Rebecca Katers, 920-436-7304
Jim Wise, 715-453-3676

The time has come for the DNR's Natural Resources Board (NRB) to speak out on the return of the Secretary of the DNR to a NRB appointment, and restoration of the Public Intervenor.   The NRB meets this Wednesday for their monthly meeting in Madison.

At the meeting, the Wisconsin Stewardship Network will ask the NRB to act on the overwhelming message from the Conservation Congress to reverse the damaging changes made in the Budget Bill of 1995.  Every time these two issues have been voted on by the CC, they have passed with huge majorities.

This year’s vote on the question of restoring the Secretary position to selection by the NRB was 8,474 yes, 436 no, or 95%  support.  On the Public Intervenor restoration, 6591 yes, 981 no, or 87 % support.  There have been similar margins of support when these questions came before the CC in the past.

The WSN's concern is that these overwhelming votes will again be ignored by the NRB and legislators.  “We are asking the NRB to immediately forward these results to the legislators as a major NRB policy initiative,” stated Rebecca Katers, Chair of WSN’s committee on DNR and Intervenor restoration.  “The NRB needs to show leadership on behalf of the overwhelming votes by thousands of citizens at the statewide Congress hearings.”

“The legislation that would reverse the changes made in the 1995 Budget is stalled in committees that have the ability to thwart the will of the citizens.  It is the intention of WSN to make these major campaign issues in this years election”, said Jim Wise from WSN.

SB 27 for the Secretary and SB 72 for the Public Intervenor are being held up in Legislative committees, using partisan votes, and not allowed to move forward.

The Wisconsin Stewardship Network was formed in 1995 as a result of the Governor’s budget that eliminated the office of the Public Intervenor, and gave appointment of the DNR Secretary to the Governor.  Both of these decisions were forced through in spite of huge opposition from conservation and environmental groups statewide.  More background information is available under the “issues” section of the WSN webpage.

Steering Committee members of WSN: Citizens for a Better Environment, Clean Water Action Council, Federation of Fly Fishers, Isaac Walton League, Lake Superior Greens, Madison Audubon Society, Pheasants Forever, Northern Thunder, Sierra Club-John Muir Chapter, Trout Unlimited, Twin City Rod and Gun Club, Environmentally Concerned Citizens of the Lakeland Area, Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing, Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, River Alliance of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Association of Lakes.

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