"Sue the bast*rds?" Agreed. Pitch in, Bucky.

"Somebody should file a lawsuit...someone should sue."

Well, let's talk about that.

I've seen that a lot of that sentiment on Facebook, or in blog comments, when the discussion turns to the multi-various attacks on clean air, fresh water
 
wildlife and open space through which the Walker administration defined itself.

And had twisted law and government to serve its donors at the expense of the public trust, as I catalogued in a 21-part series published and concluded here several weeks ago:

Begin with what I wrote in December 30, 2010, in this blog's third year but only hours before Walker's first-term swearing-in:

Stepping on open space, wetlands, forests

For the environment in Wisconsin, this is the day the music died.

With anti-DNR zealot Cathy Stepp's preposterous (read: management by the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the home builders organizations) nomination as Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, Walker's legacy as the environmental destroyer of the land of Gaylord Nelson, John Muir and Aldo Leopold has begun.

So there has been a lot of litigation these past eight years. It became so routine  that when some environmental attorneys showed up at a meeting with state officials, a DNR representative began by saying, 'You won't like it, so just go ahead and sue us." In other words, no discussion, end of discussion.

But here's the thing. 

Litigation costs money.

And it can produce wins, like Clean Wisconsin's victory against groundwater giveaways, Midwest Environmental Advocates continuing battle for clean drinking water near industrial-scale animal feeding operations, and the protection from destruction for a large and rare forested wetland won by a coalition of groups despite efforts by the DNR and the legislature to permit it.

And let's hope Wisconsin citizens have to fund a lot less of it, given that Tony Evers' has pledged a renewed, pro-science direction at the DNR. 

But these are complex matters, as are others, and they are at different stages:

Look no father than the continuing litigation against the Lake Michigan water diversion for Foxconn, and privately-funded efforts by the grassroots organization Friends of the Black River Forest to save public park land, rare dunes and other significant resources from golf course construction goosed along by the DNR, its oversight board, the City of Sheboygan and the state Department of Administration which approved a quickie annexation of the site from the Town of Wilson, and its opposition, to the city.

So if you to help keep up the pressure in all these righteous fights, write one of these groups a check. Pick one. Or two...or help out another group you like and add its website in a comment and tell us something about your choice (s).

I have supported many of the groups below. I'm not a huge donor, but I try and give regularly. I apologize to those I'm overlooking, but here's a short list of ten with the websites of organizations fighting in one way or another for public resource protection and environmental justice in Wisconsin:

Midwest Environmental Advocates

Clean Wisconsin

1000 Friends of Wisconsin

Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters

ACLU of Wisconsin

Friends of the Black River Forest

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

River Alliance of Wisconsin

One Wisconsin Now

Sierra Club - John Muir Chapter

Note that not all are litigants, but they're in the fight.