Friday, June 27, 2014

DNR Admits Banning Critics From Wolf Policy Committee

[Updated, 3:03 p.m.] This is serious: Cathy Stepp, Walker's DNR Secretary and hand-picked, "chamber-of commerce" anti-conservation tool,  has unapologetically confirmed to news media that the agency kicked wolf advocates off a broadly-based citizen advisory committee; the reconstituted group now stacked with wolf-hunt proponents will play a key role in the development of a long-term wolf management  killing plan now under development.
Wisconsin is killing its wolves
No wonder that dispirited career DNR employees with science backgrounds are leaving the agency, and those remaining are being kept in line with your classic bureaucratic iron fist in the velvet glove: patronizing, top-down/follow-your-orders directives dressed up in team-building mumbo-jumbo and cheer-leading slogans.

Stepp is admitting what the wolf hunt opponents had charged - - publicly in the Journal Sentinel and in a first-person guest posting on this blog:

Turning state policy-making over to special-interest, pro-hunter-and-gun-lobby politicking that literally will spill blood.

And further narrow and damage an outdoors experience for Wisconsinites who prefer taking a camera or their children into the woods for a peaceful hike without a rifle, leg traps or GPS-driven baying hunting hounds.

In a state where hunters have recently been given the right to shoot and trap in state parks.

Where cruelty to wildlife, and in some cases to hunting dogs, is sanctioned by various permissible 'training' practices.

And where big business interests will be permitted to remove unsustainable quantities of groundwater, pollute the air and water near big dairies with airborne and piped manure, fill wetlands with debris at a proposed and gargantuan open-pit iron mine site up North, and fill the air near dozens of new sand mines near the Mississippi River with dust.

Stepp is admitting to an intentional and politicized manipulation and giveaway of wildlife and land rights that are under state trust management for all the people of Wisconsin.

She is capitulating to powerful hunting and gun lobbies often aligned with conservative politicians - - about which the public got a peek a few months ago when Walker, DNR Secretary Stepp and their partisan cronies were all caught trying to funnel public money and program management to a so-called sportsman's group that had helped Walker win his recall election.

19 comments:

  1. Ok -- fair enough.

    YOU can come and clean-up the copious amounts of feces and urine that wolves leave on my property.

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    1. Dawn's Early LightJune 27, 2014 at 5:55 PM

      Come now - is there something that attracts them to leave their marks on your property?

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    2. Your property as so call claim, belonged to the wolves first. You decided to move in on them, they didn't decided that for themselves. So you are the one that needs to live in peace with them or move out!

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  2. Will she resign.....nope not until pigs fly! Walker should include this in his ads that declare "It's Working."

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  3. Anonymous at 1:20 pm. If you don't like country living, don't live in the country. I'll bet you'd buy property next to a farm and complain about the smell too.

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  4. Copious amounts of feces and urine left by wolves? Are you baiting? Or maybe you are baiting bears? I doubt they know you well enough to want to defecate in your particular yard.

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  5. anon 2:43

    I'd only buy that land if there wasn't excess wolf pee and poo on it.

    And maybe you love the smell of cow and pic manure, but most of us don't and think those that do are "strange" (being polite).

    Why do people think farmers, who stole their land from Native Americans, need our mindless support -- especially the massive taxpayer subsidies that make their businesses viable: public roads, market support, favorable tax treatment, and often direct subsidies!

    I agree with George Carlin:

    Can someone please tell me why farmers are always whining and looking for a handout? If it isn’t a drought or a flood, it’s their bad loans. I was always told farmers were strong, independent people who were too proud to accept help. But sure enough as soon as something goes wrong, they’re looking for the government to bail them out. And they’re the forst ones to complain about city people who live on welfare.

    F#ck the farmers.

    They’re worrying about losing their land? It wasn’t their land to begin with, they stole it from the Indians. Let ‘em find out what it geels like to have your land taken away by some square-headed (explitive deleted) who just came over on a boat. They wiped out the bears, the wolves, and the mountain lions; they spoiled the land, poisoned the water table, and they produce tasteless food.

    Why is it in this capitalistic society all businesses are expected to succeed or fail on their own except farming? Why is that?

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  6. The DNR is the culmination of 80 years of funding primarily on killing licenses instead of the vast general public funds generated to state tax coffers by wildlife lovers ( $111 million by wildlife watchers in 2006 compared to $10 million by hunters). The killing license funds last year were $40 million altogether - not even enough when entirely directed to running their killing business, registration and phone stations, wardens, and licensing, stocking and financing the corrupt election that is supposed to belong to all citizens - the SOLE advisory to the good ole boy legislature, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, attended by 5,000 hunters and trappers and hounders annually instead of all citizens - designed to stay hidden and misunderstood and killer-controlled.

    To win a first time democracy we need restructuring to general public funds REPLACING killing licenses and fair representation for the 90% of us who do not kill anybody. We need the Conservation Congress all citizen election brought under Wisconsin election law and candidates openly announced debating public issues before the election - and a safe walk-in election separate from the "hearings" on hunter/trapper power grabs.

    Reverence for all life. NOW.

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  7. First of all, these same pro wolf hunters that are the majority on the Wolf Advisory Committee will be writing the new wolf management plan. It would be a better compremise to include a wide diversity of Wisconsin citizens on the committee, ex: hikers, bird clubs, resort owners, land owners, eco tourism, to name just a few. Rachel Tilseth
    founder of Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin

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  8. Dawn

    I don't do anything to attract wolves to leave their marks on my property.

    I do relieve myself quite a bit in the front yard, but that is what we do up here in Northern Wisconsin.

    This is why we don't want all you out-of-towners driving through our neighborhoods.

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  9. First and foremost mostly all of the Northern Groups are Intermingling with the enemy so often that it's unclear whom to trust when it comes to the Wisconsin politics...I see clearly first hand what your politics are doing and your continued faith in Cathy Stepp who opening admitted it's her way or the highway publicly...how one could basically eliminate people off of a committee that should be based merely by conservation and scientific data and thrown in the garbage...why don't you want to work together you say your trying to educate people but with what, your insanity of allowing Cathy Stepp rule the roost? Dave Mc Farnland the large carnaviore specialist how do you sleep at night, while your government is ruling every word you try to compose...you went to school to learn to be the best of the best then do just that.Stop throwing scientific data and conservation out the window for the large outfitters...it's time someone speaks out against these atrocities that are happening in your state.Federal protection is given to Whistles blowers and not to mention you just might sleep better at night...Stop this the political machine had and will stop at nothing and it seems unfortunate your lost your battle you just don't know it not to mention your dignity.

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  10. C Parsons

    The wolves that soil my property weren't here before me -- they don't live that long.

    And as to their ancestors, who cares -- dinos must have released vast amounts of urine and feces too, doesn't mean that it would be OK today.

    We hunt bambi and thumper and eat elsie the cow, porkie pig, foghorn leghorn and even daffy duck!

    We northern wisconsinites may not be yoopers, but we are proud and will protect our rights to relieve ourself and keep you from staring at us while we do it and interfering.

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  11. anon 3:43

    Thanks for sharing a proud Wisconsin tradition, drinking 'til your blasted on Sunday. If your timestamp is accurate, you still have a lot of good drinkin' time left today so keep up the good work!

    Who says we Packer fans can get up on Sunday morning and drink all day even when its not football season.

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  12. Oh and Rachel Tilseth you had mentioned either you were apart of the Wisconsin stakeholder caucus, unfortunately I know to well you were NOT I was there and not once did you accept the invitation nor where you present...and that's the fact jack!

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  13. anon 6:08

    welcome back! still a few more hours to drink and build that buzz -- I'll bet you're a real wreck on Packer gameday.

    Thanks for doin' your part to keep the tavern league in business and backin' scott walker!

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  14. Dear anonymous
    You are correct that I did not attend the onetime and only meeting of WWF sponsored Wisconsin Wolf Stakeholders Meeting held in Dec 2013 in Madison. And did not accept an invitation to attend, thus you are talking about a completely different organization.

    In my exoerience working as a WDNR Winter Wolf tracker was a valued part of wolf monitoring in Wisconsin along with many other trackers, biologists worked to ensure the recovery of wolves. That is the wolf stakeholderi that I was a part of from 2000 to 2013.

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  15. The Wisconsin Wolf Stakeholders Caucus is not the stakeholders group referenced in any of the interviews of Rachel Tilseth.

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  16. Openly stacking a committee? And they say politics in Chicago, and New Jersey, are corrupt! In WI it's done brazenly and openly, without any sort of checks and balances. Time to stop acting as if we are better and more moral than the big cities with corrupt political reputations. They are tarnishing the reputation of the Midwest, which is acting with commonsense, still having heart, not for sale unlike the big cities. Shame.

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