DNR Starts Dialing For Dollars, Competing With Non-Profits
That next dinner-time phone solicitation might be DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp on the line. You'll know it if you hear 'Join in the Excitement!...Give Now. Enjoy Forever.'
What's next? Tin Cups?
Peruse yet another DNR all-staff email from the boss, verbatim. Employees might wonder if higher-ups will be keeping track and awarding merit bonus points; the public might say, 'well this is what happens when you cut fees (wolf-permits halved this year) keep paying up to $2,500 to bear hunters who sacrifice their hounds in known wolf caution areas:
From: Lamers, Holly J - DNR On Behalf Of Stepp, Cathy L - DNR
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:12 AM
Subject: Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund - Join in the Excitement!
Good morning everyone!
I am excited to announce the launch of the Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund. The Fund is an endowment that was created so that all citizens, residents and non-residents, can enjoy their favorite hunting lands, hiking trails, fishing spots and bird watching locations forever.
Wisconsin has a long standing tradition of recognizing and appreciating our natural resources. It is part of our legacy. This Fund will provide the means for preserving and enhancing the state’s public lands, waters and wildlife. It is our collective responsibility as caretakers of Wisconsin’s natural resources to support habitat management on the 1.5 million acres of publicly owned forests, prairies, wetlands, streams and lakes. One agency cannot do this alone.
Legislation signed into law last year provided the DNR with the authority to request voluntary contributions from our four million citizens who purchase annual services from us, such as hunting and fishing licenses. Funds collected will create a habitat management endowment, which will directly benefit our state’s public lands and the natural resources they support. The work done thus far has been a true partnership between the Natural Resources Foundation (NRF) and the DNR. The NRF will manage and oversee the endowment.
Let us continue the tradition of managing Wisconsin’s precious resources by getting the word out about the Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund so that the natural resources that we are enjoying today can be cared for and cherished forever. Whether you make a direct donation yourself or you encourage others to contribute to the future of Wisconsin’s habitat management, think about what you cherish most about Wisconsin’s outdoors. Give Now. Enjoy Forever.
Cathy Stepp
Secretary
WI Dept of Natural Resources
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 267-7556
cathy.stepp@wisconsin.gov
13 comments:
WOW!!!!!! They had no trouble coming up with $500,000 for the bogus United Sportsmen group and threw the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and its $239,000 in funding out of the MacKenzie Environmental Education Center to run it themselves at added taxpayer cost. Now they want to compete with the Red Cross, etc for whatever little money we have left. Maybe they shouldn't have dropped the wolf killing licenses by such a large amount. This agency has become a JOKE, lets put George Meyer back in charge and save Wisconsin's outdoor environment while we still can. Mitigation allows the DNR to look away when corporations destroy wetlands as long as they create another wetland in the state. Lets mitigate Cathy Stepp and place her somewhere outside of Wisconsin.
The US Census estimates 5.7 million residents of WI (2012), not 4 million as Stepp says.
Personally I think this could be a reasonable approach to ask those of us who use the resources to help with donations. I already do. The problem is under current administration there is no longer any trust. The coruption will destroy the agency which is what I think they are hoping for.
why don't they use private donations to build more highways?
I represent the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, which will manage and disburse money raised through the Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund (www.CherishWisconsin.org).
Our organization, which is a 501(c)3, was created 27 years ago precisely because there was a need for a reliable source of funding that wasn't tied to vagaries of the state's political system. Our nonprofit has operated successfully since Tony Earl was governor and through all administrations since.
We raise private dollars to protect our public lands; it is fundamentally true that we will never have sufficient public resources in our state to take care of the lands and waters that we all own. And it is also true that we...every single citizen who lives in or visits our state...are responsible for managing and maintaining these special places not just now, but forever.
Imagine your home if you never invested in maintenance; the roof would collapse, the walls would crumble, and it wouldn't be suitable for anyone to live there.
The same is true for our state-managed lands and waters.
We entered into this partnership with DNR thoughtfully and with the unanimous support of the legislature.
We hope that all citizens of Wisconsin will see there is value in investing in these resources and making sure they thrive, environmentally and economically, now and for future generations to enjoy and use.
Maria Sadowski
Director of Communications
Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin
Wisconservation.org
I represent the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, which will manage and disburse money raised through the Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund. Our organization, which is a 501(c)3, was created 27 years ago precisely because there was a need for a reliable source of funding that wasn't tied to vagaries of the state's political system.
Our nonprofit has operated successfully since Tony Earl was governor and through all administrations since.
We raise private dollars to protect our public lands; it is fundamentally true that we will never have sufficient public resources in our state to take care of the lands and waters that we all own. And it is also true that we...every single citizen who lives in or visits our state...are responsible for managing and maintaining these special places not just now, but forever.
Imagine your home if you never invested in maintenance; the roof would collapse, the walls would crumble, and it wouldn't be suitable for anyone to live there. The same is true for our state-managed lands and waters.
We entered into this partnership with DNR thoughtfully and with the support of the legislature. We hope that all citizens of Wisconsin will see there is value in investing in these resources and making sure they thrive, environmentally and economically, now and for future generations to enjoy and use.
I represent the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, which will manage and disburse money raised through the Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund. Our organization, which is a 501(c)3, was created 27 years ago precisely because there was a need for a reliable source of funding that wasn't tied to vagaries of the state's political system.
Our nonprofit has operated successfully since Tony Earl was governor and through all administrations since.
We raise private dollars to protect our public lands; it is fundamentally true that we will never have sufficient public resources in our state to take care of the lands and waters that we all own. And it is also true that we...every single citizen who lives in or visits our state...are responsible for managing and maintaining these special places not just now, but forever.
Imagine your home if you never invested in maintenance; the roof would collapse, the walls would crumble, and it wouldn't be suitable for anyone to live there. The same is true for our state-managed lands and waters.
We entered into this partnership with DNR thoughtfully and with the support of the legislature. We hope that all citizens of Wisconsin will see there is value in investing in these resources and making sure they thrive, environmentally and economically, now and for future generations to enjoy and use.
We entered into this partnership with DNR thoughtfully and with the support of the legislature. We hope that all citizens of Wisconsin will see there is value in investing in these resources and making sure they thrive, environmentally and economically, now and for future generations to enjoy and use.
Yes, we do and we had thought that our collective tax payments were going to pay for that. The idea that we have to ante up beyond that, in Wisconsin, is repellent.
The money that is going to mines, excessive highway lanes we don't need, and payments to Walker boondaggle clients is abhorrent.
It's Maria @ Natural Resources Foundation again...first apologizing for multiple duplicate posts. I kept getting error messages. Please know that the funds contributed will go directly to our foundation (an audited independent 501c3 that already manages 60 endowments). a
DNR will have a process to select and nominate habitat management projects on state-owned public lands...which means the lands WE as citizens own. I understand the frustration but the point of these funds and of our organization is to be outside of the political process and make sure the lands and waters are maintained for now and for the future. In Wisconsin, we don't have a dedicated tax fund to care for our natural resources, the way some other states like Minnesota do. We hope this fund is one way to try to fill that gap.
Let's put this in context a bit. Hunting license fees have been cut for wolf hunters, first time hunters and mentors. It costs only $5 for First Time Bear hunting license: http://dnr.wi.gov/permits/residentlicense.html
Consequently, revenue is down. Not because we have fewer hunters, but because fees are dirt cheap. Walker and Stepp are giving away our state's game at cut rate prices. That's right. The deer,bears, small game and turkey are a state resource owned by all of us. We even pay to stock the rivers and fields. Hunting is allowed in state parks limiting access for others who want to enjoy the outdoors without being shot at.
The way I see it, you want us to donate to keep up the parks for the very hunters who are benefiting most from the cheap license fees. No thanks. I'll pay my taxes. I won't buy a park sticker - too dangerous. and I sure as hell won't donate to a state agency that only cares about hunters.
The DNR website shows where and when you can hunt in each park. http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/hunt/index.html
Here are some tid bits from the rules:
Non-hunting visitors are also enjoying the park during hunting and trapping seasons; they may or may not be wearing blaze orange. Make sure you know where closed areas, campgrounds, buildings, and trails are located to avoid user conflicts. Hunters should be especially aware of gun safety and be certain of your target and what is beyond it.
All state regulations relating to baiting apply.
It is Illegal to Hunt within 50 feet of a roadway’s center or discharge a
firearm or shoot an arrow from a bow from or across a paved park road. (Hunting small game or turkey with a
muzzle loader or shotgun loaded with shot BB or smaller is exempt from this prohibition if the roadway is unpaved.)
So, you can bait bear in a state park, shoot across an unpaved road and please avoid "user conflicts" by not shooting at hikers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JL4gEa6YTZY
And this just happened. A dog was killed because it strayed onto DNR land that was adjacent to conservancy land an unmarked. The dog is dead. What if it had been a kid?
For many years I've been a "conservation patron" -- a hunter-fisher type who gives extra dollars when purchasing my license package so that more and better resource conservation efforts can occur. I've also supported endangered resources by paying extra. However, under the Walker-Stepp "open for business" and "suppress-science-that-doesn't-give-the-answers-we-want" regime, I've begun to question these investments.
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