More Background on Wetlands Deregulation
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Bi-Partisan Wetlands Bill Urge Full Senate Adoption next Tuesday |
Feb. 9, 2001
Madison, WI — Conservationists announced their support of Senate Bill 37 (Substitute Amendment) to protect wetlands. “As representatives of the community of sports hunting and fishing, lakes, rivers and wetlands associations, birding and environmental groups, we applaud the bi-partisan leadership of the Senate Environmental Resources Committee and Governor Scott McCallum,” stated Caryl Terrell, Legislative Coordinator of the Sierra Club-John Muir Chapter.Caryl Terrell, Sierra Club 608-256-0565Charlie Luthin, WI Wetlands 608-250-9971Jeff Nania, WI Waterfowl 608-697-7002Todd Hanson, Trout Unlimited 608-268-1218
“Senators Baumgart, Cowles and Schultz have given this effort their top priority. In this wetlands bill, they have accomplished the difficult task of restoring the status quo protection of Wisconsin’s precious wetlands. We urge the full Senate to adopt Senate Bill 37 (Substitute Amendment) to protect wetlands at the Tuesday Feb. 13th floor session.”
“Wetlands are a priceless resource that we cannot AFFORD to lose,” stated Charles Luthin, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Wetlands Association. “Wetlands function to cleanse our waters, slow floodwaters and provide habitat for countless species of wildlife. What the Supreme Court taketh away, the State of Wisconsin needs to giveth back—protection for our wetlands.”
“Did you know that we lost federal and state protection for over 1 million acres of Wisconsin wetlands on January 9, 2001?” stated Jeff Nania, Project Coordinator with the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association. “Due to a US Supreme Court decision, all isolated wetlands (bogs, kettles, prairie potholes and ephemeral or seasonally wet) not associated with a waterway (stream, lake or river) are no longer protected under the federal Clean Water Act. Hunters, fishers and trappers want quick action to restore wetland protection.”
“Wetlands provide habitat for waterfowl, fish and amphibian habitat, flood storage, water quality protection and recreation, said Karen Etter Hale, Executive Secretary of the Madison Audubon Society. “Isolated wetlands are particularly valuable for reducing flood flows and providing diversity of habitat in the landscape. Frogs and other reptiles and amphibians are particularly vulnerable.”
“The Wisconsin Association of Lakes represents over 330 lake organizations and 100,000 members. We recognize the value of wetlands to the watershed and ecosystems of the lakes,” said Donna Sefton, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Association of Lakes. “We join in supporting this legislation to protect wetlands.”
“Passage of SB 37 is URGENT,” stated Dave Cieslewicz, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. “Developers are already calling the DNR to ask about filling wetlands around the state. If the court ruling had come during the summer instead of mid-winter, you can bet that hundreds of acres would have already been filled.”
“Healthy watersheds are critical to healthy rivers. Wetlands are a critical part of a healthy watershed. We must pass Senate Bill 37 to protect our wetlands,” stated River Alliance of Wisconsin executive director Todd Ambs.
“Buyers of homes built on filled wetlands are often unaware that these areas are natural water reservoirs and those buyers end up getting caught with flooded basements. Wetlands act as storage areas or sponges to prevent flooding, which may be a problem in the thaw that is just around the corner. Last summer’s flooding in the village of Oregon was just one example of the need for our dying wetlands. The flooded homes show that it is easier and less expensive to protect the wetlands and floodplains in the first place, than mitigate the problems and move the houses after the flood,” said Brett Hulsey, Dane County Board Supervisor.
“Reparation costs to homeowners and local governments are 25 times greater than in the 1980s, which makes the forecast to be $1.4 billion nationwide in this decade alone.” “There is no such thing as an ‘isolated’ wetland when it comes to the state’s trout streams,” said Todd Hanson of Wisconsin Trout Unlimited. “All wetlands supply water to our aquifers, and those aquifers — not rainfall — feed our streams and rivers.”
