"WI CONSERVATION COMPUTER NETWORK" Great Lakes Radio Consortium 11/13/96 Reporter: Brian Lavendel (608/249-4178) Producer: Mind's Eye Audio Productions (608/256-6525)

HOST INTRO: A new computer network in WIsconsin helps conservation groups stay on top of fast-breaking environmental issues. Great Lakes Radio Consortium's Brian Lavendel reports.

TAPE: Conservation groups in Wisconsin have had to respond to several urgent environmental issues in recent months‹from mineral mining to nuclear waste storage. Some groups found it difficult to stay in close communication with each other. Now, a state computer network gives one hundred grassroots organizations a way to stay in touch. Jim Wise is head of Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Lakeland Areas, in north central Wisconsin.

ACT: Wise: ...the timing is right, the technology is right, and... I'm real hopeful and confident that this is going to be a step up for us.

The system will allow conservation groups, such as the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, and Citizens for a Better Environment, to share information about environmental issues they're working on. The group hopes the computer nework will allow their organizations to communicate‹and respond‹more quickly to urgent environmental issues.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Brian Lavendel in Madison, Wisconsin.