Today's reversal of a Walker-era DNR permit approval to fill a rare Monroe County wetland sought by an out-of-state sand mine operation comes just days after a separate ruling last week granted conservationists in Sheboygan Court the right to contest an approved Walker-era transfer of prime public acreage inside Kohler-Andrae State Park to a private golf course developer.
Both of these planned, state-approved depredations of valuable, even rare lands were covered extensively on this blog - here, and here -
* A Georgia frac sand company is fighting a recent DNR decision revoking a permit to fill high-quality wetlands in Monroe County about the size of 14 football fields.
* Kohler interests intend to appeal a similar wetlands-fill permit revocation for a high-end golf course along Lake Michigan; opponents are continuing their David vs. Goliath preservation effort.
These wetland losses - - capped off with the removal of state protections from 100,000 acres - - a round number pulled out of a special-interests' lobbied hat - - were set in motion when Walker was Governor; he began authorizing wetland filling in the first hours and in the earliest moves by his administration and define his horrible environmental legacy - - explained in detail, here.
And the golf course issue was featured in a 2018 multi-part series on Walker's ugly environmental record in this installment, here.
Note that Walker began his assault on state wetlands in the first hours of his first term.
* January 4, 2011:
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.]
Bottom line: public parks and wetlands
WI DNR photo
need protection from special-interest destruction. And elections have consequences!
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