The Political Environment: Right On Schedule, Walker Wants Certain Wetlands' Protections Eliminated

I had been calling Scott Walker's radical environmental approach the Cut It, Gut It, Pave it, Fill It plan.

[Update: Walker has signed a special wetland-filling bill for one of his donors after he'd already suspended the DNR's permit review which had held up the development.]

Take a look at Item #6 of Walker's Special Session directive to the Legislature in Executive Order #1, as it will impact 1.6 million acres protected of non-federal wetlands, or 30% of the wetlands in Wisconsin:

"Relating to a Special Session of the Legislature

WHEREAS, the State of Wisconsin is in an economic emergency caused by years of mismanagement;

WHEREAS, the business climate in Wisconsin has for too long been stifled by burdensome regulation, taxes, and costly litigation; and

WHEREAS, the people of Wisconsin elected me Governor to help create a new, healthy, and vibrant climate for private sector job creation;

NOW THEREFORE, I, Scott Walker, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, pursuant to Article IV, Section 11, and Article V, Section 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution, do hereby require the convening of a special session of the Legislature at the Capitol in Madison beginning at 10:00 a.m. on January 4, 2011, solely to consider and act upon legislation relating to the following:

"÷6. The authority of a state agency to promulgate rules interpreting the provisions of a statute enforced or administered by the agency and to implement or enforce any standard, requirement, or threshold as a term or condition of a license issued by the state agency; gubernatorial approval of proposed administrative rules; economic impact analyses of proposed rules and emergency rules; and venue in a declaratory judgment action seeking judicial review of the validity of an administrative rule and in an action in which the sole defendant is the state; exemptions from water quality certification and wetland mitigation requirements for certain nonfederal wetlands that are less than two acres in size; requirements for wind energy systems, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, and granting rule-making authority; "

As the Wisconsin Wetlands Association sees it:



Urgent: Wisconsin's isolated wetlands threatened		Walker Administration proposes rollback in protection as part of special session January 4, 2011

Dear Wetland Advocate,

On Day 1 of his administration, Governor Walker released an Executive Order that calls for "exemptions from water quality certification and wetland mitigation requirements for certain non-federal wetlands that are less than two acres in size" (see item 6 in the Executive Order). In other words, Governor Walker wants to make it easier for developers and industry to destroy isolated wetlands in hopes of creating jobs.

We do not know the extent of what's proposed because the administration has not yet released the language, but the intent is clearly to remove protections for at least some, maybe all, isolated wetlands.

This news is disheartening and alarming. In 2001Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to enact state protections for isolated wetlands (2001 WI Act 6) afterfederal protections were unexpectedly removed following a Supreme Court decision (SWANCC). The public strongly supported isolated wetland protections, and the bill passed both houses of the legislature with unanimous support.

We will share the proposed wetland protection rollback language as soon as it is available; however, we expect the bill to move quickly upon introduction so it is critical that we mobilize now.

The only way to slow this down is to make it clear that an overwhelming majority of Wisconsin citizens oppose wetland destruction under most circumstances.

In This Alert

	Who should care about destruction of isolated wetlands?Which wetlands may be affected and where? Here's how you can help Who to contact What to say

Which wetlands may be affected and where?

We won't know for sure how many wetlands are in jeopardy until we see the bill. What we do know from an analysis done by the Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in 2001 is that an estimated 30% of all wetlands in the state are considered non-federal or "isolated wetlands." Of even greater concern is that the distribution of isolated wetlands is uneven across the state. So, for example, the estimated percentage of isolated wetlands exceeds 30% of all wetlands in at least 26 counties and exceeds 50% in Ashland, Dane, Forest, Green, Iron, and Rock counties.

To view WDNR's 2001 analysis of isolated wetlands by county, click here.

Here's how you can help

1. Call and write Governor Walker and your representatives in the state senate and state assembly today to tell them you oppose removal of protections for isolated wetlands and expect them to solicit public input before passing any legislation that weakens wetland protection. (See below for contact info and additional talking points.)

2. Forward this alert (and the more detailed one to follow) to as many individuals and organizations as you can and urge them to do the same.

3. Consider making a special contribution to the Wisconsin Wetlands Association or other conservation organizations that are involved in efforts to protect Wisconsin's wetland heritage.

Other wetland-focused organizations that helped enact our current wetland protection laws include: Ducks Unlimited,Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, and the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association.

A list of other state and local organizations that have or may stand up for wetland protections can be found on the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters' website here.

Who to contact