Mail
overwhelming opposes proposal to split Wisconsin DNR
MADISON
(AP) -- Mail to the governor's office has been 30-to-1 in opposition to
an idea to create a state forestry department.
Gov.
Scott McCallum called the ratio overwhelming and said it weighs heavily
on his decision whether to keep the proposal to strip forestry duties from
the state Department of Natural Resources in the 2001-2003 state budget.
The
budget was passed by the state Legislature last month and is awaiting McCallum's
signature. The governor can veto individual items.
About
3,250 letters, e-mails and faxes to the governor oppose the idea and urge
him to veto it. Fewer than 100 support it, said Debbie Monterrey-Millett,
a McCallum spokeswoman.
"Mail
is not the only factor," McCallum said. "It's one of the factors."
McCallum's
office has received more than 20,000 letters, postcards, e-mails, faxes
and telephone messages from people since the Legislature approved the $47
billion state budget.
Staff
members read the mail and then report the highlights to McCallum. The forestry
proposal is the top issue in his mailbag so far.
"The
volume of mail indicates how high a priority this is to folks," said Caryl
Terrell, a Sierra Club lobbyist. "It shows the governor that this is a
lightning-rod issue."
Environmental
and outdoor groups urged their members to ask the governor to veto the
proposal.
Terrell
said a forestry department would limit the DNR's ability to manage natural
resources and would cost taxpayers more money.
Dan
Meyer, chairman of the Governor's Council on Forestry, said he hopes the
volume of mail won't sway the governor. He said the DNR has ignored forestry
issues to the detriment of the timber industry and the state's economy.
A
proposed "no-call" list for telemarketers also has generated mail for the
governor.
McCallum's
staff said mail and phone messages on the issue so far total 650 in favor
of the "no call" list and 525 against.
The
state would fine companies up to $10,000 for calling people on the list
but would exempt nonprofit agencies and companies that already have a business
relationship with a customer. |
