and occurred after the Law was passed overwhelmingly by both the state Senate and Assembly. Yet, the prior intent of the law was clear to all parties; the public, the DNR, and the mining industry and its paid lobbyists all understood that the Law was meant to require a single mine to meet both ten-year tests. By misinterpreting it in this fashion, the DNR is in effect already making rules that implement the Law.

Your help is needed now: Write or call DNR Secretary George Meyer. Ask that rules be immediately promulgated for the Mining Moratorium Law and that public hearings be held. The Natural Resource Board may decide whether to promulgate rules as soon as the May 25-26, 1999 Board meeting in Stevens Point. Contact: Sec. George Meyer, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, or: (608) 266-2121.

Please consider sending copies of your letter or postcard to each member of the Natural Resources Board as they will make the decision based on what Sec. Meyer and his staff recommend. The Natural Resources Board members are: Trygve A. Solberg, Chair, Box 50, Minocqua, WI 54548. Neal W Schneider, Vice Chair, Box 71, Janesville, WI 53547-0071. James E. Tiefenthaler, Jr., Secretary, W228 N683 Westmound Dr., Waukesha, WI 53186. Herbert F. Behnke, N5960 Wolf River Road, Shawano, WI 54166. Betty Jo Nelsen, 4033 Petit Road, Oconomowoc, WI 53066. Howard D. Poulson, PO Box 5550, Madison WI 53705. Stephen D. Willet, Box 89, Phillips WI 54555.

Background information on the petition for DNR rules can be found here.
Dave Blouin <Burroak15@aol.com>
Madison, WI USA - Friday, March 26, 1999 at 09:19:42 (CST) 

Democracy Dinner! Co-Hosted by ECCOLA & the Northwoods Alliance Saturday, March 20th Three Coins Restaurant at Holiday Acres in Rhinelander. The tiny Town of Nashville is standing its ground against Nicolet Minerals Company, a subsidiary of the Canadian multinational, Rio Algom mining company. In direct correspondence to Nashville citizens, Nicolet Minerals is implicitly threatening to bankrupt the Town through litigation. Dinner is $25 per plate and all net proceeds will be donated to the Town of Nashville Legal Defense Fund. (Please contact our hotline at 1-888-sulfide for directions). The dinner begins at 6 pm.
ECCOLA <eccola@newnorth.net>
USA - Tuesday, March 16, 1999 at 22:25:55 (CST) 
I have not seen the hearing announcement but Steve Perala tells me that Sen. Gary George has scheduled a hearing on the Public Intervenor bill for 9 am Wed 3/17/99. Can anyone come on such short notice??
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>
USA - Tuesday, March 16, 1999 at 18:31:15 (CST) 

Once a year a select group of professionals and activists meets to discuss ways to revive our failing cities and rebuild our sprawling suburbs. This year, these professionals and activists, members of the Congress for the New Urbanism, will convene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for their seventh annual gathering, The Wealth of Cities. The four-day conference will explore the inherent strengths of the city. Unlike suburbs, cities are able to achieve a density that makes transit feasible and walking pleasurable. They are able to attract and maintain real diversity-racial, economic, and cultural. They are independent economies, drawing on the success of their businesses, their industries, and their residential neighborhoods, offering in turn an array of services, employment, and housing for all ages and incomes. They are centers of culture, the sites of our major civic institutions. And, if we are able to preserve our built legacy and protect the natural environment, our cities will be able to sustain a unique and defining sense of place that will make them valuable to the next generation. The Wealth of Cities will examine the ways in which we can capitalize on these strengths, as well as discuss the strategies our cities can use as they remake themselves as centers of cultural and economic wealth. For CNU VII registration, please call (800) 788-7077 or got to www.cnu.org. For membership information contact the Congress for the New Urbanism: The Hearst Building 5 Third Street, Suite 500A, San Francisco, CA 94103 415.495.2255 ph 415.495.1731 fax cnuinfo@cnu.org
Susan Mudd <cbesmudd@igc.org>
Milwaukee, WI USA - Friday, February 26, 1999 at 16:19:52 (CST) 

Anishinabe activist Walt Bresette diesLeaves legacy of environmentalism By Steve Kuchera Duluth News-Tribune staff writer Longtime Anishinabe activist Walt Bresette crossed to the other side Sunday morning, Feb. 21, dying of an apparent heart attack while visiting friends in Duluth. ``He was a part of the sky that held up northern Wisconsin,'' said Sandy Lyons, who knew and worked with Bresette for years. ``He was like the North Star, people followed him. He had a universal heart, he was able to reach people passionately and touch their souls.'' Bresette, 51, was a well-known environmental and treaty rights activist from the Red Cliff Band of Chippewa. He helped found the Red Cliff Cultural Institute in 1983, the Lake Superior Greens in 1985 and was involved with the Midwest Treaty Network, a coalition of local groups supporting treaty rights. ``He always thought that treaty rights were the rights of both the Anishinabe and the non-Indians,'' said Lyons of Springbrook, Wis. ``That they were really for the protection of this land, this air and this water that is all of ours.'' Between 1987 and 1992, while Indians and non-Indians clashed over tribal spearfishing in Wisconsin, Bresette trained hundreds of people as ``witnesses for nonviolence.'' When whites gathered at boat landings, some throwing rocks and racial jeers at spear-fishing Indians, Bresette and his witnesses were there to document it. Bresette and the witnesses were also in Ironwood, Mich., in 1997 when the KKK held a rally there. ``Walt brought people to the dinner table together, to the boat landings, to the railroad tracks and to wherever they had to be to work together,'' said longtime friend Frank Koehn of Herbster. ``It's work that needs to go on, but what a shock.'' Bresette once said his activism may have led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to seize several art items containing feathers from migratory birds at his Miller Hill Mall store in 1989. Bresette pleaded innocent and went to court to defend what he believed was his treaty-given right to sell the items. In a far-reaching decision, a U.S. District Court judge agreed, ruling that Chippewa have the right to hunt, fish, gather and sell items in treaty-covered areas. Bresette, Koehn and Lyons worked together on the annual Protect the Earth Gatherings, usually a weekend event each spring. Last year, however, to mark Wisconsin's 150th anniversary as a state, Bresette and others marched from Red Cliff to the state Capitol in Madison. One reason for the journey was to gather support for a constitutional amendment to protect air, water and other forms of common property. The proposal is also called the ``Seventh Generation Amendment.'' ``The Indian way of thinking is that when you make decisions in your life, you should think about their impacts on the next seven generations,'' Lyons said. ``That is the way Walter thought.'' Although Bresette was best known for his work on treaty rights and the environment, he did far more, his friends said. He helped organize a support group for families with developmentally disabled children. He worked with teachers to develop curriculums on issues such as global warming. He was concerned about family violence, the Y2K issue, and helped people caught in alcohol and drug abuse. ``That kind of thing Walt isn't known for,'' Koehn said. ``But he was right there all the time working on those issues on a personal basis with people.'' ``He believed in what I am doing here; he would tell people about it,'' said Maryellen Baker of Lac Courte Oreilles, who uses traditional Anishinabe values and concepts to help people deal with substance abuse and mental illness. For about 15 years, Bresette worked with Baker at her annual Anishinabe Way conference. ``He was a fun-loving, traditional man who believed  in life,'' said Baker. ``It's hard to believe,'' she said of Bresette's death. ``I just talked to him a week ago. I didn't know he was sick or anything. I didn't expect Walt to be sick.'' A funeral date has not been announced. Bresette is survived by four children and six brothers. Lyons said Bresette suffered a heart attack several years ago. ``He had an idea this was coming,'' she said. ``He wanted people to celebrate his life and passing in their own way. I know he would want people to go to the water and spend a few minutes, thinking about what it means to them and how to keep it going for the future generations.'' Koehn talked to a tribal elder Sunday after hearing of Bresette's passing. ``She gave me good words,'' he said. ``She said `Walt is on the other side working now.' I believe that to be true. We have a hole to fill, a void, but we'll get through this.'' Copyright 1999 Duluth News-Tribune
kevin hagen <khagen@spacestar.net>
Spooner, WI USA - Tuesday, February 23, 1999 at 12:34:41 (CST) 

Two bills have been introduced that will further WSN's goal of restoring the integrity and independence of the Department of Natural Resources. AB 82 (Rep. Spencer Black and Sen. Kevin Shibilski) and SB 27 (Sen. Fred Risser and Rep. Spencer Black) are identical bills which will restore the authority to hire and fire the DNR Secretary to the 7-citizen Natural Resources Board. Since the 1995 State Budget was adopted, the DNR Secretary has been appointed by the Governor. See the Issues portion of this Website for more information on this issue. Now is a very good time to write a personal letter to your Assembly and Senate representatives in support of these bills. Thank you for your help.
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>
Madison, WI USA - Friday, February 19, 1999 at 08:37:15 (CST) 

Good News!!! The Governor's Budget Speech on 2/16/99 includes authorization to fund the state match for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Now is the time to write to the Governor in support of CREP and requesting that Wisconsin's CREP include streambank easements and grassland bird habitat. More information about CREP is posted below in the December notice about public information meetings. Write to: Governor Tommy Thompson, State Capitol, PO Box 7863, Madison WI 53703-7863. You can also use this website to send an email message by clicking on the WI Government LINK and then Governor LINK. When sending email letters, please don't forget to give your full name and USPO mailing address. Thank you for your help!!!!!! Caryl Terrell, Legislative Coordinator Sierra Cub-John Muir Chapter.
Caryl Terrell <cterrell@execpc.com>
Madison, WI USA - Wednesday, February 17, 1999 at 20:52:13 (CST)